Category: design

bike path, Carling Ave, cycling in Ottawa, design, Dows Lake, NCC, O-Train, OTrain bike path, pedestrians, Preston street, sewage and drains, surface water, Trillium Line, walkways9 Comments

Trillium Path Extended to Carling Avenue

Westsideaction

As promised by the City, the extension of the Trillium (OTrain) pathway from Young to Carling Avenue is essentially complete. I think it is wonderful. Multi-user pathways (MUP’s) get better with every new build. The most significant new feature for a MUP is a physical separation of people who cycle from people who walk, or animals who walk their humans. The bike path portion remains full width; the pedestrian portion is additional, bonus width. There is a very low curb between the two paths to separate them. The lowness of the curb prevents a pedal from getting caught. The separated … Continue reading Trillium Path Extended to Carling Avenue

Bayview Station, bike path, Confederation Line, cycling in Ottawa, design, hintonburg, O-Train, OTrain bike path, pedestrians, Scott street, Trillium Line, walkways2 Comments

Navigating Scott-Albert (east bound)

Westsideaction

Alas, for those people walking or cycling east towards the downtown, there won’t be a separated multi-user path, nor as direct a path as along the north side of Scott and Albert. Starting near Tunney’s, there is a south-side east-bound painted bike lane, which I suppose it a wee tad better than cycling with sharrows in the “50KMH” lanes: The cycling lane is “buffered” from cars, trucks, and buses by a 2′ painted median, but the cycling lane is also the right turn lane and driveway access lane. And boy, are there ever a lot of those: There are many … Continue reading Navigating Scott-Albert (east bound)

design, Ottawa1 Comment

Postage Stamp Crisis (the third lick: existing community mailboxes)

Westsideaction

Since the “controversy” over community mailboxes heated up, I’ve kept an eye open for what they look like. I don’t find this old one on Somerset Street offensive: Nor this one on King Edward: When in Boston a few weeks ago, I spotted this one in a typical centre town residential street, and then retraced my steps to discover that there had been a number of similar boxes in the preceding blocks that I hadn’t even noticed: Here’s some at the courtyard entrance to low rise apartments dating from mid-20th century: And from early 21st century urban townhouse infills:   … Continue reading Postage Stamp Crisis (the third lick: existing community mailboxes)

design, Ottawa3 Comments

Promoting Literacy one block at a time

Westsideaction

  The City may be planning a multi-million dollar library building, but west side residents are taking literacy to the streets. The up-cycled advertising flyer box shown above is in front of Vito’s, oops,  Preston Grocery oops, Kit Kat store at the corner of Elm and Preston. Local residents are invited to deposit their surplus books into the box for others to enjoy. When I looked inside I found some femlit, a cooking book, some light reading, and a DVD by David Chernushenko. There is another one at the corner of Christie and Cambridge Streets:   You can see what is … Continue reading Promoting Literacy one block at a time

Boston, design, Ottawa, pedestrians, walkways3 Comments

Harbinger of New Walkway Design

Westsideaction

Like in any entrenched religion or philosophy, internal contradictions eventually create cogitative dissonance in civil engineering standards. That people who walk must always defer to people who drive is one such encrusted rule slowly crumbling in the face of pedestrian revolt. Occasionally we see examples of people who walk getting the right of way over people who drive, but there very scarcity makes them noticeable. At selected road crossings, after much lobbying and pressure, the engineering staff may, with many caveats, permit a walkway to cross a minor road with priority going to the people who walk. Scarcely common. Cambridge, … Continue reading Harbinger of New Walkway Design

cycling in Ottawa, design, downtown, LRT, O-Train, Ottawa, planning, Portland6 Comments

Gotta go pee ! (again)

Westsideaction

So, the CBC this morning was featuring another story on our lack of public washrooms. So I thought it worthwhile reprinting this Feb.2015 story about public toilets. I think the potty solution from Portland would fit very nicely in Dundonald Park. As a society, we have a major aversion to acknowledging that people gotta go pee. Or poo. And that this happens when people are outside of the home. Like at transit stations. Or touristing in a city. In lieu of public WC signage, we are reduced to looking for the Golden Arches of M, where there is always a … Continue reading Gotta go pee ! (again)

CDP, Confederation Line, cycling in Ottawa, design, housing policy, infill, intensificatioin, LRT, oc Transpo, pedestrians, planning, sidewalks, walkways, Western LRT2 Comments

Queensview Station Crossing (part iii)

Westsideaction

In the West End, the Confederation Line LRT will eventually extend to Lincoln Fields, then along Pinecrest Creek (where the transitway is) and it will split into two directions from a point north of the Queensway. One leg will carry on to Algonquin College. The other leg vers westward under a city park and emerges from its underground tunnel between the Queensway and the west end bus garage on Queensview Drive. The in-an-open-cut  Queensview Station ( much like Westboro and Tunney’s Stations) will replace the lawn directly in front of The Brick. Directly opposite The Brick is The Ottawa Citizen plant, and … Continue reading Queensview Station Crossing (part iii)

Confederation Line, cycling in Ottawa, design, intensificatioin, LRT, oc Transpo, pedestrians, planning, Portland, Transit3 Comments

Coventry Bridge, Tremblay LRT Station Underachievers (part ii)

Westsideaction

Will the redeveloped Tremblay Station area be better than what is there today? Will there be a wonderful world of tomorrow, or just a bigger – higher – denser version of autotopia? Here’s a city-provided sketchup of the Tremblay LRT Station (formerly known as Train). Construction starts in December this year, for completion in July 2017. The ring road that services the train station is visible at the top; with the VIA Station at the top right. The parking lot shown is existing, but not for long. While the main LRT entrance is to the east, by the ring road, … Continue reading Coventry Bridge, Tremblay LRT Station Underachievers (part ii)

bike path, Confederation Line, cycling in Ottawa, design, LRT, oc Transpo, Ottawa, pedestrians, planning, Queensway, sidewalks, walkways

Coventry Active Transportation Bridge (part i)

Westsideaction

I do occasionally get out of my WestSide stomping grounds. A recent trip took me to the near East Side where I had the opportunity to use the new Coventry  bridge for people who walk and people who cycle, over the Queensway. It’s also useful to look at it in light of the similar proposed Queensview bridge. I took the transitway to the Tremblay Station (in the hole in front of VIA Rail Station). The formerly landscaped slopes around it have been clearcut for construction starting later this year of the realigned roadbed and new Confederation LRT Line station location … Continue reading Coventry Active Transportation Bridge (part i)

bike path, Bluesfest, Booth St, Confederation Line, cycling in Ottawa, design, LeBreton Flats, LRT, oc Transpo, Ottawa, sidewalks, surface water, walkways9 Comments

Ottawa’s LRT: Sifting Commercials for Info

Westsideaction

  The City has decided some time ago not to engage transit users for feedback on the design and use of its new LRT vehicles and stations.   Instead, users are stuck until they can “try out” a PR model of the new trains, or watch PR Videos cheerleading the project. At Lansdowne Park, a mock-up LRT vehicle reveals numerous shortcomings, from entanglement points, very hard seats, to the lack of footroom at some seats that will make winter riding uncomfortable  and exiting the window seats acrobatic enough to challenge cirque de soleil performers. It’s a shame these details are coming … Continue reading Ottawa’s LRT: Sifting Commercials for Info

bike path, bikewest, Confederation Line, design, LRT, NCC, ottawa river, parking, parks, pedestrians, planning, Portland13 Comments

Westward Ho ! (part iv) in which Fantasies come to the fore …

Westsideaction

  In the previous three stories I’ve tried to review what is planned, what some of the tradeoffs were, what the consequences area, and slip in just a teensey tiny wee bit of my opinion. So what would Eric do if faced with the same starting situation,  of the City insisting its Western LRT had to go down the parkway space; and the NCC insisting that people using transit is incompatible with their revised greenspace plan? (note I am not considering other completely different route options). The physical plan My goal going into the conflict would be to keep rail on … Continue reading Westward Ho ! (part iv) in which Fantasies come to the fore …

Bayview Station, condos, Confederation Line, design, LeBreton Flats, LRT, NCC, O-Train, pedestrians, Richmond road, sewage and drains, streetscaping, surface water, Trees9 Comments

Westward Ho ! (part iii) the curse of stations and transit users

Westsideaction

The Cleary Avenue end of the western LRT and motor expressway corridor is shown here:   The westbound trains enter the picture from the right, along the orange line. Cleary Station is shown in dark blue. The Unitarian Church and apartment building is shown a bit further west (left). The underground track alignment swings gently under the Unitarian parking lot to get out towards its (under) Richmond Road alignment. The swing out to Richmond will occur under a car repair shop and/or Kristy’s restaurant. These businesses will not remain in place during construction. Since dig-the-ditch-and-cover construction won’t start until 2017 … Continue reading Westward Ho ! (part iii) the curse of stations and transit users

bike path, Carling Ave, condos, Confederation Line, cycling in Ottawa, design, LRT, NCC, ottawa river, pedestrians, sewage and drains, streetscaping, surface water, walkways4 Comments

Westward ho ! (part ii) Western LRT along the parkway

Westsideaction

  Rochester Field, now to be a condo development site with a green corridor to the parkway along its western (left) edge, is shown on the above map just above the word Richmond [Road]. The new LRT line, in a shallow cut-and-cover tunnel, with the eastbound traffic lanes of the Ottawa River parkway piggybacking on top, is shown as a thick orangey line extending straight along the parkland. This kilometer-long straight section I find very alarming. The “Parkway” is already derisively known as the Ottawa River Commuter Expressway because of its current high volumes and speeds that rarely descend to the posted … Continue reading Westward ho ! (part ii) Western LRT along the parkway

design, Las Vegas, LRT, O-Train, oc Transpo, OLRT, Phoenix

Bus stop; Bus stop, part v; what happens on the bus stays on the bus

Westsideaction

Las Vegas is one big sprawling desert metropolis. Rapid transit such as LRT or subway is difficult to justify. Several monorail systems have been tried, but mostly they work to get riders from one casino to another of the same consortium, by-passing the casinos of competitors. And the routes go behind the buildings, away from the flashy strip where everyone wants to be. Casinos are all flash and fantasy; so is their rapid transit. If you can’t have trains, at least mock up the buses to look like trains. Funny thing is, just like the gaudy buildings are attractive (in … Continue reading Bus stop; Bus stop, part v; what happens on the bus stays on the bus

design, LeBreton Flats, LRT, O-Train, oc Transpo, OLRT, Portland, Seattle1 Comment

Bus stop; Bus stop, part iv: Seattle rapid transit bus stops

Westsideaction

Seattle appeared to have local bus services (blue) as well as express ones (red) that ran with more limited stops between neighbourhoods.  These Rapid routes made it easier to go long distances in a very spread out city (remember, most of its growth has been in the automobile era, and thus is sprawly). The Rapid routes had their own bus stops, with distinctive red branding. Electronic boards informed passengers when the next buses would arrive, and their destinations. The yellow box on the post is a fare card reader. In Ottawa, we buy a certain amount of time on the … Continue reading Bus stop; Bus stop, part iv: Seattle rapid transit bus stops

Confederation Line, design, LRT, O-Train, Seattle, Trillium Line

Bus stop Bus stop, part iii, LRT in Ottawa and Seattle, with videos

Westsideaction

  I trotted off for an evening walk and ended up at Lansdowne Park and presto [pardon the pun] there was the new Confederation Otrain. Sort of. Inside it looked very familiar: The deja vu all over again feeling was partially due to a flood of memories of using the Seattle LRT last year. Although Seattle has Korean-made equipment. With that in mind, let’s peek into a Seattle downtown station.   Their downtown station is used by diesel buses and the LRT. In the pic above, note the [indoor] escalator; the electric pick up lines suspended a few inches below the … Continue reading Bus stop Bus stop, part iii, LRT in Ottawa and Seattle, with videos

design, LeBreton Flats, oc Transpo, pedestrians, planning, Preston street5 Comments

Rare unplanned-for-event at the transit station …

Westsideaction

Readers of yesterday’s story might get the impression I was unenthused about the design of the Preston extension and LeBreton temporary transit station. You’d be right. Now we all know it snows in Ottawa. Sometimes a lot. So I am sure the planning boffins ran their fingers over the paved road shoulder “sidewalks” and the platforms at LeBreton Station and the walking required to get from platform to platform, or neighbourhood to platform. And then imagined how they  could be plowed. And then coordinated with the snow plow folks to ensure the stations and their access were plowed early, plowed … Continue reading Rare unplanned-for-event at the transit station …

design, LeBreton Flats, LRT, oc Transpo, Ottawa, pedestrians, Preston street, walkways5 Comments

Temporary transit station puts cars first, part 2

Westsideaction

Yesterday, we looked at the car-first infrastructure at the Lyon LRT station entrance. Money appears to be available to spend on cars, but not pedestrians, even when building transit infrastructure. This save-a-penny attitude, when it comes to pedestrians, prevails in the city’s rail implementation office. Down on the Flats, Preston was recently extended out to the War Museum. The extension is temporary. It is wise to be frugal when building throw-away infrastructure, as this road will be rolled up and trashed in two years. But the penny pinching didn’t include narrower car lanes. No siree, they are full width, and the … Continue reading Temporary transit station puts cars first, part 2

Confederation Line, design, LeBreton Flats, LRT, Lyon Street, O-Train, Ottawa, pedestrians, sidewalks, Transit5 Comments

Fostering transit by catering to cars (part 1)

Westsideaction

Too often I cringe in dismay at the 99% motorist-focus of our planning and engineering staff. Do [m]any of the staff and consultants working on the LRT stations actually use transit? I have been known to cause moments of embarrassment by asking at an OTrain planning meeting if any staff present have actually ridden the train. [answer: rarely]. It’s quite easy to tell the station planners don’t walk to stations. Ever. Or take transit to work anywhere else, for that matter. Here’s a small example of how even when building and designing a state-of-the-art rapid transit system (ie, the Confederation … Continue reading Fostering transit by catering to cars (part 1)

Claridge, design, intensificatioin, LeBreton Flats, NCC, Ottawa, parks, pedestrians, roads, sewage and drains, surface water, The Isles1 Comment

Building a Better LeBreton, part 9, Walking Portland’s SouthWaterfront streets

Westsideaction

  The South Waterfront neighbourhood is very well landscaped. Intensively landscaped, with interesting bits of planters, plants, gardens, courtyards, and squares tucked into the smallest corners. The contrast to Ottawa’s LeBreton Flats couldn’t be stronger. Some of this may be due to a milder climate in Oregon. Or a project that has had vegetation in the ground and growing for longer. Or maybe a much more generous budget for greenery. The Flats look good on paper, and on the ground the “right elements” are laid out, but the execution makes me wince and thus far is poorly maintained. The City has … Continue reading Building a Better LeBreton, part 9, Walking Portland’s SouthWaterfront streets

bike path, condos, cycling in Ottawa, design, intensificatioin, LeBreton Flats, Portland

Building LeBetter Flats, part 7, the view from Portland

Westsideaction

Portland, Oregon, is often referred to as a city that has gone further with “Smart Growth” than other cities. It promotes transit by train, streetcar, bike, and aerial tram. It has numerous award winning downtown parks and redevelopment sites. IMO, its planning reputation and branding sometimes exceeds its delivery. One site in particular is comparable to LeBreton Flats in terms of location (just outside the downtown core, on former industrial lands), although Portland’s South Waterfront is twice the area (402 acres vs NCC’s <200 acres). Portland’s has room to expand as it takes over adjacent industrial users; the NCC’s site … Continue reading Building LeBetter Flats, part 7, the view from Portland

condos, design, LeBreton Flats, Library, LRT, Ottawa, Trillium Line5 Comments

Building LeBetter Flats, part 6, The Sens again, with Plan B

Westsideaction

If all that overindulgence in food and sweets still permits, recall the story a short while ago about the Senators moving to LeBreton Flats.  https://www.westsideaction.ca/lebetter-flats-part-3-senators-go-marching/ As I pointed out then, it makes much more sense for a new hockey palace to go west of Preston rather than close to Booth. Reasons? It would be adjacent the major station (Bayview) where the east-west Confederation Line crosses the north-south Trillium line (formerly known as the OTrain). The Prince of Wales former railway bridge over to Gatineau is supposed to have a cantilevered bike and ped path on it by 2018, according to our … Continue reading Building LeBetter Flats, part 6, The Sens again, with Plan B

bike path, Booth St, Bronson, Carling-Preston CDP, Cdn War Museum, Claridge, design, intensificatioin, LeBreton Flats, The Isles3 Comments

Building LeBetter Flats, part 5, The Isles

Westsideaction

The projected build out of Albert and Chaudiere Islands * starts with the material already at hand, ie the existing buildings. The former brick and stone mill buildings will be converted to commercial uses, starting in 2015. These offer the quickest revenue opportunity for the developer, Windmill, and I imagine it is much easier to attract firms rather than condo residents. Particularly hi-tech-y firms which show a propensity to edgy industrial sites in other cities in part due to their often young employee age group and non-conventional self-image. The first buildings to be converted will most likely be on Albert … Continue reading Building LeBetter Flats, part 5, The Isles

Claridge, condos, design, green roofs, LeBreton Flats3 Comments

LeBetter Flats (part 1) Yellow, Brown … silver too

Westsideaction

The NCC’s current LeBreton Flats project comes in for a lot of criticism. I think it’s mostly drive-by criticism, with all the scatter gun impreciseness and alienation implied by the term. For some time now I ask people criticizing the yellow brick buildings on the Flats if they have actually walked around them. Naah. Couldn’t bother. We even had a prominent real estate developer criticize them at at community planning meeting and He hadn’t actually been out there. Talk about shoot from the lip. Here’s some pictures that show the buildings from the street and the grounds, but not from … Continue reading LeBetter Flats (part 1) Yellow, Brown … silver too

Bronson, design, pedestrians, road diet, sidewalks, streetscaping, traffic volume, Transit4 Comments

Traffic splitting in the Glebe

Westsideaction

Rescue Bronson was born a few years ago when the City decided to “improve” [for through motor traffic] Bronson north of the Queensway. Their plans did not include landscaping, traffic calming, fixing the jack rabbit stop-and-start flow or the frequent rapid lane changes. Pedestrians? Never heard of ’em. Cyclists — run ’em over til they go somewhere else. Rescue Bronson had limited success in correcting the City’s mania to facilitate commuting to Pointe Gatineau. We got better landscaping. A signalized intersection at Arlington where the unmarked crossing was heavily used by cyclists and pedestrians. Cost of relocating the utility poles … Continue reading Traffic splitting in the Glebe