Future Transit System Fantasy Ideas

[Aylmer]

I don't think I need to repeat it, but I'm thrilled that this is going forward. For major transit links, BRT can be a good stopgap when funding is tight, but at a time when funding is almost falling from the heavens, it'd be madness to refuse it. If Gatineau gets as much funding as Ottawa per capita, we should have more than $450M. Add to that the other 50% which is supposed to be covered by the province and it's $900M, more than enough.

It would set Gatineau on a very interesting path forward.

[lrt's friend]

Would they use the Interprovincial bridge or the Prince of Wales Bridge or both? One of the pictures shows a tramway next to the Museum of History. I am still hoping they will consider a tramway across through the Zibi development and a downtown circulator.

Perfect example of what comes around goes around. We had a tramway to Aylmer that they couldn't get rid of fast enough in 1947.

[Horus]

Originally Posted by Aylmer

I don't think I need to repeat it, but I'm thrilled that this is going forward. For major transit links, BRT can be a good stopgap when funding is tight, but at a time when funding is almost falling from the heavens, it'd be madness to refuse it. If Gatineau gets as much funding as Ottawa per capita, we should have more than $450M. Add to that the other 50% which is supposed to be covered by the province and it's $900M, more than enough.

It would set Gatineau on a very interesting path forward.

Not to try to have the same conversation on 2 different threads, but were there route proposals (maps?) associated with the forum last evening? I am also very interested in this proposal and hope that it can get some traction. Transit connectivity in the Western half of Gatineau is very difficult

[Uhuniau]

Originally Posted by lrt's friend

Would they use the Interprovincial bridge or the Prince of Wales Bridge or both? One of the pictures shows a tramway next to the Museum of History. I am still hoping they will consider a tramway across through the Zibi development and a downtown circulator.

A downtown circulator can only circulate if they get regular traffic out of a lot of regular traffic lanes, at least between morning peak start and evening peak end.

I'm cool with that, but I don't think the suburbanites and car-path afficianados who rule the roost in Ottawa would be.

[Aylmer]

There's no firm route - the entire point of the evening was to demonstrate that, with the help of federal dollars, we CAN build more than just bus lanes and paint.

Of course, the route that I'm pushing for would use the Alexandra Bridge as the main link with the possibility of using the PoW bridge for a future (low-floor/electric) Trillium Line extension to Rideau via PoW-Hull-Alexandra.

By re-converting the Alexandra Br to rail, we could effectively double interprovincial capacity and increase that bridge's capacity tenfold from about 1500 pphpd to over 15 000. We'd also remove hundreds of buses from Wellington and Rideau.

[rocketphish]

I didn't realize that this tramway idea has been kicking around for quite a while now:
https://onurbanism.wordpress.com/2013/04/22/on-the-tramway-an-update/

[Aylmer]

Much older, still: From 1978

But of course, until 1948, there was regular and well-used streetcar service (almost entirely separated from traffic) to Aylmer via the Alexandra Br. There's an old ad which touted a trip from the Chatrau Laurier to Queen's Park in 30 minutes and just 20 to Aylmer. Even by car, those travel times seem downright miraculous nowadays.

[Uhuniau]

Originally Posted by Aylmer

There's no firm route - the entire point of the evening was to demonstrate that, with the help of federal dollars, we CAN build more than just bus lanes and paint.

Of course, the route that I'm pushing for would use the Alexandra Bridge as the main link with the possibility of using the PoW bridge for a future (low-floor/electric) Trillium Line extension to Rideau via PoW-Hull-Alexandra.

By re-converting the Alexandra Br to rail, we could effectively double interprovincial capacity and increase that bridge's capacity tenfold from about 1500 pphpd to over 15 000. We'd also remove hundreds of buses from Wellington and Rideau.

Maybe a new terminus could be built as part of the Chateau Laurier expansion.

[White Pine]

I think it would be neat to have a circular route, have it go down wellington, then up the Alexandra Bridge, then back down through Zibi.

[roger1818]

Originally Posted by Uhuniau

A downtown circulator can only circulate if they get regular traffic out of a lot of regular traffic lanes, at least between morning peak start and evening peak end.

I'm cool with that, but I don't think the suburbanites and car-path afficianados who rule the roost in Ottawa would be.

I would argue that most suburbanites would support getting a downtown circulator out of regular traffic lanes between start of AM peak and end of PM peak as most suburbanites who go downtown weekdays use transit. Its the politicians and senior bureaucrats, who can afford weekday parking (or have it paid for by taxpayers), who will will be against it. The problem is they are the ones in control.

[Guideway]

Yes, I know im going a bit to far in the details, but maybe they should use the same styled alstom citadis spirit as the one running on the confederation line? It isn't a style that is based on ottawa... The maple leaf is canadian, so it would also work in gatineau...
Again, it depends who will be operating this line.

[JM1]

I still think the best way to connect Ottawa and Gatineau would be by aerial gondolas over the river. It would be easy to connect pimisi to Zibi to portage to Montcalm. Likewise, it would be easy to connect Rideau centre to rapidbus by crossing next to Alexandra bridge to the rapidbus off allumetieres (with a stop next to the museum of civilization). Further out, I might connect st Laurent mall to monte paiement rapidbus with stops at Montreal road and the new CFB development.

[Horus]

Originally Posted by Guideway

Yes, I know im going a bit to far in the details, but maybe they should use the same styled alstom citadis spirit as the one running on the confederation line? It isn't a style that is based on ottawa... The maple leaf is canadian, so it would also work in gatineau...
Again, it depends who will be operating this line.

I'm pretty sure that what has been proposed would be an STO-operated line. They could certainly use the same type of vehicles, but they do not have to look identical to Confederation line stock.

If, as someone up the thread suggested, they were able to extend STO LRT/Tram across the Alexandra bridge to the existing Chateau Laurier carriage house (presumably with an underground pedestrian link to Rideau Station) and, as was also suggested, interlined through Hull with Trillium line over the POW bridge, it would make for an easy visual cue to have the vehicles in different paint schemes.

[Aylmer]

You could quite easily run the same (or at least compatible) vehicles. The pictures are just pictures.

[Guideway]

Wait, so the PoW track will be a different line then the proposed hull line?

[lrt's friend]

Until we have a fully compatible fare payment system, trains operated by STO would have to have a different paint scheme. I would love to see blue fleur de lis with a sprinkling of small red maple leaves. It could look really cool.

This tells us that electronic fare integration should be a priority. I have lived in Ottawa all my life and have never been on a STO Bus and now with Presto, it makes it that much more unlikely because the lack of full compatibility.

[Guideway]

Originally Posted by lrt's friend

Until we have a fully compatible fare payment system, trains operated by STO would have to have a different paint scheme. I would love to see blue fleur de lis with a sprinkling of small red maple leaves. It could look really cool.

I agree! That would be pretty neat!

[trhgr]

A lot of people focus on transit between Gatineau and Ottawa, or form the East and West suburbs to the core. Fair enough. As a centretown resident, I would like to have more local-ish downtown lines.
Most people in centretown live south of Laurier and north of Catherine between Bronson/preston and The Canal. However, buses mostly go on Wellington, Slater/Albert, Bank, Catherine and Glastone. I'd be happy to see lines running on Laurier (without going to the rideau centre), on Somerset W (east of Bank Street) and on Queen Elizabeth. And why not local lines that run between Preston and The Canal, on Gladstone, Somerset or Laurier.
My 2 cents.

[lrt's friend]

Originally Posted by trhgr

A lot of people focus on transit between Gatineau and Ottawa, or form the East and West suburbs to the core. Fair enough. As a centretown resident, I would like to have more local-ish downtown lines.
Most people in centretown live south of Laurier and north of Catherine between Bronson/preston and The Canal. However, buses mostly go on Wellington, Slater/Albert, Bank, Catherine and Glastone. I'd be happy to see lines running on Laurier (without going to the rideau centre), on Somerset W (east of Bank Street) and on Queen Elizabeth. And why not local lines that run between Preston and The Canal, on Gladstone, Somerset or Laurier.
My 2 cents.

You need to address the strongest travel desire lines. For most centretown residents, a route that gets you to the Rideau Centre is the most important destination. I doubt that the NCC will allow buses onto the Queen Elizabeth Driveway and street patterns and widths may make it difficult to apply what you are suggesting. Gladstone does not run all the way to the Canal, and Somerset east of Bank becomes less and less a significant through street and increasingly residential.

[McC]

The 14 gets you from Preston to pretty close to the Canal at Elgin and Gladstone, and even closer at Elgin and Laurier.

Buses would not work well on Laurier because of the bike lanes. Bad enough that some deadheading buses use Laurier (and turn right onto Kent: scary!)