O-Train Line 1/3 [Stage 2 | West Extension | Tunney's to Baseline/Moodie] | U/C

[1overcosc]

Originally Posted by FFX-ME

Do you think the Baseline vs. Moodie lines will be interlined all the way to Trim road?

Good question. Possibly not, as that would give a really high frequency to services really far out.. based on the services likely provided to Baseline and Moodie, that would mean something like 3-4 minute off-peak frequency to Trim which is way higher than it needs. One of the two lines will probably short-turn at Blair.. but on the other hand, trains are pretty cheap to operate so it may cost the city very little to just keep all the trains going to the end of the line.

[PHrenetic]

Good Day....
In having gone over the latest, there is no noticable change (yet) in the mass of the plan, apart from extending to Moodie. So, per the WLRT TPAP, Appendix L, Section 1.3 (a), Lincoln Fields modifications to the EA plan,
They plan on a 3-platform, shuttle-system at the Lincoln Fields split, as:

Quote :
1.3 Enhanced Service Flexibility - 3 track/2 platform station concept
The station design for Lincoln Fields Station, in the Recommended Plan, includes a traditional
centre platform station with tracks on either side of the platform. This design has limited
flexibility for non-revenue train movements to bring trains in and out of service. Further
operational analysis and modelling has demonstrated a greater need for improved LRT capacity
at this location and flexibility for non-revenue train movements and enhance the operation of
the late night shuttle operation beyond the Bayshore/Baseline split to improve the quality of
service to the two ends of the line . This operational need requires a two platform/three track
arrangement at Lincoln Fields Station (rather than a two track, single platform station as
envisioned in the EA) (See Figure 9). The operational need for the 3 track/2 platform station
concept is as follows:
a) Improved Late Night Service and Operational Flexibility – The enhanced 3 track/2
platform station concept will allow OC Transpo to provide a timed transfer between
Bayshore and Baseline stations at Lincoln Fields station that will maintain 15 minute
service to both ends of the line . While this was possible with the EA concept, with the 3
track/2 platform concept, passengers will make a time transfer from one LRT branch to
another by simply crossing the LRT platform with the resulting reduction in waiting time
compared to the EA concept. This is accomplished by having one branch of the line
(Baseline) operated as a through service and by operating the other branch (Bayshore)
as a late night shuttle service from Lincoln Fields to Bayshore. The Bayshore shuttle
train would be waiting for the Baseline through train at Lincoln Fields and passengers
would then “cross’ the second platform and board the waiting Bayshore shuttle train
without delay and without exposure to the elements. This revised concept will be simpler
for passengers to use and require less waiting on the platform.
UnQuote.

So, ......discuss.
EnJoy!

[Uhuniau]

Originally Posted by PHrenetic

The Bayshore shuttle train would be waiting for the Baseline through train at Lincoln Fields and passengers would then “cross’ the second platform and board the waiting Bayshore shuttle train without delay and without exposure to the elements.

Deux poids, deux mesures: where is this concern about exposing transferring passengers to the elements when it comes to bus:bus transfers on downtown local routes?

[Aylmer]

The situation for buses could certainly be improved. That said, since it has a completely exclusive ROW, the LRT will presumably be almost perfectly on time every time, allowing for a much better timing of these kinds of transfers. With buses, a carefully-timed transfer can often turn into an often-missed one since their on-time performance is, as you've pointed out before, less than perfect.

[Uhuniau]

Originally Posted by Aylmer

The situation for buses could certainly be improved. That said, since it has a completely exclusive ROW, the LRT will presumably be almost perfectly on time every time, allowing for a much better timing of these kinds of transfers. With buses, a carefully-timed transfer can often turn into an often-missed one since their on-time performance is, as you've pointed out before, less than perfect.

The timing is an intractable problem with buses. But timing is not what I'm getting at here.

I'd like to not get soaked to the skin. I'd like to not have things get damaged by rainwater or slush sprayed by passing vehicles, including the buses I'm disembarking from or waiting to board.

I'd like to see some simple, adequate, well-designed, and well-located shelter for the bus transfer points in the downtown and inner neighbourhoods, but we're not getting that. Hell, we've had to fight and kick to get any kind of shelter at all half the time, and OC Transpo keeps treating it as a frill, and when we finally do get shelters, they lack one or more of those characteristics: they are either inadequate, crappily designed, or poorly located.

[HighwayStar]

Originally Posted by PHrenetic

Good Day....
.
.

Quote :
1.3 Enhanced Service Flexibility - 3 track/2 platform station concept
The station design for Lincoln Fields Station, in the Recommended Plan, includes a traditional centre platform station with tracks on either side of the platform. This design has limited flexibility for non-revenue train movements to bring trains in and out of service. Further operational analysis and modelling has demonstrated a greater need for improved LRT capacity at this location and flexibility for non-revenue train movements and enhance the operation of the late night shuttle operation beyond the Bayshore/Baseline split to improve the quality of service to the two ends of the line . .
.
.

So, ......discuss.
EnJoy!

Why oh why are they even talking about driving a train to/from the end of the line to bring it in/out of service??

This has been mentioned several times... but I really don't get it...

Simply insert train at Belfast (in either direction) and have it start picking up passengers at first stop in either direction.

At end of day, simply mark train "last stop - Train Station"... much the same way that 1/2 the transitway buses currently finish at Tunneys.

easy peasy... and saves paying a driver to deadhead for a 1/2 hour

[McC]

there's going to be a west-end yard, too.

[HighwayStar]

Same logic for the West End yard.

[rocketphish]

Three LRT stations eyed for development in Stage 2 project

Jon Willing, Ottawa Citizen
Published on: February 21, 2017 | Last Updated: February 21, 2017 5:16 PM EST

Three stations in the Stage 2 LRT expansion are being eyed for well-designed developments to build density in the western leg of the extended rail network and potentially generate revenue for the city.

Pinecrest, Cleary and Baseline stations could see new developments around, or even on top, of the LRT stops as the city tries to quickly open up opportunities to create residential density through the next rail construction contract.

However, the city isn’t pursuing a similar chance to transform land around the future Gladstone station on the Trillium Line, even though a consultant shortlisted the property as a fourth best bet for quick development on the Stage 2 project.

The study by N. Barry Lyon Consultants points out the huge amount of empty federal land near the future Gladstone station in Little Italy, which is starting to see more infill and intensified residential buildings. There was a public works warehouse on the land just south of Somerset Street before the building was demolished, leaving a big empty field. The city has done work on a Gladstone station community design plan, foreseeing the eventual transformation of the 16.7 acres of federal land.

Chris Swail, the city’s director of O-Train planning, said that while the Gladstone site is a “significant” transit-oriented development opportunity, the city won’t have ownership or control of the land.

“Future integration opportunities will be considered in the development of the Gladstone station design,” Swail said.

In contrast, the city would have fewer barriers to get moving on developments at Pinecrest, Cleary and Baseline stations.

There’s plenty of empty land around Baseline station, one of the end points of the forked LRT service in west Ottawa, but Swail said the city will focus development opportunities on lands it already owns. That means about 2.6 acres of land at Baseline Road and Woodroffe Avenue and 2.7 acres of an existing parking lot along Woodroffe.

Building on the property could further the city’s goal of developing a Centrepointe Town Centre as envisioned through a concept plan.

The Pinecrest lands at the northwest corner of Highway 417 and Pinecrest Road are owned by the province, but Swail said the city would either pay market price for the 4.7 acres or pitch a land swap.

Since the city wants to buy a plaza property at 747 Richmond Rd. to build the Cleary station, it figures it’s a good chance to get moving on potentially allowing something to be constructed above it.

The city likes the opportunity for synergy if LRT stations and neighbouring developments are designed together, complementing each other.

If there can be more property taxpayers living near stations and buying transit passes when the LRT extensions open, it’s a big bonus. Just as good, the city could rake in revenue through selling the development rights on its land.

According to the city, bidders for the first phase of LRT construction asked about station-specific development opportunities along the Confederation Line, but the city couldn’t respond because of the structure of the tender.

This time, the city is looking at the development potential around stations as part of the Stage 2 tendering with the goal of having those developments ramping up within five to 10 years of LRT operations on the western extension.

Council’s finance and economic development committee is scheduled to debate the entire Stage 2 plan during a meeting Friday.

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[rocketphish]

Now that the new LRT plan is a go, the city's planning to consult the public

David Reevely, Ottawa Citizen
Published on: February 24, 2017 | Last Updated: February 24, 2017 4:12 PM EST

The city will hold an “interactive information session” on its next round of light-rail plans a week after city council’s finance committee approved the plans on Friday.

This is just enough to say the public will get to ask questions about the plans without subjecting those plans to any real threat. Even the parts that should be threatened.

Mayor Jim Watson has learned from previous councils’ habits of listening too much. Whether Ottawa should build light rail used to be controversial and city council gave a lot of provisional approvals for things, often by narrow margins only achieved by promising that nothing was definitive yet and we could pull the plug later. Which councillors once did.

Call it dithering, call it analysis-paralysis, call it cowardice. Whatever it was, it was bad. But now we’re overcorrecting.

“Staff have conducted many consultations with stakeholders and residents to inform the recommendations before us today,” the city’s rail-planning chief Chris Swail told the finance committee, which Watson chairs. Twenty-seven consultations in all, Swail said, though many of those have been invitation-only, in apartment buildings or with particular interest groups.

The results of those consultations are scrambling some important decisions we’d already made about what we’ll build where and when.

“I disagree with pushing this at such lightning speed through council,” Gloucester-Southgate Coun. Diane Deans said. Construction’s not planned for almost three years, she pointed out. We could give this another couple of weeks.

She and other south-end councillors wanted a public meeting where residents could put local questions to the top rail planners on this $3.6-billion collection of projects.

No way. One session for everyone is what they’ll get, in City Hall’s council chamber at 6:30 p.m. on March 1, though it’ll also be webcast. Their tedious questions about shutting down the O-Train for 16 months can compete with concerns from Kanata and cheers from Orléans.

The overall rail plan has very much in its favour. It extends rail in all directions across Ottawa, farther and faster than its less refined version, circa 2013, would have. Watson and the city government have cajoled the provincial and federal governments into paying more than their usual shares to get even more kilometres of track laid. Councillors heard Friday from a parade of business, construction-industry and education leaders raving about how thrilled they are.

But it has flaws. One I’ve harped on is that the plan will widen Highway 174 from the 417 split to Jeanne d’Arc Boulevard alongside the new eastern LRT leg, a project that was on the city’s list of things it might do someday but not any time soon. Building rail and adding a lane for cars is cheaper if we do it together, so that’s the plan. Even though the city has an analysis, not included in any public report, that says doing so will rob 10 per cent of the anticipated riders from the rail line and still leave the 174 overcrowded.

The city figures a new lane will add room for 1,800 cars an hour but will draw in 1,500 more drivers who’d otherwise take transit or carpool or travel at a less busy time. The 174 will still have a vehicles-to-capacity ratio over 1 at rush hours. In the manuals, any ratio over 1 is considered severe congestion — an F, in the way engineers grade the “level of service” a road provides. The 174 would be F’d with two lanes, F’d with three.

Plus, widening the 174 west of Jeanne d’Arc will worsen congestion between Jeanne d’Arc and Place d’Orléans, in the city’s own models, which will surely lead to calls to widen the eastern highway, too. None of it will get people to work in the morning any faster.

How much will the ridership bleed affect fare revenue for the rail system? Deans asked.

Transportation and transit general manager John Manconi said he didn’t know. His staff have worked up some estimates but he’s skeptical of some of their assumptions so he doesn’t trust the results. He’ll try to have some numbers before city council takes a final vote March 8.

Anyone could speak to the committee on Friday — for five minutes at the most, and no questions unless they’re rhetorical. Actually seeking more information in a committee presentation is against the rules.

David Jeanes, a transportation expert who’s been involved in transit in Ottawa for years, rhymed off concerns about everything from the placement of a railyard to whether we should drive a harder bargain when we buy more trains.

There’s 540 pages of documentation in these reports that came out one week ago, he pointed out. “I need to cover 1.8 pages per second in my five-minute presentation.”

Jeanes spoke, the mayor thanked him, the committee moved on.

If you’re a city councillor and want to hold a public meeting, go right ahead, Watson told the committee, wrapping up the brief debate. Nobody’s stopping you. But let’s not get hung up.

“We have a reputation around the country for getting shovels in the ground on projects that had withered on the vine, in some cases, for decades,” he said. The appearance of unity is a big asset when it comes to getting funding from the federal and provincial governments.

They obliged him. Deans dissented on a couple of points, like the 174 widening, but otherwise the rail plan passed unanimously.

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[rocketphish]

Ottawa LRT plans: Stage 2 blueprint passes first test with thoughts turning to Stage 3

Jon Willing, Ottawa Citizen
Published on: February 24, 2017 | Last Updated: February 24, 2017 4:13 PM EST

City hall’s political brain trust has approved a $3.6-billion Stage 2 rail and road package, with one councillor laying the groundwork for Barrhaven LRT in the next transit plan.

Friday’s 11-0 vote of council’s finance and economic development committee, which includes all the committee chairs, was the first political test of the final blueprint to extend rail east, west and south.

Council will now vote March 8, but it’s clear councillors are already thinking about a future Stage 3.

Barrhaven Coun. Jan Harder wants the city to study the feasibility and priority of converting the southwest Transitway to rail between Algonquin College and Barrhaven, which she notes is the fastest growing area of Ottawa. A rail conversion there isn’t part of the current plan until after 2031.

Harder put council on notice that she’ll ask for support on a study.

A similar kind of motion is what got Orléans on the LRT map and convinced the city to study Kanata LRT.

At the same time, Kanata North Coun. Marianne Wilkinson urged staff to think about how to bring LRT to Kanata as soon as possible. The western suburb has a leg up since a Kanata LRT environmental assessment is already in the works and the city wants to extend LRT to Moodie Drive by 2023.

Mayor Jim Watson already knows which part of the city should get priority, in his view: “Phase 3 in my opinion is to Kanata,” he said.

The committee meeting, however, was all about the Stage 2 blueprint and procurement strategy.

The city-funded part of the Stage 2 rail expansion will cost $3 billion, split equally between the city, province and feds, and be fully operational by 2023. The city expects the bonus extensions to Trim Road ($160 million) and the Ottawa International Airport ($155 million) will be covered by the provincial and federal governments.

Construction would pick up from the ends of the 12.5-kilometre Stage 1 at Tunney’s Pasture and Blair station. To the west, tracks would be extended to Algonquin College and Moodie Drive. To the east, tracks would be built to Trim Road. The Trillium Line would be extended to Bowesville Road, with a four-kilometre spur line between South Keys and the Ottawa International Airport.



Mark Laroche, president and CEO of the Ottawa International Airport Authority, wants the city to include in the construction tender a direct rail option between the airport and the Confederation Line LRT station at Bayview. Under the current Stage 2 design, visitors to Ottawa would need to take three trains to downtown.

Ian Faris, president and CEO of the Ottawa Chamber of Commerce, echoed Laroche’s comments, asking for a more seamless train link between the airport and the core.

The city will build the tracks to allow a direct airport-to-Bayview service, but that direct link would only operate on special occasions.

Residents of Queensway Terrace North still aren’t happy with the proposed LRT infrastructure cutting through the Pinecrest Creek corridor and Connaught Park in the west end.

“We don’t want to see the LRT travelling next to our homes,” Wayne Shimoon said, threatening legal action against the city.

On the other hand, the city might have avoided controversy closer to the core by indicating it will use Preston Street for a replacement bus route during a 16-month Trillium Line shutdown, instead of an alternative route down Bayswater Avenue.

The complete transit package bundles a provincially funded widening of Highway 417 west of the downtown and a $100-million city fund for additional infrastructure work. The city also wants to study widening Highway 174 sooner than planned.

The city is holding a Stage 2 information session at City Hall on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.


Projected Stage 2 timeline:

• Begin environmental assessment for Moodie Drive extension: March 2017
• Release Confederation Line request for qualifications: March 2017
• Release Trillium Line request for qualifications: March/April 2017
• Secure funding commitments: May 2017
• Release Confederation Line request for proposals: June 2017
• Release Trillium Line request for proposals: Q2/Q3 2017
• Finalize contribution agreements: Q1 2018
• Contract award: Q2 2018
• Construction commences: Q3 2018
• Revenue service Trillium Line: 2021
• Revenue service Confederation Line East: 2022
• Revenue service Confederation Line West: 2023

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http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news...st-test-with-thoughts-turning-to-stage-3

[rocketphish]

Councillor questions $10M earmarked for Stage 2 public art

Jon Willing, Ottawa Citizen
Published on: February 27, 2017 | Last Updated: February 27, 2017 5:44 PM EST

The city would spend $10 million on new public art along the Stage 2 rail extensions, prompting one councillor to suggest lowering the spending cap for artwork.

Council’s default position is to spend the money on art, since the city has a policy that says one per cent of capital projects over $2 million must be spent on public art.

The proposed art budget in the Stage 2 package breaks down two ways: $10 million would be for art commissions across the extended rail system; and, as an extra project, the city would pony up $1 million specifically for artwork in the reconstructed corridor along Richmond Road and the Byron linear park.

“Ten million (dollars) is a lot to spend when we have so many other challenges,” River Coun. Riley Brockington said Monday. “Art is important, but it’s not No. 1.”

Brockington is investigating what it would take to scale back the proposed spending on art in Stage 2.

“I don’t support spending nothing,” Brockington said, but he believes the $10-million art tab is a little too rich for the $3-billion program to extend rail in three directions.

“For me, it’s a lot of money.”

The $10-million figure is one per cent of the city’s $1-billion share of the LRT and Trillium Line extensions. The federal and provincial governments are expected to pay for the other two-thirds of the Stage 2 capital costs and pay the full costs for bonus extensions to Trim Road and the Ottawa International Airport.

Council will vote on the final Stage 2 blueprint and procurement method on March 8.

Stage 1 of the Confederation Line also has public art built into the construction costs. Those artworks will be unveiled as the LRT stations are completed this year and in 2018, when the system opens.

The list of art and associated costs for Stage 1 weren’t available Monday.

“At this point in time, we can confirm that the various artists and art projects to be featured in the LRT stations have been selected and the work on the projects is underway,” according to Richard Holder, acting director of O-Train construction.

The Stage 2 construction, which will happen between 2018 and 2023, will bring LRT service to Moodie Drive, Algonquin College and Trim Road, plus bring Trillium Line service to Bowesville Road and the airport. There will be 23 more rail stations in Stage 2.

Peter Honeywell, executive director of the Ottawa Arts Council, said people need to consider the public art price tag in the context of the Stage 2 scope.

“I don’t think $10 million is that much when you spread it out to the number of stops,” Honeywell said.

Broken down by the full length of the Stage 2 extensions, the new public art would translate into roughly $251,000 for each kilometre of rail. Going by the number of stations, it would be almost $434,000 per station.

Transit art is what makes cities memorable, Honeywell said.

“When I travel around internationally or the U.S. or Toronto, art has been installed in stations and has become the placemark for those parts of the city,” Honeywell said, pointing to the Museum subway station in Toronto as one example.

Brockington agreed that cities with artsy transit stations are “beautiful,” but he said council needs to weigh the cost of buying artwork against other demands, like providing better transit service.

“I have a lot of service issues in my ward with OC Transpo and I have to prioritize how I spend money,” Brockington said.

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http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/councillor-questions-10m-earmarked-for-stage-2-public-art

[roger1818]

Originally Posted by rocketphish

Going by the number of stations, it would be almost $434,000 per station.

Considering most of the artwork would likely be at the stations, that seems like a lot of money for art in each station, especially since most of the stations in stage 2 are suburban and rural stations. We should heavily invest in art in the airport station, but most of the other stations needn't be so extravagant IMHO.

[TransitZilla]

I agree $10M is too much. I'd say cut it to $5M and put the other $5M into unfunded cycling/pedestrian connectivity improvements.

[Buggys]

Why do we have to have distinct/separate "artwork" at all?

Why can't we have better sheltered, better built, & nicer looking stations? And better pedestrian/bike access? And more park & rides?

[Uhuniau]

Originally Posted by Buggys

Why do we have to have distinct/separate "artwork" at all?

Why can't we have better sheltered, better built, & nicer looking stations? And better pedestrian/bike access? And more park & rides?

Or reserve places for public art, and let some blue-haired benefactor from Clemow Avenue foot the bill?

[PHrenetic]

Good Day...

... or better yet, put the money into better (World-Class (to quote photo-op Jim)) stations, like they did in Montreal, where the stations do not CONTAIN art - they ARE art. Much better. Integral. Beautiful. Practical. Useful. (oh yeah, right, i forgot, can't-be-done). Sigh!

[lrt's friend]

Originally Posted by PHrenetic

Good Day...

... or better yet, put the money into better (World-Class (to quote photo-op Jim)) stations, like they did in Montreal, where the stations do not CONTAIN art - they ARE art. Much better. Integral. Beautiful. Practical. Useful. (oh yeah, right, i forgot, can't-be-done). Sigh!

Remember, Ottawa is "the town that fun forgot". Our stations have to mirror our reputation.

[Richard Eade]

And be virtually indistinguishable from one another so you can better loose track of where you are.

[p_xavier]

Originally Posted by lrt's friend

Remember, Ottawa is "the town that fun forgot". Our stations have to mirror our reputation.

The Montreal REM was supposed to have standard stations but now the Caisse will have a team of "award-winning" architects to make sure that the REM has great design. It's funny how Montreal folks complain that the stations are too boring and request more money for art and architecture, while people in Ottawa complain about the opposite.