Confederation Line (Stage 1) | In Service 1.0

[1overcosc]

Originally Posted by lrt's friend

I wonder if they are attempting to get this opened for 2017. Obviously, a lot of things will have to go right and it is way too premature to make any sort of announcement but it would be a big feather in Jim Watson's hat if this were to happen.

So far every step seems to be happening 3-4 months earlier than scheduled. Given the expected opening in May 2018, 2017 is a bit much but an early opening in February or so might be in the cards.

[MoreTrains]

Im going to make a giant leap in thinking, but it is possible that the date given to the public is 2018, so as not to dissappoint if somethine catastrophic happens (Like the east portal collapse), and the date that the city is trying to get is in 2017, I mean why else hire the RTG who has a really good record of months early completions and under budget?

[bartlebooth]

I walked by the Scotiabank on Rideau this evening and the building is starting to come down.

[MoreTrains]

Originally Posted by bartlebooth

I walked by the Scotiabank on Rideau this evening and the building is starting to come down.

I hope the replacement is better looking... maybe some brick? Or White Limestone facade? With nice crenelations and detail.

[J.OT13]

I'd be happy with the original Rideau Station concept revealed in December 2012.

[MoreTrains]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

I'd be happy with the original Rideau Station concept revealed in December 2012.

Yeah... I would be aswell, but that concept is making the assumption it hasnt been scaled back...

[rocketphish]

Get ready for more downtown congestion: Lane reductions on Scott and Albert Streets start today

Drake Fenton, Otawa Citizen
Published on: January 26, 2015, Last Updated: January 26, 2015 9:40 AM EST

Starting today, getting around downtown gets a tad more difficult.

Lane reductions are now in effect on Scott Street for the next month, and on Albert Street for…the next year. Here’s how it will alter your commute.
Scott Street

The city says for the next month traffic will be reduced to one lane in either direction between Merton Street and Bayview Road.

According to the city, the reductions are in place for sewer and sanitary construction work.

Thankfully, transit stops will not be altered along the Scott Street section.
Albert Street

Traffic lanes on Albert will be cut down to one lane in both directions between Rochester Street and Empress Avenue, including the busy Booth and Albert intersection.

Here’s the bad news: These reductions are going to be in place until the end of 2015.

The good news: The reductions are in place to accommodate work being done on the Confederation Line, which eventually, will (hopefully) make our commuting lives much better.
What this means

The city says the OC Transpo westbound stop at Booth and Albert Streets will be temporarily removed. In its place a westbound stop will spring up at Albert Street and Empress Avenue.

Also, the multi-use pathway on the north side of Albert Street will be closed between Preston Street and Empress Avenue.

This closure will be in effect until the summer.

Thought you’d avoid all this hassle because you’re a cyclist? Ha! Not so fast!

The construction will mess with your commute, too.

You’ll have an option to merge onto Albert, and share the road with motorists, or use a detour the city will put in place.

Meanwhile, pedestrians will be directed via signs to the south sidewalk on Albert Street from Preston Street to Empress Avenue.

The city says the multi-use pathway closure is “necessary to allow for the installation of a large deep sewer system, which is an integral part of the Ottawa River Action Plan, as well as the construction of the Booth Street Bridge.”

Alas, for the average commuter, woe is new infrastructure.

http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news...-on-scott-and-albert-streets-start-today

[citydwlr]

Apparently, The province is going to fully fund the Hamilton LRT...

@FredEisenberger says @Kathleen_Wynne has committed full provincial capital funding for Hamilton LRT #onpoli

[Source]

Eisenberger says the province will pay full price of LRT, no matter the cost. So if cost goes up, province will cover that #onpoli

[Source]

[MoreTrains]

Originally Posted by citydwlr

Apparently, The province is going to fully fund the Hamilton LRT...


[Source]


[Source]

Because even the retarded cousin of Toronto is more important than the capital of the country. I mean, yeah, im glad that their BLAST is getting off the ground, but it is all above ground level crossing tram. Doesnt seem like it will do too much to improve ridership (apart from the novelty of the train).
Ottawa should look at asking for more than 1 billion for phase 2, maybe we would be able to get it, and a matching contribution from the Feds?? I mean, never gonna happen, but this is one of those things where the GTHA gets the nice silverware and we get plastic out of the garbage can.

[1overcosc]

The cost of the Hamilton LRT project is much lower than either of our LRT projects. The total cost is about $1B, as opposed to the $5.1B which is the cost of Phase 1 + Phase 2 here.

Given that we're getting $1.6B from the province ($600M for Phase 1 + $1B for Phase 2), Hamilton getting $1B is fair.

[MountainView]

Originally Posted by 1overcosc

The cost of the Hamilton LRT project is much lower than either of our LRT projects. The total cost is about $1B, as opposed to the $5.1B which is the cost of Phase 1 + Phase 2 here.

Given that we're getting $1.6B from the province ($600M for Phase 1 + $1B for Phase 2), Hamilton getting $1B is fair.

I don't think the Province has committed $1B for Phase 2 yet. Please correct me if I am wrong.

[1overcosc]

Originally Posted by MountainView

I don't think the Province has committed $1B for Phase 2 yet. Please correct me if I am wrong.

They haven't formally transferred an amount, but they've committed to doing so once the city requests it.

[J.OT13]

If they stick with the formula they announced during the election, Ottawa should get 2 billion for transit. Fine if you pay 1/3 in Ottawa for a total 6 billion plan (double the current plan) and 100% in Hamilton as long as they stick to the election promise; 14 billion proportionally distributed throughout the province outside the GTA.

Otherwise, you need the fair (but never actually done right) "everyone gets 1/3" formula.

[acottawa]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

If they stick with the formula they announced during the election, Ottawa should get 2 billion for transit. Fine if you pay 1/3 in Ottawa for a total 6 billion plan (double the current plan) and 100% in Hamilton as long as they stick to the election promise; 14 billion proportionally distributed throughout the province outside the GTA.

Otherwise, you need the fair (but never actually done right) "everyone gets 1/3" formula.

I believe the formula is GTA=100%, Ottawa=punked

I think in Hamilton the province has been making this promise since 2007 - I believe the mayor is at the "ask council to begin a process of citizen engagement" phase, so the mayor better hope Wynne is re-elected to her 4th term in 2022.

[1overcosc]

Originally Posted by acottawa

I believe the formula is GTA=100%, Ottawa=punked

The 2014 formula is per capita amounts... a drift from traditional (pre-1995) provincial policy of percentage of identified need.

Regardless, it would be nice if Watson pushed for two-thirds or even full funding from the province for Phase 2. With his political capital and Wynne's suspectibility to pressure like this he could probably pull it off.

Originally Posted by acottawa

I think in Hamilton the province has been making this promise since 2007 - I believe the mayor is at the "ask council to begin a process of citizen engagement" phase, so the mayor better hope Wynne is re-elected to her 4th term in 2022.

From what I gather the Hamilton LRT project is like what LRT of any kind was to Ottawa before the Confederation Line came around--always cancelled, nobody really serious about it. Hamilton City Council just voted last week to get rid of the bus lanes along the exact same route the LRT will go in the future. That should give some sort of idea as to what's going on down there.

Provincial funding has come in really slow, too. That's why so many people are excited, the province is finally paying up. Hamilton is a solidly NDP city which has long made it unattractive to investment from Liberal and PC governments.

(Off topic: If Wynne is re-elected in 2018 she's unlikely to run again in 2022, she'll be 69 years old in 2022)

[rocketphish]

Mayor to biz, commuters: Plan to prevent gridlock

By Jon Willing, Ottawa Sun
First posted: Monday, January 26, 2015 10:49 AM EST | Updated: Tuesday, January 27, 2015 07:41 AM EST

Time is ticking down until Ottawa’s traffic jams thicken up.

“We will see more traffic and we will see more congestion,” council’s transportation chairman Keith Egli said.

“People will see a difference.”

The city is trying desperately to convince employers to allow office workers to start at staggered times or work remotely.

That’s because the Transitway is months away from closing for LRT conversion, rerouting hundreds of OC Transpo buses each day onto Hwy. 417.

A “work shift” summit Monday at City Hall invited about 170 people, including managers from the federal government, to learn how to implement flexible hours and remote work policies, largely to reduce traffic congestion.

Think Ottawa’s morning commute is terrible now? Just wait to see what happens in six or seven months.

The highway widening is scheduled to be done in the summer, but those extra lanes aren’t for cars. They’ll handle the Transpo buses diverted from the Transitway.

On the west side of downtown, Scott St. is poised to be a major transit corridor when workers start installing rails on the Transitway.

City Hall has been trying to convince more employers to allow flex hours.

“There has to be a mindset change as to what a traditional day of work is,” Egli said.

Bumper-to-bumper traffic is also a big concern for Mayor Jim Watson.

He kicked off the summit by emphasizing the time people waste sitting in Ottawa traffic each day.

“This is about awareness and education,” Watson said.

Flexible work hours must be ingrained in a culture “driven by senior management all the way down through the organization,” Watson said.

The Confederation Line LRT will open in 2018, which means there are several years of traffic frustration ahead for commuters.

“In short, getting everyone where they need to go at peak is going to remain a challenge,” Watson said.

“And if we are successful in getting funding for the city’s Stage 2 plan for light rail, it is going to continue to be a challenge for the better part of the next decade.”

Watson acknowledged that working from home isn’t the ultimate solution for employers but perhaps it can work for part of the week.

Since there’s so much office work in Ottawa — with the bulk of it in the federal government -— the city has huge potential for changes in the work culture, Watson said.

Twitter: @JonathanWilling

http://www.ottawasun.com/2015/01/26/city-urges-companies-to-workshift-to-head-off-gridlock

[1overcosc]

I have flexible hours at my workplace, to an extent. We can choose our 8 hour workday as long as it falls within the 6AM-7PM range and we're in the office from 10AM to 2PM. For almost any IT workplace (a big chunk of the city's workforce) this model should work.

[Richard Eade]

OK, this is getting quite comical – and not in a good way. If the City was really concerned about way too much traffic congestion, then it needs to think about how THE CITY is doing things.

For example, let’s look at the City’s idea of tearing up Albert to lay down new sewers, then re-building it to include temporary bus lanes, then, once the Transitway is converted, tearing it up again to reconfigure it for the original four lanes. Their idea is that the sewer is getting replaced while the Transitway is still in operation so people have an option to take transit and avoid the traffic congestion.

Well, doing it in their chosen sequence causes the maximum disturbance for the road traffic since the lane reductions for the sewer work affect a four-lane road – losing one lane per direction reduces the capacity by half. And with regard to taking transit instead; the reason we are changing to LRT is because the Transitway system is at its limit. We can’t add any more capacity on our buses for those people and we are ensuring the maximum disruption for cars.

Granted, some of the sewer work, specifically the section right beside Booth Street might need to be done before the new Pimisi Station is built, but even that I have my doubts about. I think that all the sewer work could have been done during the final reconfiguration of Albert Street. Imagine if the City spent a short time adding temporary bus lanes to Albert. (Remember how fast the temporary Preston extension was built.) This would disrupt the current lanes briefly, during the construction, but then there would be six lanes. The Transitway could then be converted while the buses use the bus lanes and the cars use the other lanes. Once the LRT is running – providing extra capacity! – then the sewer work could be done, shifting traffic among six lanes until the sewer work is done and the temporary lanes are finally removed.

[1overcosc]

That would mean the sewer work would get done 4 years later, though. They might not be able to hold out that long. Isn't the Scott Street sewer work a key part of ORAP?

[MoreTrains]

Originally Posted by 1overcosc

That would mean the sewer work would get done 4 years later, though. They might not be able to hold out that long. Isn't the Scott Street sewer work a key part of ORAP?

It sure is. Plus the intent to intensify the area cannot happen without the new sewer.