Navigation
User login
My proposal
After reviewing the city's proposed transit network plan as well as the "friends of the O-train" plan I, like many others, have come up with my own plan. This website provides an excellent opportunity for people to give their opinions on what should happen and discuss other topics related to Ottawa's public transportation needs!
My proposal is as follows:
Initially I would start by extending the existing O-train pilot project south on the existing single track to Leitrim, were I would propose a station be built as well as a gravel surface park and ride. This proposal could be completed by fall 2007 and cost approximately $35 million. It would serve as an immediate solution to the needs for adequate public transportation in this area.
My proposal would then see the existing LRT line extended north to Rideau street (in front of Rideau Centre), via Laurier avenue, and further south to Woodroffe avenue, via Strandherd/Armstrong bridge. This line would be double tracked from Rideau Centre to Leitrim and single track (with double tracked stations) from Leitrim to Woodroffe. This entire line would be run with electric LRT trains; however keeping the diesel trains for a future use mentioned later. It would also see 12 new stations; Woodroffe south, River, Spratt, South Keys, Walkley, Gladstone, Lebreton, Bay/Lyon, Bank, O’Connor/Metcalfe, Laurier, and Rideau Centre. The Leitrim park and ride would then be expanded and paved; as well two new park and rides would be built at Woodroffe station and River station. This north-south line is very similar to the city’s proposed line; however my proposal would require an additional environmental assessment from Waller street to Rideau Centre. After reacquiring the $400 million from the federal and provincial governments and completing the additional environmental assessment this proposal could start in 2011. This proposal would cost approximately $750 million and be completed in approximately 2014. This north-south line proposed would act as the main line and have spurs running of it rather then building a completely separate east-west line, as proposed by the city.
The following spur lines would be completed in or around the order presented and would take approximately an additional 15 years to construct.
The first spur line would run on an existing track from Confederation station to March road (near Carling avenue). This line would have to be twinned and have four new stations; Merivale, Woodroffe north, Robertson, and March. This line would be serviced by electric LRT trains running between March and Confederation stations.
The second spur line would be an extension to the north-south line. The line would be extended west to Barrhaven Town Centre. This line would be double tracked and would see two new stations added to the existing north-south line; Beatrice and Barrhaven Town Centre. Also the only remaining single track portion of the north-south LRT line (from Leitrim to Woodroffe) would be doubled, making the entire north-south main line double tracked from Rideau Centre to Barrhaven Town Centre.
The third spur line would run further north on the existing track to the Casino du Lac-Leamy, in Gatineau. This would be a single line extension and could have two new stations; boulevard Alexandre-Tache and Casino du Lac-Leamy. It could also be done using the city of Ottawa’s diesel LRT trains, used for the O-train pilot project. This spur line could also be completely maintained by the city of Gatineau, in exchange for the diesel LRT trains and Ottawa’s portion of the Prince of Wales locomotive bridge.
The forth spur line would be a single track extension from the north-south LRT line near Lester Road to the Ottawa International Airport, as identifies in a previous agreement between the city and the airport authority. This line would see two new stations built; Airport and Lester (built on the north-south LRT main line). This line would be serviced by an electric LRT train running between Airport and Greenborow stations.
The fifth and final spur line would see the existing main line extended east on Rideau/Montreal to Blair road and then south to the Blair transit station. This would connect the main line to the east transitway and Cumberland transitway. This extension would be on a double track using electric LRT trains. This line could add seven new stops at King Edward avenue, Charlotte street, Vanier parkway, St. Laurent boulevard, Aviation parkway, Blair road (at Montreal road), and Ogilvie road, then linking up to the existing Blair transit station. This proposal is already in the works and the city is expected to launch the environmental assessment in late 2007. This extension would be a key link to the more then adequate east end transitways, therefore eliminating the need and high costs for an east LRT line.
This plan is not perfect but it solves most of the city's transportation problems and does not duplicate the transitway system, which I think would be a mistake ("If it ain't broke, don't fix it").
My Proposed Transit Network - revised
I have revised my original proposal based on recent feedback and new information I have received. I also have a map outlining this proposal and an additional proposal for bus route reduction down the Albert/Slater corridor.
The main changes from my last proposal include: the use of the existing (north-south) single track line to Bayview, placing the O-train back on to Albert/Slater (after reducing the bus routes by up to 60% during peak periods), extending the north-south line from Rideau Centre to Hurdman, using dLRT rather then eLRT on the Kanata line, leaving the second half of the Kanata line single track, using bus lanes rather then eLRT on the Rideau/Montreal/Blair line, building a new short transitway around the hospital complex (at Smyth), building a new Orleans South line, and building a combination bus lanes/eLRT on Carling Avenue. I also added the city's proposed transitway additions/extensions to the plan, as I believe strongly in a bus/LRT network. I only have rough ideas on costs (based on other sources), so I left them out of the plan this time. My timeline has also been updated for each individual spur line. A fair number of changes I know, but I think it is a much sounder plan.
My new proposal is as follows:
Phase One (2007-2011)
- Completion of the west transitway from Pincrest to Bayshore.
- Completion of the south-west transitway extension from Fallowfield to Strandherd/Barrhaven Town Centre.
- Completion of a north-south eLRT line from Woodroffe Avenue to Hurdman station. This line would be single track (with 4 additional sidings added) from Woodroffe Avenue to Bayview and double track from Bayview to Hurdman, via the Albert/Slater corridor and the transitway. This entire line would be run with electric LRT trains; however keeping the diesel trains for a future use mentioned in phase two. This line would have stops at the following 21 locations: Hurdman, Lees, Campus, Laurier, Mackenzie King, O’Connor/Metcalfe, Bank, Bay/Lyon, Lebreton, Bayview, Gladstone, Carling, Carleton, Confederation, Walkley, Greenboro, South Keys, Leitrim, Spratt, River, and Woodroffe. The line would also have 4 park and ride lots located along the route; three new park and ride lots added at Leitrim, River & Woodroffe and the current park and ride lot located at Greenboro. A new maintenance yard for the electric LRT vehicles would be built near Leitrim and the old maintenance yard (near Walkley) would be kept to store the previous diesel O-trains. This north-south line is very similar to the city’s proposed line; however my proposal would stop at Woodroffe (extended later in phase five), see the existing line remain as single track, and require an additional environmental assessment from Waller Street to Hurdman. This proposal could be done in two steps to limit a complete shut down of the north-south LRT line. The first step would see the existing line electrified and extended from Carleton University to Hurdman station. The second step would see the existing line enhanced, electrified and extended from Carleton University to Woodroffe, at this stage a temporary substitute bus route could be created. This north-south line (proposed) would act as the main line and have spurs lines running off of it, rather then building a completely separate east-west line as proposed by the city. This line could be fully double tracked at a later time, when considered necessary.
Phase Two (2011-2014)
- Completion of the west transitway from the south-west transitway to Pincrest.
- Construction of the Cumberland transitway from Blair station to Navan Road.
- Construction of a dLRT line from Confederation station to Kanata North. This line would run on the existing tracks from Confederation to March Road, near Carling Avenue. This line would be double track from Confederation to Woodroffe Avenue and single track from Woodroffe Avenue to March Road. This line would run with the diesel O-trains trains that were previously used on the north-south pilot project, but also require the purchase of two new diesel O-trains to allow for a 15 minute frequency. This line would have stops at the following 5 locations: Confederation, Merivale, Woodroffe, Robertson, and March. The maintenance yard at Walkley would be enhanced and used for the diesel LRT vehicles. This line could be electrified and fully double tracked at a later time.
Phase Three (2014-2017)
- Completion of the of the Cumberland transitway from Navan Road to Trim Road.
- Completion of the west transitway extension from Eagleson station to Hazeldean Road (north of Stittsville).
- Construction of a dLRT line from Bayview station to the Casino du Lac-Leamy (in Gatineau). The line would run further north from Bayview station on the existing single track and would have 2 stops at the following locations: boulevard Alexandre-Tache and Casino du Lac-Leamy. This line would use diesel LRT trains, running from Bayview to Casino du Lac-Leamy.
Phase Four (2017-2020)
- Completion of the east transitway extension from Place D’Orleans to the Trim Road park and ride.
- Bus lanes built along Carling/Richmond Roads between the south-west transitway (Lincoln Fields) and the west transitway (Bayshore).
- Construction of a spur line from the north-south eLRT line to the Ottawa International Airport. This line would be a single track extension from the north-south LRT line along the southern edge of the National Research Council property (near Lester Road), then connect to the Ottawa International Airport via a previous agreement between the city and the airport authority. This line would see two new stations built: Airport and Lester (built on the north-south LRT main line). This line would be serviced by an electric LRT train running between Airport and Bayview stations.
Phase Five (after 2020)
- Construction of a transitway from Smyth station around the NDMC/CHEO/General Hospital properties to Smyth Road.
- Bus lanes built on Rideau/Montreal/Blair Roads from Rideau Centre to Blair station.
- Bus lanes built on Heron/Baseline Roads between the south-east transitway and the south-west transitway.
- Construction of an eLRT line along Carling Avenue from the north-south eLRT line to the south-west transitway (at Lincoln Fields).
- Expansion of the north-south eLRT line from Woodroffe Avenue to Cedarview Road. This single track extension would run along Strandherd Drive, link up with the south-west transitway, and continue on to Cedarview Road. This extension will add stops at the following 3 locations: Beatrice, Barrhaven Town Centre, and Cedarview. This extension would also add an additional park and ride lot at Cedarview. To increase the travel time for residents of Barrhaven the north-south line could see every second train travel from Cedarview to Hurdman (skipping the 3 stops in Riverside South), and every other train travel from Woodroffe to Hurdman (including all stops). A 7.5 minute frequency is feasible with a single track (plus sidings) to Bayview, this means that there would be a 15 minute frequency from Cedarview to Beatrice and from River to Leitrim. Woodroffe and all other stops north of Leitrim would have a 7.5 minute frequency.
- Construction of a dLRT line from Hurdman to Orleans South. A new double track line would be constructed from Hurdman station to the existing Via Rail tracks near Terminal Avenue at Riverside Drive. Then the existing Via Rail tracks would be used up to the abandoned railway corridor (near Cyrville Road). This abandoned railway corridor would then be used up to the crossing at Renaud Road, where a new single track line would be built north-east to Millenium Park. This line would have stops at the following 7 locations: Hurdman, Train, Anderson, Navan, Tenth Line, Portobello, and Millenium. The line would also have 3 new park and ride lots located at Anderson, Navan, and Millenium.
Feel free to comment on my new plan.
Kyle Cooper
Transit user/Advocate
cooper's proposal
thank you for posting your ideas.
I have some questions about the idea.
I will start by taking exception with your final statement: "If it ain't broke, don't fix it"
The reality is that, there is no transitway in the downtown core. A system was supposed to have been designed and built, but this never happened. That is the reason why the Slater/Albert coalition objected to the Chiarelli proposal --- not only did it not solve the current problems, it actually made them worse.
This copy of an OC-Transpo notice admits in 2004 what most transit users knew much longer: downtown is broken.
http://www.friendsoftheotrain.org/?q=node/16
Your initial plan matches ours.
The next part isn't clear to me. It sounds like Chiarelli line, only on a different street.
Will you keep the current O-Train in service while double tracking and electrifying?
Your plan is $750, can you please back this number up?
How would it be faster for Woodroffe area residents than the current express buses?
How would you deal with the chaos of inefficiencies that occurs on Slater and Albert?
Would any east-end residents be served by the line? That is where we need more
capacity, and we can't add any bus capacity until the downtown problem is solved.
I don't understand why you would run electric dual track to Kanata.
Can you justify why you would want to user vehicles with a slower top-speed
than the current dLRT that we currently own have? Have you checked that line,
are there enough clearances under and over bridges for a second track? (I think that
there is, except possibly at the 417)
Can you give us an estimate as to what a eLRT line that direction would cost,
and what kind of ridership you would need to justify the 5 minute service that
double tracking the entire way permits?
The reason why we stick to 7.5 minute service on the current NS O-train line is
because that frequency of service can be accomplished at very low cost with single track plus passing tracks. Once one reaches the capacity of that line (sometime
after 2020), then one can convert the south-east transitway to rail, or use the
VIA line to get more N/S capacity.
Are you aware that the city's alignment for the eLRT into the airport results in 15 minute travel time to GREENBORO because of the very sharp turns. In other words, over 40 minutes to get downtown from the airport, and that's why the city removed
that spur. If you put the rail line north of Lester, you destroy significant wetlands.
That's why the FotO plan, puts a seperate spur alongside the airport parkway iself,
resulting in 5-7 minute travel time from Greenboro. We propose to provide this
service with dLRT initially, and only convert to eLRT when it makes sense to upgrade
the entire NS system. That might be *AFTER* the s-e transitway was converted to rail.
I agree that it would be nice to have rail on Rideau/Montreal Rd.
Those would be TTC style trams --- not rapid-transit. As such, they wouldn't
provide any capacity to Orleans. It would be wonderful to be able to afford to do such a thing, but in the meantime, we need to work on making the bus routes along there
more reliable and more sensible.
--
Volunteer researcher, Friends of the O-train.
Re: My Proposal - revised
First off, in response to your comment that there is no transitway in the downtown core. There may not be a solid transitway running through the downtown core, but there are restricted bus only lanes, similar to the ones on 417 and 174 (as part of the transitway). Although I will be the first to admit that Albert/Slater streets are congested. This is why I propose that the bus routes on the Albert/Slater corridor be reduced by up to 60% during peak periods and up to 2% during non-peak periods. Once my proposed bus route reduction plan is fully implemented the only routes that would run on the Albert/Slater street bus lanes would be the 8, 86, 87, 90-series, and (suburban) express busses. I would propose moving routes 3, 40, 41, 51, and 85 to other nearby streets (Queen and Somerset). I would also propose replacing the rural express routes with weekday peak period (red) bus routes that run to the closest (major) transitway station, similar to a hub-and-spoke system. Any other weekday (peak period) or local bus routes would stop at either Hurdman or Lebreton depending on what direction their coming from (like the city did with the 126, 140, 148, and 149). This would relieve the congested Albert/Slater street bus lanes and allow for future 90-series bus routes & the O-train.
My plan is very similar to the city's original O-train plan, however with some differences. First off I would keep the existing single track to Bayview, then double track the downtown. Secondly, I would initially stop at Woodroffe since there is a park and ride at that location.
I would not stop the existing O-train service completely; instead this construction would take place in two steps. First from Carleton U to Hurdman, then from Carleton U to Woodroffe. This would only cause for certain sections of the existing O-train to be shut down at one time and still leaving the essential Carleton station open. Also an alternative bus route could be temporarily created while they shut down the second step (south of Carleton U to South Keys/Greenboro). To get from Woodroffe (at Strandherd) to downtown (at Bank street) using the existing express route 77 (or others like it) and my proposed LRT route it would take about the same time, approximately 50 minutes. However, since most people taking public transportation from the suburbs not only travel downtown but other destinations it will be quicker to take my proposed route if people in the Woodroffe area are traveling south-east of Carling. One could also argue that the busses would be quicker if people were traveling to Tunney's Pasture. It just depends where people are traveling to, what's why I believe our transitway system is working.
Under my new proposal an east-end resident would take my Orleans South line. I also noticed that your plan ends at Cyrville; do you feel that the transit service east of Cyrville is adequate enough?
I doubled (half) the track to Kanata to increase the frequency and provide people with a fast and efficient O-train service, a 30 minute service (on a single track) would be too infrequent. I also believe that due to existing trains traveling on this track it would be better suited to have at least a partial double track system, even thou a single track system could work. I'm not sure if there are enough clearances over/under existing roadways for a double track. However the track could either stay single over/under these possible obstacles or be fixed to accommodate the double track. I am also not sure of cost.
The FotO’s plan to convert existing transitways to light rail only causes more transfers (depending on where you are going) and is redundant.
My spur to the airport would actually be south of Lester road on the southern edge of the National Reach Council property, avoiding any significant wetlands, and then joining up with the previous city/airport authority agreement. I'm sorry I wasn't clear about that earlier. It is also nice to see and hear the FotO’s plans for the airport and Cyrville, as it was not mentioned under "extensions" on this website or the old Blogger site. I like those proposals and your map really gives a good idea on what you are proposing.
By investing more money in the short and mid-term, with future possible funding from the other levels of government, we will be better off in the long term. In my opinion this means investing money within the next 15 years into LRT, in order to lower our maintenance costs now and for the future or have to convert to LRT in the future!
Kyle Cooper
Transit user/Advocate