Well I bet that one of the reasons Gatineau is only considering the surface option is that they will want Ottawa to pay more of a portion for the construction of the tunnel
.
I don't necessarily think that's the case though. And I really hate to say it
(because we honestly study the fuck out of everything infrastructure in Canada) but I think that a small study should be made on the future extension of the Gatineau line in Ottawa with both the at-grade street integrated version and how a tunneled extension eastwards would look.
I am confident that we possess the technological means to achieve an eastward tunnel.
I think that the
alignment with no vehicular traffic on Wellington street won't be realized because it looks like Wellington is a main vehicular street that connects people from Gatineau to downtown Ottawa. You won't be able to win with the voters over with
that particular alignment since you are funneling a large proportion of vehicular traffic into Bay Street and Lyon street. Wellington street is not going to become Sparks street because it is too vital for vehicle traffic.
However I would be pleasantly surprised if the governments decided otherwise.
If you want an example of good city-scaping, Victoria's Government street surrounding the harbour is a great example of beautifying an important heritage area. It needs a better upgrade now but at the moment it still handles higher tourist numbers very well.
When it comes to revitalizing streets: there is nothing stopping the city of Ottawa from widening sidewalks, installing protected bike lanes, or adding more greenery to Wellington street to breathe new life into it that is more pedestrian friendly. Beautification does not need to be driven by a transit expansion.
Urban beautification should only be a valued
by-product of transit development; not the focus.
Transit development should be convenient and reliable before all else. An LRT system sharing the road with vehicular traffic on an extremely busy arterial in Ottawa diminishes the point of transit since you can still have traffic jams that interfere with the LRT system (if it's integrated with traffic). By tunneling the Gatineau LRT in Ottawa, you not only avoid a busy arterial but you can also connect it directly with the O-Train's underground stations, making the system even more valuable and versatile.
My opinion on this is completely contingent upon how each option would be able to get extended further east though as I can definitely see how it could be easier to extend a surface line east. Although with both options, it would get messy around the Murray/St.Patricks/Alexandra bridge. And I am still adamant that an extended tunnel heading east of Parliament station shouldn't be written off so easily.
For the record: I am all about designing cities for people, not cars. However I just can't deny the existence of predominant vehicle traffic and its place within a city.