Brian Coburn Boulevard Extension | Proposed

[J.OT13]

I'm realizing now that maybe I don't understand the full extent of this deal.

So the City wanted:

- Two lane Transitway;
- Four vehicle lanes connecting to a future Hunt-Club/Walkley extension;
- An MUP.

What did the City get exactly?

[Tesladom]

2 Lanes, exactly the same capacity as current Renaud Road, just bypassing the residential area.

[Lakeofthewood]

Originally Posted by Tesladom

2 Lanes, exactly the same capacity as current Renaud Road, just bypassing the residential area.

It seems like it includes some transit priority measures on Navan and HOV lanes on Innes too?

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by Tesladom

2 Lanes, exactly the same capacity as current Renaud Road, just bypassing the residential area.

Thanks. That alone should be a huge improvement over the 90 degree turns and having to deal with the stop sign through that neighborhood, which really backs things up.

[rocketphish]

Originally Posted by Lakeofthewood

It seems like it includes some transit priority measures on Navan and HOV lanes on Innes too?

That's part of the The Blackburn Hamlet Bypass / Innes Road Transit Priority Measures, which were split off into their own project, separate from the Brian Coburn Extension:
https://ottawa.ca/en/city-hall/publi...c-a7d076a65a56

[TransitZilla]

Originally Posted by rocketphish

That's part of the The Blackburn Hamlet Bypass / Innes Road Transit Priority Measures, which were split off into their own project, separate from the Brian Coburn Extension:
https://ottawa.ca/en/city-hall/publi...c-a7d076a65a56

Yes, but that was also part of the City/NCC deal.

https://ottawa.ca/en/city-hall/city-...ation-east-end

Having a separate MUP along Innes between Blair and Blackburn Hamlet should be a significant cycling improvement. The current unprotected/floating bike lanes on a 80km/hr road are pretty scary.

[rocketphish]

Originally Posted by TransitZilla

Yes, but that was also part of the City/NCC deal.

https://ottawa.ca/en/city-hall/city-...ation-east-end

Having a separate MUP along Innes between Blair and Blackburn Hamlet should be a significant cycling improvement. The current unprotected/floating bike lanes on a 80km/hr road are pretty scary.

I'm reading between the lines and envisioning that the deal may actually be something like this:

[2015]
Ottawa: We want your land to build a Transitway.
NCC: No.

[2020]
Ottawa: We need your land to build a Transitway.
NCC: No.

[2023]
Ottawa: Waaah! But we want to extend Brian Coburn Rd to bypass that dogleg on Renaud Rd!
NCC: Fine. We'll trade you the land you need to extend Brian Coburn Rd for the current Renaud Rd, and you pay to revert it to a natural state, as long as you agree that it will remain a 2-lane road.
Ottawa: But we also want to put Transit lanes on Brian Coburn.
NCC: Not gonna happen. Take this deal or stuff it.
Ottawa: But we need to make it seem like this is actually a benefit for Orleans residents!
NCC: OK, then we can write up a joint press release and mention your existing transit priority measures on Innes Rd and Navan Rd... you know, to make it seem like it was part of the plan all along.
Ottawa: Deal. Phew, thanks man. I owe you one.

[hwy418]

Originally Posted by TransitZilla

Having a separate MUP along Innes between Blair and Blackburn Hamlet should be a significant cycling improvement. The current unprotected/floating bike lanes on a 80km/hr road are pretty scary.

Agreed. Bikes should not be on 80 km/h (100 km/h design speed) urban roads - even if there are cycle tracks as they would be within the clear zone.

IMO, peds and bikes should be on MUPs no closer than 3m from the closest travel lane for all roads posted 70 km/h or above. This is supported in OTM Book 18.

[daud]

Originally Posted by hwy418

...a direct connection from Brian Coburn to Walkley via the hydro corridor almost makes too much sense! I work with the guy who was the City's project manager for that study and he said the NCC wouldn't allow it... sensitive grasses I guess! I'm in Chapel Hill and my old office was located off Hunt Club near Bank. There were many east-enders who commuted to the south end.

could not agree more. Its so obvious, just looking at a map and it distributes traffic coming from/to orleans along another corridor. Walkley is also not overly busy in the east end during peak periods.

[Harley613]

The worst part is that that it's inevitable it will connect to Walkley in 10+ years. The city is not going to stop growing. We could do it right now in today's dollars, or do a half measure today only to rip it up later and do the full measure in tomorrow's dollars. This is the Ottawa way. Four levels of government is crippling. The NCC strikes again!!!!

[Tesladom]

Originally Posted by hwy418

Agreed. Bikes should not be on 80 km/h (100 km/h design speed) urban roads - even if there are cycle tracks as they would be within the clear zone.

Actually, there is a sign that directs the bikes to take old Innes Road when approaching the bypass. Although the use bikes is not banned, the signage points them to use the road through Blackburn Hamlet

[Fading Isle]

Originally Posted by Tesladom

Actually, there is a sign that directs the bikes to take old Innes Road when approaching the bypass. Although the use bikes is not banned, the signage points them to use the road through Blackburn Hamlet

Innes between Blair Road and Blackburn Hamlet is 80. There are painted bike lanes along that stretch, but it's a terrifying place to bike and gets very little use because of that. I frequently see people who are either on their phones, driving large trucks or who are just bad at driving, constantly veering into those bike lanes.

[FrostyMug]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

Yeah, I think the issue with Brian Couburn is the spots with stop signs, at least in my experience. Same issue with Renaud Road. I would hope the City built the Transitway instead of widening Brian Coburn (and removed the stop signs), give people an alternative to driving.

While the Transitway would be nice here's the problem. The Transitway is focused on delivering riders to the LRT and downtown. There are many, many people who live in Orleans and work in the south end of the city. A rapid bus route going downtown or north to the LRT is of little value. As someone who commuted for 20 years to the S Ottawa business park I could be at work in 30 to 40 minutes most days. Bus was a couple of hours so just not an option. In order for mass transit to be a realistic option there need to be routes that run directly from Orleans to the south end.

I don't like the option of adding lanes either but when everything is focused on going downtown (and even the planned Brian Coburn extension feeds to Innes) this problem is not going to go away until there is a way to access South Ottawa and the 417 from Orleans without going halfway to Russell or using already at capacity routes like Innes and the 174.

[hwy418]

Originally Posted by FrostyMug

While the Transitway would be nice here's the problem. The Transitway is focused on delivering riders to the LRT and downtown. There are many, many people who live in Orleans and work in the south end of the city. A rapid bus route going downtown or north to the LRT is of little value. As someone who commuted for 20 years to the S Ottawa business park I could be at work in 30 to 40 minutes most days. Bus was a couple of hours so just not an option. In order for mass transit to be a realistic option there need to be routes that run directly from Orleans to the south end.

I don't like the option of adding lanes either but when everything is focused on going downtown (and even the planned Brian Coburn extension feeds to Innes) this problem is not going to go away until there is a way to access South Ottawa and the 417 from Orleans without going halfway to Russell or using already at capacity routes like Innes and the 174.

For sure - direct connection of Brian Coburn to Walkey Road would be THE solution. They should cancel the planned Hunt Club Extension to Innes Rd as it wouldn't offer any value with the planned widening of the 417 to three lanes per direction there.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by hwy418

For sure - direct connection of Brian Coburn to Walkey Road would be THE solution. They should cancel the planned Hunt Club Extension to Innes Rd as it wouldn't offer any value with the planned widening of the 417 to three lanes per direction there.

The way is already almost entirely clear of trees as well, as a hydro corridor runs along the entire route basically.