Are existing Ottawa River bridges really at capacity? We traditionally measure capacity in vehicles carried, and by this measure some bridges are very busy. But if we measure capacity by people carried, the story changes. Typically, in North America, bridges … Continue reading No new bridges til we use the old ones first
At last week’s transit committee meeting I gather the City announced it will continue to run buses through the downtown on Albert and Slater for three weeks after the LRT opens. Alas, there were no other details released about this … Continue reading Buses and LRT at the same time, surely not !
This is a blog about the West side of the downtown, not the East. But I cannot resist a few comments on the proposed East stations. They are so dismaying. First, I remain appalled that the City decided to run … Continue reading Confederation Line’s new East stations Dismay
Lincoln Fields is a major transfer station on the transitway and will in the future be a major transfer point from LRT Confederation Line to buses serving the further west end neighbourhoods. Here is an aerial view of the station … Continue reading Phase 2 Lincoln Fields, west, and south stations
Last Friday, the City revealed its detailed plans and costing estimates for the expansion of the Confederation Line east and west, and rebuilding the Trillium Line to a higher standard while extending its length southwards. As part of the show, … Continue reading New West Side transit stations revealled
The City is planning to expand the OTrain Line 2 (Trillium Line) south as part of light rail, phase 2. Due to the length of the line, and the expense, and that it may have less passenger traffic at the … Continue reading OTrain Line 2, new options
OC Transpo has put up schematics for all the stations. These illustrations are like sandwiches and somewhat difficult for the non-geek to interpret. You can find them all here: http://www.octranspo.com/ready4rail/my_station http://www.octranspo.com/ready4rail/my_station I recommend you not to try to read … Continue reading Wayfinding for the Bayview and Pimisi stations
For the past several years OC Transpo has been reorganizing the city’s bus routes into a more rigorous grid pattern. The grid pattern is in accord with the standard international practice of replacing meandering every-point-to-every-point bus routes common to smaller … Continue reading New Confederation-era bus routes
Rumours can be fun to hear. Even when they are highly unlikely. Sometimes the most improbable ones become accepted wisdom or folklore, especially when they tap into partisan or subliminal emotions or confirm existing biases. When I first went to … Continue reading Wet Feet in the LRT tunnel?
The City recently announced some more OC Transpo route changes. Most significantly to readers here at WestSideAction, “local” bus services from the west side will no longer travel right through the downtown; nor will east side bus services travel through … Continue reading Short Cuts at OCTranspo
After months being babysat in the trench out near Tunney’s, the stranded Confederation line train has become busy. I spent a chunk of time on Wednesday watching the train testing the system between Tunney’s Pasture and Pimisi (formerly LeBreton) Station. Here are some shots of the train approaching Bayview Station from the west (ie, coming from Tunney’s): And here are some photos of the train at the passenger platform inside Bayview Station. These photos are taken from the Albert Street overpass: Leaving Bayview, heading down the slope to cross the Flats towards Pimisi: Crossing the Flats, headed towards … Continue reading Train spotting, west side style
OK, so having said some nice things about OC Transpo shelters, it’s back to griping again. Taking the Trillium O-Train Line (aka route Number 2, aka the Green Line) through Carleton U one is struck by the just-OK collection of … Continue reading The rail Stations that didn’t quite make it … and one that will
Albert-Scott Interim alignment, west from Champagne Avenue Open house 11 Dec 2017 at Tom Brown arena, 6pm to 8.30pm This story is mostly aimed at those citizens who are keen on city planning and the details of what is planned … Continue reading Scott Street interim alignment meeting Dec 11
I noticed a few changes to some Ottawa bus stops. Mostly to the good. Kudos to OC Transpo. Here’s an existing stop on the transitway in the downtown. Notice the draft gap below the glass. And all across the upper … Continue reading Improved Bus Stops
This is part iii of a series on downtown bus routes once the Confederation Line opens in 2018. Part i was on STO routes. Part ii was aimed at understanding what OC Transpo is trying to achieve with the new bus … Continue reading OC Transpo bus routes in the downtown, 2018 version
So, having seen in Part i, what is planned (subject to change) for STO buses in downtown Ottawa once the Confederation Line LRT opens in or around August 2018 … let’s look at the OC Transpo routes. These OC Transpo … Continue reading Buses in the downtown in LRT era, part ii, OC Transpo
The City is hosting an “open house” on Tuesday (Nov 28, 5.30pm onwards ) to show their plans for the future Albert and Slater Streets between Empress (the Good Companions) and Waller (Rideau Centre, UOttawa U). Here are some things … Continue reading West Side Transportation Cornucopia, part viii – Albert-Slater alert
Let’s look at that confusing stretch of road between Bayview Avenue and City Centre Avenue. Legally known as Albert Street, many folks persist in calling it Scott Street (which only runs west of Bayview). It’s a bleak and uninviting bit … Continue reading West Side Transportation Cornucopia, part vi – Bayview Station overpass
There are so many transportation bits and pieces related to the west side I’m just going to throw a whole bunch of stories up in the air like confetti, and you’ll have to try to figure out if what lands … Continue reading West Side Transportation Cornucopia, part i
As west side portions of the Confederation Line advance in construction, more fall landscaping is going in, like these trees planted on the north side of Bayview Station: I vaguely recall that the terms of the NCC lending the rail … Continue reading Confederation Line Forest
After years of seeing Photoshop planning drool shots of LRT equipment at downtown stations… … one LRT almost made it. Shown here is a LRT at Campus Station earlier this week, immediately east of the downtown. The Campus Station itself … Continue reading LRT spotted almost downtown
Recall that Booth Street between Albert Street and Wellington Street (out by the War Museum) was rebuilt with a grand overpass over the new LRT line. Before it was built, the design was hotly contested by local communities and advocacy … Continue reading Fixing the Booth Freeway fiasco
It is a delight to see the new Bayview and Pimisi Stations taken more “user friendly” shape with the erection of steel framework for the passenger facilities. The stations will signal to the wider community that rail transit is coming … Continue reading Colourful effort
Picture standing on a rail platform in some interesting place. Off in the distance is the tunnel portal where the train appears. It is a pleasant and amusing scene that caught everyone’s attention on this platform. above: Varenna station, Italy. Do … Continue reading See the train coming out of the tunnel? Maybe not.
The west portal of the new downtown transit tunnel is on LeBreton Flats, immediately west of Bronson. For two years, looking down from Commissioner Street into the excavation revealed only a steep slope going down underground. It was a road, … Continue reading Building a tunnel from the outside in
