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

{another article by Ken Gray}

{Also at http://communities.canada.com/ottawacitizen/blogs/bulldog/archive/2009/1... }

OC Transpo Flunks Reader's Test
By Kenneth_Gray Sat, Oct 17 2009 COMMENTS(3) The Bulldog
Filed under: City of Ottawa, OC Transpo, transit, O-Train

Here's a person with an interesting tale. A test trial of OC Transpo has the person buying a fuel-efficient auto:

Three months ago I got wind of "low car diet" and "carless for a month" challenges making their way to different cities across North America . It seemed like it's all upside: one less car on the road, less pollution, less money spent on gas and parking, less time lost to congestion. It may even help me improve my fitness and drop some pounds.

Rather than half commit by only giving up my keys for the month, I jumped in head first and gave up my car altogether. I'm into my fourth month.

{Friends of the O-Train cares about the Landsdown Park proposals for two reasons:
a) because the LRT "consultation" process and the Landsdown "consultation" process share the same flaws.
b) because the services that are being proposed for Landsdown Park should be located near transit according to the TMP. Such as in the FOTO 2006 plan, that had two major hubs}

Chair and Councillors of Corporate Services and Economic Development
Committee:



Please accept this e-mail as my input to your discussion on Agenda Item 3. Lansdowne Park Partnership Business Plan – Briefing



Section "A" below is provided as a courtesy in lieu of a City Staff document summarizing the key "business case" parameters for the
Lansdowne development proposal.



Section "B" are some thoughts of alternate financing arrangements and ideas.

The Ottawa Citizen
October 12, 2009

As many bus riders know, the number 12 is among the least reliable buses in
the city. I finally learned why.

On Thursday, I arrived at the Shoppers City East stop at 5:15 p.m. After the
5:22 and the 5:34 buses did not arrive, I called the OC Transpo information
line to find out when I could expect a bus. I was told that, since the 12
runs approximately every 10 minutes, buses will be pulled off that route to
cover others when those buses break down or have delays. This happened to two
buses in a row for me.

In theory, it is better to have some people waiting an extra 10 minutes
instead of an extra 30. But this practice is completely unfair. As a paying
customer, I should be able to rely on my bus arriving sometime around the
scheduled time. To have two buses in a row cancelled is unfair to the riders
who rely on the No. 12 to get to work and school. I cannot afford to be 10

{moderator: I want to clarify that the original article below is by Ken Gray. The reply is by an unknown David, who posted it on the citizen web site. FOTO did not write either one them}

Ottawans lined the streets of downtown today to watch the first light-rail
train travel through the city's core.

Onlookers gawked as the vehicle quickly travelled along its designated lane
behind stylish protective barriers to keep cars and trucks out of its
way. Lights changed automatically down the transit corridor to allow the
vehicle through. Gates blocked north-south car traffic as the train sped
through intersections in Ottawa's small, compact downtown.

At the south end of the line in Barrhaven, Mayor Larry O'Brien, bedecked in
engineer's hat and blowing a wooden train whistle, cut the ribbon that sent
the first train down the tracks on the $884-million north-south route. Beside
him were local MP Pierre Poilievre, Transport Minister John Baird and

The consultants are proposing 180 m station platform length for the downtown
tunnel stations. This is longer than any existing transitway station
platforms, which are at most 150 m long.

5-car trains would have provided plenty of future capacity and this is what
Calgary is rebuilding its stations to permit. Also the true length of a
6-car LRT is more like 175 m.

Nevertheless I have shown 180 m long stations at the following locations:
Lincoln Fields, Carlingwood, Broadview, Churchill, Westgate/Royal Ottawa,
Civic Hospital, Carling/Dows Lake, and Gladstone.

Three of these, (Broadview, Churchill, and the Civic Hospital), could have
split stations with one narrower platform for a far-side stop at each
intersection. This reduces the width of the station and simplifies traffic
light priority.

All stations west of Dows Lake would have surface platforms, with at-grade
signalled or subway pedestrian crossings to adjacent properties at each end
of the platform.