Albert/Slater-Mackenzie King Improvement Project

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by SL123

Technically unrelated to the Slayte but I cant believe they are completely redoing Slater St and not burying the hydro and removing the poles from the sidewalk.

I'm unclear about the project. Have they/are they digging up Albert and Slater, replacing the utilities, or is is just a surface layout improvement?

I would assume they rebuilt Albert and Slater in the 80s or 90s for the Transitway, so replacing the century old infra would have been done at the time? Or maybe not since they were planning a tunnel at the time.

[Glenlivet Ave]

From the city of Ottawa’s website:https://ottawa.ca/en/city-hall/publi...c-24080e7dad82

Construction schedule

During the 2023 construction season, the project will focus on the following:

Albert Street, between Bronson Avenue and Bay Street: Complete surface works including new curbs, sidewalks, cycle tracks, bus stop, road construction and paving

Slater Street, between Bronson Avenue and Bay Street: Complete the remaining storm sewer installation and connect into the Bay Street intersection, complete surface works including new curbs, sidewalks, cycle tracks, bus stop, signalized intersection at Bay, road construction and paving

Albert Street, between Empress and Bronson avenues: Complete underground infrastructure replacement including sanitary sewer, storm sewer and watermain replacement as well as surface works including new curbs, sidewalks, cycle tracks, two eastbound bus stops, signalized intersection at Empress, road construction and paving

Slater Street, between Empress and Bronson avenues: Complete road realignment including new curbs, sidewalks, and cycle tracks
Bronson Avenue, between Laurier Avenue West and Slater Street: Complete the minor widening of Bronson to allow for a wider sidewalk, the installation of the watermain and surface works including new curbs, sidewalks, road construction and paving

Bronson Avenue, between Albert and Queen streets: Complete underground infrastructure replacement including storm sewer, sanitary sewer and watermain.
Queen Street, between Bronson Avenue and Bay Street: Begin the installation of storm sewer and sanitary sewer

This work began in the spring of 2022 and is to be completed by late 2024.

[OTownandDown]

So if my calculations are correct, this is going to take at least EIGHT YEARS to finish Albert and Slater across downtown?

Originally Posted by Glenlivet Ave

From the city of Ottawa’s website:https://ottawa.ca/en/city-hall/publi...c-24080e7dad82

Construction schedule

During the 2023 construction season, the project will focus on the following:

Albert Street, between Bronson Avenue and Bay Street: Complete surface works including new curbs, sidewalks, cycle tracks, bus stop, road construction and paving

Slater Street, between Bronson Avenue and Bay Street: Complete the remaining storm sewer installation and connect into the Bay Street intersection, complete surface works including new curbs, sidewalks, cycle tracks, bus stop, signalized intersection at Bay, road construction and paving

Albert Street, between Empress and Bronson avenues: Complete underground infrastructure replacement including sanitary sewer, storm sewer and watermain replacement as well as surface works including new curbs, sidewalks, cycle tracks, two eastbound bus stops, signalized intersection at Empress, road construction and paving

Slater Street, between Empress and Bronson avenues: Complete road realignment including new curbs, sidewalks, and cycle tracks
Bronson Avenue, between Laurier Avenue West and Slater Street: Complete the minor widening of Bronson to allow for a wider sidewalk, the installation of the watermain and surface works including new curbs, sidewalks, road construction and paving

Bronson Avenue, between Albert and Queen streets: Complete underground infrastructure replacement including storm sewer, sanitary sewer and watermain.
Queen Street, between Bronson Avenue and Bay Street: Begin the installation of storm sewer and sanitary sewer

This work began in the spring of 2022 and is to be completed by late 2024.

[zzptichka]

Bike lanes taking shape. Wide sidewalks are nice. Too bad no trees though.

BTW are we not burying utility poles here? Boo.

[UrbOttawa]

Originally Posted by zzptichka

BTW are we not burying utility poles here? Boo.

I don't have any actual information, but I recall with Elgin that the street was basically complete when they took down the old hydro poles, so maybe there's still hope?

[roger1818]

Originally Posted by UrbOttawa

I don't have any actual information, but I recall with Elgin that the street was basically complete when they took down the old hydro poles, so maybe there's still hope?

I was thinking the same thing. The other thing is, are they replacing the services or is this just a surface renewal?

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by zzptichka

Bike lanes taking shape. Wide sidewalks are nice. Too bad no trees though.

BTW are we not burying utility poles here? Boo.

Nice canopy of trees on the side with the hydro wires, nothing on the side with no wires, and a park. Yeah, strange choice. That park needs some work.

Still unclear if they are just changing the layout or if this came with new underground infra (I assume they would have updated in the 80s and 90s with the Transitway, but also, maybe not if they canceled the tunnel plan).

Buries hydro wires needs to be the standard nowadays.

[LRTeverywhere]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

Nice canopy of trees on the side with the hydro wires, nothing on the side with no wires, and a park. Yeah, strange choice. That park needs some work.

Still unclear if they are just changing the layout or if this came with new underground infra (I assume they would have updated in the 80s and 90s with the Transitway, but also, maybe not if they canceled the tunnel plan).

Buries hydro wires needs to be the standard nowadays.

Project does involve new underground infra, believe it was mostly finished changing it last year and earlier this summer, so finishing surface works now.

Hydro wires not being buried in this project.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by LRTeverywhere

Project does involve new underground infra, believe it was mostly finished changing it last year and earlier this summer, so finishing surface works now.

Hydro wires not being buried in this project.

Disappointing...

[J.OT13]

Block in front of Moon is complete.

[J.OT13]

From Harley613 on Skyrise:


https://skyrisecities.com/forum/thre...son-ave.37787/

[Kitchissippi]

I was riding my bike through there yesterday and it's a vast improvement from what was there before. I was heading into downtown and got to Bronson and thought, "oh, where's that climb?" I certainly won't miss that weird step curve where you had to navigate two signals at the top.

[lrt's friend]

Originally Posted by Kitchissippi

I was riding my bike through there yesterday and it's a vast improvement from what was there before. I was heading into downtown and got to Bronson and thought, "oh, where's that climb?" I certainly won't miss that weird step curve where you had to navigate two signals at the top.

It seems to me that I saw a historic picture of Laurier Avenue going down Nanny Goat Hill many, many years ago. Can you imagine trying to pedal up that slope?

Actually, it never was a real street, but it was considered in the 1920s and 1930s. Have a read https://www.newspapers.com/article/t...t-s/142350776/

And then somebody tried to drive down the hill https://www.newspapers.com/article/t...r-d/142350915/ There is another story of a horse and buggy successfully negotiating the hill without overturning.

[AuxTown]

The realignment plus the presence of the library itself really improves the urban feel in this block. The LRT station ALMOST feels "urban". Can't wait for Dream to get going on their towers.

[OTownandDown]

Those are really interesting articles! I often thought that was also a risk for the people living in the house at the end of Primrose. There's a couple of bollards but if you really tried you could probably go for a ride down the stairs with your car.

Are there any plans for the series of old and sketchy retaining walls now that the road is no longer required? I'm looking at the 'nanny goat hill' walls aligned with Laurier, and now the Slater concrete wall as well.

Who will re-grade the embankment before the retaining walls fail?

Originally Posted by lrt's friend

It seems to me that I saw a historic picture of Laurier Avenue going down Nanny Goat Hill many, many years ago. Can you imagine trying to pedal up that slope?

Actually, it never was a real street, but it was considered in the 1920s and 1930s. Have a read https://www.newspapers.com/article/t...t-s/142350776/

And then somebody tried to drive down the hill https://www.newspapers.com/article/t...r-d/142350915/ There is another story of a horse and buggy successfully negotiating the hill without overturning.

[lrt's friend]

The previous Slater alignment opened only in 1952, a direct result of the opening of the MacKenzie-King Bridge, allowing Albert and Slater to become a pair of one-way streets and a new east-west route across downtown. Before 1952, Slater ended at Bronson, and Albert was a two way street and a streetcar route.

[Harley613]

Here is what it looked like before 1952

[J.OT13]

Some Nanny Goat Hill history on Urbsite:

https://urbsite.blogspot.com/2015/08...t-renewed.html

[lrt's friend]

Originally Posted by Harley613

Here is what it looked like before 1952

You can really see the Laurier corridor in this photo (1928 I believe) and why they were considering cutting down the cliffside to make it a through street. Blowing up the photo, you can see that there was only a walking trail going up the hillside. It must have been a tough walk.

[Richard Eade]

I didn’t immediately see which road was which, so I overlayed the new road network on the old image. I thought that I’d post it here, in case it helps others.



Things to note:

• Wellington and Sparks used to overpass Bronson, but you could access Queen from Bronson.
• Laurier was the road that connected, in a pretty straight line, to the angled extension of Albert. [Was that section called Laurier up to its intersection with Albert?]
• The LRT follows the old Wellington alignment until it turns under Queen.
• It was the Federal Government which added the Portage Bridge, thus dumping lots of traffic in front of the Parliament Buildings.