Category: Western LRT

Western LRT2 Comments

WLRT Stations, part ii, Cleary and New Orchard

Westsideaction

  Cleary Station and New Orchard Station are both walk-in local-area stations. They will also offer the wider public access to the river front. The stations are very different: one is sunlit, the other is unlit. The Cleary Station will be located at the western end of the very expensive shallow tunnel being constructed by the City starting behind The Keg Manor and Coolican Building. The new station is primarily a local (minor) station to serve adjacent neighbourhoods. To meet NCC requirements, the platforms will be underground in the tunnel section (only people who drive motor cars shall be permitted … Continue reading WLRT Stations, part ii, Cleary and New Orchard

Western LRT3 Comments

WLRT Stations, part i, Westboro and Dominion

Westsideaction

First up: Westboro Station, then the new Dominion Station. One sees major change, the other very little. Westboro Station gets no love. The City’s newest reveal of the details for the Western extension of the Confederation Line LRT has only the scantiest mention of Westboro. It will be rebuilt in the style of the other Confederation line stations, with improved Scott Street frontage and improved access for people who walk or cycle. No further illustration or details are warranted, so they aren’t in the plan unveiling. There is more info for Dominion Station. Currently a collection of bus stops where … Continue reading WLRT Stations, part i, Westboro and Dominion

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, LRT, NCC, ottawa river, planning, roads, Transit, Trees, Western LRT5 Comments

Westward ho ! (part i)

Westsideaction

So the NCC and the City came to an understanding for routing the western LRT beyond Dominion Station. It’s time to go beyond the headline coverage. Let’s parse that agreement, and see what’s there and what isn’t. The basic concept: the LRT will extend west from Dominion along the Ottawa River Parkway (ORP) to Cleary Avenue where it will transition southwards to follow the Richmond Road corridor. Instead of being pushed up close to the southern edge of the parkway lands, close to some developed parcels, the LRT will now run roughly down the centre of the space, halfway between … Continue reading Westward ho ! (part i)

LeBreton Flats, LRT, NCC, Ottawa, Western LRT8 Comments

How intrusive will WLRT wiring be along the parkway?

Westsideaction

On a recent visit to Toronto, I made a point of noticing overhead electric wiring for streetcars. My general memory of streetcar wiring was situations like the one pictured above, a spagetti heap of wiring over an intersection. Of course, such situations occur when different streetcar lines meet. And for the Ottawa case, the LRT is a single line with no branches or loops or turnoffs, so wiring situations like the above just won’t be here [yes, there will be a spur line off to the maintenance yard, and in a few cases parallel tracks to store trains, but these … Continue reading How intrusive will WLRT wiring be along the parkway?

Western LRT8 Comments

Do property values drop beside rapid transit?

Westsideaction

People seldom praise the City for actions that might raise their property values. In this case, they might even complain that rising values will push their taxes up. People are much quicker to complain that City actions will hurt, destroy, ruin, or otherwise negatively affect property values. Such was the cry at a Western LRT meeting. Surely building an LRT in that particular neighbourhood would cause incredible property value losses. These weren’t just the folks living near a surface LRT bit either. Those who would be expensively shielded by placing the LRT in a tunnel complained the construction disruption would … Continue reading Do property values drop beside rapid transit?

Richmond road, Westboro, Western LRT8 Comments

Western LRT (part iii): neighbourhoods with room to grow?

Westsideaction

The transitway is being converted to LRT in order to increase capacity. It will haul more people sometimes for shortish distances, but mostly for longish, or regional  hauls. It is difficult to satisfy the long haul user and the short trip user on the same system. That’s why we have local bus routes, cross town routes, express routes to the suburbs, and high frequency express services on the transitway. As the LRT goes west from Tunney’s Pasture, the City is keeping a close eye on redevelopment potential along the route, as it is development charges that will paying for the … Continue reading Western LRT (part iii): neighbourhoods with room to grow?