The late Doug McCorquodale, the real father of the transitway, was fond of sending up a ridiculous "trial balloon" ('metro rail'?), to be shot down, so that people would settle for the "second choice" ('too-deep light rail').

But, what else did this man propose? Why... a bus tunnel, of course.

Tunnel Vision; Underground lanes would channel buses across Ottawa
core Series: Tunnel Vision; [Final Edition]
Doug Yonson. The Ottawa Citizen. Ottawa, Ont.: Oct 14, 1989. pg. B.1

It's big. It's expensive. And it's coming to Ottawa.

It's a tunnel, a three-kilometre, multi-million-dollar underground link,
crossing downtown between the eastern and western legs of the
transitway.

Local residents will get a chance Tuesday and Wednesday to tell regional
planners what they think of the idea.

But don't be fooled into thinking you can stop it:

*

The region has already paid $1.6 million for two comprehensive
consultants' reports that concluded that downtown Ottawa traffic will be
insolubly congested by 2005, and that twin tunnels -- one eastbound, one
westbound -- will be the best way to move buses across the city core.

*

Representatives of key government agencies, including the city of
Ottawa, the Ontario Transportation Ministry and the National Capital
Commission, have endorsed the findings. Ottawa-Carleton regional
Chairman Andy Haydon and Ottawa Mayor Jim Durrell are outspoken tunnel
advocates.

*

Regional transportation and planning staff like the idea. So does OC
Transpo. Doug McCorquodale, who headed a 1976 consultants' study that
predicted a tunnel would be needed in the 1990s, is now Transpo's
planning manager. John Bonsall, the 1976 study's project leader at the
region, is now Transpo's general manager.

*

The two reports dismissed alternatives -- shallower tunnels, an elevated
roadway, or creating an exclusive bus mall along Albert Street -- as
either more expensive or unsuited to the region's needs.

In fact, according to regional transitway director Ian Stacey, the
region is looking for public input on just two issues: What route should
the tunnel follow? And, how soon should construction begin?

Residents' input aside, this tunnel is going ahead.

Not that it doesn't have critics. Some regional councillors, including
Kanata Mayor Des Adam, Gloucester Mayor Harry Allen and Ottawa Ald.
Tim Kehoe, have expressed skepticism about the tunnel's as-yet-unknown
pricetag (it will cost taxpayers at least $500 million, possibly as much
as $800 million, but the exact price will remain a mystery for at least
two years) and whether it's needed as soon as planners contend.

They also think other transitway projects, notably extensions to Kanata,
Orleans and Barrhaven, should proceed before the tunnel.

Thursday, Adam called next week's hearings a sham. "You're going to get
a tunnel -- it's going to be a question of when."

But for every criticism, supporters unleash thick documents awash in
statistics and crunched numbers they say prove a tunnel, and only a
tunnel, will keep commuters moving quickly across town when the century
turns.

The first study, by experienced transportation consulting firm Delcan
Corp. of Ottawa, calls for deep, twin bus tunnels bored underground
between LeBreton Flats and Campus transitway station on Nicholas Street
beside the University of Ottawa. The tunnels would run beneath Albert
and Slater streets, with stops at Lyon, Bank and Metcalfe streets and
the Rideau Centre.

The study says the tunnels would be easy to build from an engineering
standpoint, and far less disruptive to downtown life during or after
construction than shallower tunnels excavated from the surface or an
elevated roadway. No option is substantially cheaper: "Construction cost
alone," it concludes, "is not a major issue in selecting the preferred
option."

The second study, by IBI Group of Toronto, looked at ways to improve the
present system of exclusive bus lanes along Albert and Slater --
including a transit mall on Albert -- with a view to delaying the
tunnel's inevitable construction.

It concluded a bus mall is unfeasible, mainly because the street is too
narrow, and that even with a number of changes the present system will
only operate effectively for another 16 years.

Two engineering professors who study transportation planning have
endorsed the general conclusions of both reviews. Ata Khan of Carleton
University and Ron Rice of McGill University said that if anything, a
tunnel has been delayed in Ottawa compared with other North American
cities.

Rice says Ottawa-Carleton's bus ridership, per person, is one of the
highest in North America. Passenger volumes downtown are higher than
those in such cities as Vancouver, Edmonton and Seattle, Wash., which
have invested in tunnels downtown for rapid transit systems.

Already, 360 buses an hour travel on Albert and Slater streets during
afternoon rush hour. That's three buses every minute in each direction,
and the two streets are approaching their capacity, Khan says.

If a tunnel is not built in the next decade or so, he says, the
alternative will be a convoy of buses backed up across the entire
downtown -- or severe restrictions on all other downtown traffic.

Taken together, the expert studies urge that construction of the tunnels
should begin some time between 1993 and 2001.

Haydon and Durrell argue the sooner, the better. They say a significant
delay will waste money because the monetary and personal costs caused
by slower transit service and general traffic congestion will continue to
mount, as will construction costs.

Other councillors, such as Ottawa Ald. Lynn Smyth and Nepean Coun. Al
Loney, are satisfied a tunnel is the best solution, although neither is
in a hurry to build it.

The province will be asked to pay for 75 per cent of the construction
cost. So far, it has not expressed any reservations. The rest, Haydon
says, would likely come from the region's reserve funds, development
charges and annual tax levies.

Stacey says those who attend the open houses will be questioned about
the timing of the tunnel construction, and asked for their views on ways
to improve downtown transit service in the meantime.

He also hopes for comments "on the softer side: Is Albert Street
considered the right place to concentrate people? Or should it (the
tunnel) be under Sparks Street? Should we stay on the Mackenzie King
Bridge alignment (instead of veering two blocks north along Besserer
Street to serve the Rideau Centre)?"

Stacey says he and the region's staff will listen carefully to the
public's comments and will not hesitate to study new information or
questions that observers bring up.

"Don't shortchange the knowledge of the general public. Some people have
particular expertise. At OMB (Ontario Municipal Board) hearings I have
been surprised at the technical expertise of some people."

If the two open houses attract large crowds or significant opposition to
the reports' conclusions, a third may be scheduled, he said.

The open houses will be held at regional headquarters at 222 Queen St.
Panels depicting the studies' recommendations will be on display.