Confederation Line (Stage 1) | In Service 1.0

[1overcosc]

Originally Posted by AndyMEng

For once, I agree with Uhuniau... ;P

I can't believe all those pavers went in, with the widest sidewalks anywhere, and ZERO trees to be seen. Trees go a long way, especially with sidewalks for days.

In dense downtown areas where the underground is full of utilities and there's insane amounts of garbage and road salt being sloshed around everywhere it can be difficult to get street trees to thrive. It certainly can be done (Queen's Quay in Toronto is a good example) but it takes a lot of effort.

Most of the big urban street streets you see are from a long time ago (early 20th century or earlier) back when there were far fewer underground utilities and much less (none?) road salt.

[roger1818]

Originally Posted by AndyMEng

For once, I agree with Uhuniau... ;P

I can't believe all those pavers went in, with the widest sidewalks anywhere, and ZERO trees to be seen. Trees go a long way, especially with sidewalks for days.

I will reserve judgement until I see the final result, but I do agree that if what the two of you are saying is all they are doing, then I stand corrected.

[AndyMEng]

Originally Posted by 1overcosc

In dense downtown areas where the underground is full of utilities and there's insane amounts of garbage and road salt being sloshed around everywhere it can be difficult to get street trees to thrive. It certainly can be done (Queen's Quay in Toronto is a good example) but it takes a lot of effort.

Most of the big urban street streets you see are from a long time ago (early 20th century or earlier) back when there were far fewer underground utilities and much less (none?) road salt.

While that may be true, if you stand on the corner of Bank and Queen, one street is lined with trees and the other is completely devoid of greenery.

Now, the bank street tree wells have been designed to completely keep out water, and perhaps road salt? But that just means that a guy shows up with a truck at 11pm each night in the summer to water. Is this a good design? Maybe, because of salt? Maybe not because we're not encouraging any ground water replenishment downtown, and its expensive to water trees.

Lansdowne has a really intense water catchment system with little inlets everywhere (although they forgot the trees on the one side that were deleted from rendering-to-reality), and also the Shopify building has the same thing. Small inlets on the sidewalk that lead to the tree wells, which are open on the top, instead of a tree-trunk encased in concrete.

http://www.westsideaction.com/elgin-street-better-still-room-improvement/

I see a few trees on the renderings. Maybe they'll rip up the pavers and install some trees in the summer? Or maybe some concrete blocks with flowers?

http://ottawa.ca/en/city-hall/planning-a...astructure-projects/roadwork/under-way-7

[TransitZilla]

Originally Posted by AndyMEng

For once, I agree with Uhuniau... ;P

I can't believe all those pavers went in, with the widest sidewalks anywhere, and ZERO trees to be seen. Trees go a long way, especially with sidewalks for days.

The plans do show trees, although they are sparse on some blocks. Maybe they just aren't planted yet?

http://documents.ottawa.ca/sites/documents.ottawa.ca/files/documents/roll_plan_drawing_en.pdf

[Uhuniau]

Originally Posted by AndyMEng

For once, I agree with Uhuniau... ;P

I can't believe all those pavers went in, with the widest sidewalks anywhere, and ZERO trees to be seen. Trees go a long way, especially with sidewalks for days.

It's not the treelessness that concerns me, it is the inherent dangerosity of those damn paving bricks.

The last little bit of black ice that formed on them, I saw numerous people take a tumble on those stupid things, and once they have had a few freeze-thaw seasons under them, they'll start pooling water to freeze or splash, just like similar stupid pavers elsewhere.

[rocketphish]

Construction Update
Week of February 6

Crews are hard at work building the 13 LRT stations along the alignment. This week, the next phase of station construction begins with shoring activities at Tunney’s Pasture Station and mobilization for the delivery of structural steel (in phases) at uOttawa Station occurs.

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Progress at Bayview Station, including the installation of grade beams

West Stations

Tunney’s Pasture Station
The next phase of station construction begins with shoring activities along Scott Street. Crews also continue concrete work for the stairs and prepare to install grade beams for station footings.

Bayview Station
Crews are hard at work installing grade beams, waterproofing the ancillary building, and constructing escalator and elevators pits.

Pimisi Station
Formwork, part of station wall construction, and concrete pours continue this week. Crews also work on the elevator pits and the track slab.

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Ongoing architectural work in Lyon Station

Central Stations

Lyon Station cavern
Architectural work progresses in the station with falsework for suspended slabs, masonry block wall installation and curb pours at the concourse level. Mechanical rough-ins also begin. Final shotcrete lining is ongoing in the west transition.

Lyon Station west entrance
The integrated entrance takes shape with work on the columns, walls, escalators and stairs, including installing rebar and stripping concrete. Formwork installation also occurs in the upper escalator and stairs areas. At the east vent shaft, crews wire saw cut and begin chipping the breakthrough area.

Lyon Station east entrance
At the concourse level, crews continue installing structural steel, form and pour knee walls* and continue electrical relocations. Wire saw cutting and chipping are completed at the HVAC shaft.

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Arch final concrete lining work in Parliament Station cavern

Parliament Station cavern
Station construction ramps up; crews pour elevator walls and footings for columns at one area of the cavern, while in another, they install columns and build bulkheads. Preparations begin to pour the next station deck this week.

Parliament Station east entrance
Crews continue excavation, removals and breakthrough to the tunnel below by end of week. At the east vent shaft, shotcrete work occurs this week in preparation of the next phase of excavation.

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Beginning of concrete activities at the Rideau HVAC shaft

Rideau Station cavern
Progress is visible in the station cavern with the construction of bulkheads, and ongoing wall and arch concrete final lining work.

Rideau Station west entrance
24/7 construction is ongoing for the next months. Crews complete the removal of shoring and the next phase of concrete work begins on station walls and slabs, including rebar and formwork installation. At the HVAC shaft, final rock bolts are installed to allow waterproofing and concrete work for the pit to occur by the end of the week.

Rideau Station east entrance
Crews form and pour mechanical room walls, continue concrete work on the HVAC shaft walls, and install rebar and formwork for the traction power sub station walls and slab.

uOttawa Station
The next phase of station construction occurs as crews prepare for structural steel delivery in stages, during the daytime and overnight. This work will involve some overnight closures of a section of the northbound bus lane on Nicholas Street. In addition, block walls are installed, concrete work continues on station footings and walls, and duct banks and underground mechanical are also installed.

East Portal
Concrete work continues on the ramp walls and slabs. Tieback drilling is completed to prepare for the next section of ramp excavation next week.

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Tremblay Station progress including soffit framing and roofing

East Stations

Lees Station
Crews pour knee walls as well as elevator and column walls, complete sections of station stair walls, and continue underground duct banks for the ancillary building.

Hurdman Station
Station construction progresses with electrical work in the ancillary buildings, roofing, the installation of structural steel and concrete suspended slab pours. Crews install panels and work on the soffit, as part of final work on the bus operators’ building.

Tremblay Station
Crews continue roofing, framing the soffit, mechanical rough-ins and electrical work, as well as assembling walls and installing elevators.

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St-Laurent Station progress including ceiling panels and framing

St-Laurent Station
Ongoing progress includes the installation of ceiling panels, elevators and conduits, as well as final mechanical, electrical, escalators and framing work.

Cyrville Station
Construction advances in the station with the installation of the soffit, composite panels, light fixtures and doors, as well as glazing on the windscreen walls. Porcelain panel installations continue for the next weeks at the auxiliary building.

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Progress at Blair Station, including the installation of composite panels

Blair Station

Station progress continues to be visible with the installation of light fixtures and finishing work at the lower concourse level. Work on the soffit and station stairs occurs and installation of composite panels, porcelain panels and station skylights is ongoing for the next months. Crews install the roof of the bus operators’ building, and finalize interior finishes and mechanical rough-ins.

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Tunnel Excavation and Support

Bench mining advances in the last section of running tunnel west of Rideau Station. In the running tunnel east of Parliament Station, crews pour starter walls, waterproof the arch and, by the end of the week, mobilize to begin arch final concrete lining work.

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West guideway activities continue with removals of parapets on Bayview Bridge

Guideway

Weather permitting, some guideway activities will be ongoing until March, including assembling crossover tracks east of Tunney’s Pasture Station, removing parapets along Bayview Bridge, and drilling dowels and starting cable bank concrete work in the west running tunnel from West Portal moving west to Lyon Station. Crews will be back onsite in late winter/early spring when guideway activities ramp up. Train testing continues during the daytime and overnight at Belfast Yard and between Cyrville and Blair stations

---

Upcoming Construction Activities

In the coming weeks, the following construction activities are scheduled to occur:

• Hoe ramming as part of work on the western section of the guideway.
• Pimisi Station structural steel installation.
• Lyon Station west vent shaft work resumes.
• Activities at the Parliament Station west entrance resume with architectural work for the parapets.
• Ongoing overnight work at the Rideau Station west and east entrances, and at the East Portal.
• Ongoing structural steel installation at uOttawa Station requiring overnight lane restrictions.
• Demolition of the abutments at the Mann Avenue bridge requiring full lane closures on Mann Avenue and overnight bracket installations requiring lane restrictions.
• Structural steel installation at Lees Station.
• Fencing installation on guideway just west of Tremblay Station.
• Installation of porcelain panels at Tremblay and St-Laurent stations.
• Overhead Catenary System energized in phases for ongoing vehicle testing from Belfast Yard and Blair Station.

http://www.ligneconfederationline.ca/construction/construction-update-110/

[Kitchissippi]

They were putting up quite a bit of steel at Hurdman today

[rocketphish]

Ottawa's LRT plan comes with big lessons for the private partnerships we love so much

David Reevely, Ottawa Citizen
Published on: February 20, 2017 | Last Updated: February 20, 2017 4:40 PM EST

We love building things like light-rail lines with public-private partnerships but have some amazingly screwed-up rules for them, says a report on the lessons the city learned from planning the first phase of rail construction in Ottawa.

Cities have to beg for provincial and federal money before they have a clear idea what their plans will cost, and sometimes those estimates are too low when they get locked in. The system pushes for cheap over good, and also gives bidders an incentive to squeeze as many costs as they can out of construction budgets and into decades-long maintenance agreements, where they’ll get much less attention.

The report is a co-production of consulting firms Deloitte and Boxfish Group, part of a thick bundle of paper laying out the city’s plans for the next, $3.6-billion, stage of rail and related projects. Boxfish’s proprietor, you’ll recall, is Brian Guest, a former aide to Bob Chiarelli and Paul Martin who’s made good business out of consulting for the city, including on both phases of rail. He’s the brother of Robyn Guest, a senior city official who is also married to Chris Swail, who’s the head of the rail planning office.

So keep in mind that this assessment is in part an inside job. The biggest foul-up it identifies on the city’s part is an error in handling the price of electricity: forgetting that big power consumers, such as a 12-km electric rail line, are charged based on the maximum electricity they demand at once, not just the total amount they use in a day. Won’t do that again.

Nevertheless, there’s a lot of insight into the huge deal the city made with Rideau Transit Group to build and maintain our rail system.

The work makes clear what a mess it is to scrape together funding for such a big project largely because federal and provincial governments have way more money, but they won’t pay for any expenses the city incurs before they’ve formally agreed to kick in. The city has to get its request in as early as possible.

“On the Confederation Line project, the initial estimate of $1.8 billion was developed and submitted without allowance for inflation, and appropriate amount of contingency … or other financing costs typically associated with (public-private partnerships). This estimate was then used as the basis for the federal and provincial funding announcements, which capped their contributions at one-third of these estimated costs,” the report says.

Finer engineering work took the estimated price up to $2.1 billion even before the provincial funding announcement came through, and then even more work led the city to conclude that it couldn’t build the rail line for even that much.

It took a major rethink, including rerouting the line under Queen Street, to pull it off.

This rigidity was arguably a consequence of Jim Watson’s hoping to kneecap a rail plan associated with Larry O’Brien, whom he was about to challenge for the top job at city hall after quitting provincial politics. But $600 million is still what the city had asked for, and that’s what the city got.

The same system puts a lot of pressure on the up-front construction cost but much less on long-term expenses. In the case of Ottawa’s rail project, that’s a 30-year contract to maintain the train system after it opens in 2018, which was worth $2 billion when the city and Rideau Transit Group signed their agreement.

The consultants think Ottawa got a good deal, all things considered. “However, it is possible for a bid that is far more expensive on the capital cost to have the lowest cost overall,” the report says, and the financing system wouldn’t handle such a case well.

One big thing that worked: telling bidders they’d be dumped if they didn’t agree to take on certain elements of construction risk, like unexpected ground conditions that led to cave-ins in the downtown tunnel, but other bidders did.

If you’ll take on all the risk, period, that’s perfect, the city told the bidders. If you’ll take on the risk but only subject to what’s in a geotechnical report we’ve had done, that’s second best. And so on, down several more steps. If another team agrees to take on more risk than you do, bidder, you’re probably out.

At first, all the bidders said they couldn’t get private financing — which the province demands, to get private-sector discipline injected into the project — if they took on all the risk for the tunnelling because no lender would be crazy enough to invest in a project with such a condition. But somehow all the bidders managed to talk their lenders into it.

“(E)ven though all the bid teams did not want to assume the full risk, they could not convince themselves that their competitors would not find a way to accept the risk,” the report says.

Ontario is deeply in love with public-private partnerships like this one but it’s still learning how to do them well. These are multibillion-dollar lessons, so the sooner we grasp them, the better.

[email protected]
twitter.com/davidreevely

http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news...the-private-partnerships-we-love-so-much

[Admiral Nelson]

Progress on east entrance, Rideau Station.

[rocketphish]

Construction Update
Week of February 13

Concrete work ramps up at the Lyon, Parliament and Rideau integrated station entrances as walls, stairs and elevators take shape. At St-Laurent Station, crews mobilize to install doors in phases.

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Tunney's Pasture Station stair and footing work

West Stations

Tunney’s Pasture Station
Foundation construction advances with excavation for footings on the north side, which will be followed by grade beam work in the next weeks. Concrete work on the stairs at the south side of the station and shoring activities for the retaining wall – requiring a slight realignment of the multi-use pathway this week – also occur.

Bayview Station
Construction of ancillary building and escalator and elevator pits is ongoing at the station, as well as mechanical, electrical and methane mitigation work.

Pimisi Station
Crews continue constructing station walls, excavating, mechanical and elevator pit work and completing the track slab.

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Progress at Lyon Station

Central Stations

Lyon Station cavern
Architectural work ramps up with concrete activities at the concourse and platform levels, mechanical rough-ins and masonry block wall installation.

Lyon Station west entrance
Crews pour upper escalator walls, and continue curing and stripping columns and walls. At the east vent shaft, waterproofing begins and wire saw cutting also occurs.

Lyon Station east entrance
Integrated entrance construction advances with work at the concourse area, including flooring and slab pours as well as installation of the metal deck and concrete work on knee walls*. Work at the HVAC shaft includes chipping at the breakthrough area.

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Preparing to pour a section of arch in Parliament Station cavern

Parliament Station cavern
Crews continue forming the elevator adit, working on bulkheads, pouring the cavern arch final lining, and pouring sections of the station deck.

Parliament Station east entrance
Temporary shoring is removed and crews continue excavation and removals for a final breakthrough to the tunnel below. At the east vent shaft, waterproofing activities begin this week.

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Rideau Station cavern arch and wall final concrete lining work

Rideau Station cavern
The station arch and walls continue to take shape as crews install rebar and pour final concrete lining in sections.

Rideau Station west entrance
Concrete wall and slab pours continue and waterproofing begins on the first section of walls as integrated entrance construction progresses. At the HVAC shaft, crews waterproof and install the first section of rebar as part of concrete work.

Rideau Station east entrance
Concrete work, including forming and pouring, is ongoing for the mechanical room walls and crews install rebar and form station stairs.

uOttawa Station
Station construction progresses with underground mechanical rough-ins and masonry block wall installation in the lower level, as well as final excavation and work on the raft slab of the pedestrian underpass.

East Portal
The next section of ramp excavation begins this week. Concrete work on ramp walls and slabs continues during the daytime and overnight as required.

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Hurdman Station rebar installed on stairs and work on the ancillary building

East Stations

Lees Station
Foundation work advances at the station and includes concrete work on slabs, work on stairs and completing duct banks at the ancillary building.

Hurdman Station
Crews prepare to install structural steel at the east end of the station, continue concrete pours for slabs, as well as work for the ancillary buildings, including roofing. In addition, stairs are stripped, and mechanical and electrical work also occur. Interior finishes and ceiling work are ongoing at the bus operators’ building.

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Progress at Cyrville Station including ceiling and composite panel work

Tremblay Station
Construction is ongoing at the station and includes roofing, soffit framing, installing elevators and completing electrical work for the columns. Crews also begin installing equipment for the communications room this week.

St-Laurent Station
Crews prepare to install doors and hardware at the station and continue working on the station’s head house, pulling wires, elevators/escalators and ceiling panels.

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Installation of pre-fabricated concrete stairs at Blair station

Cyrville Station
This week, crews begin ceiling panel and parapet flashing work, continue installing composite and porcelain panels, glazing on the windscreen walls, working on the soffit and complete rough-ins in the ceiling area.

Blair Station
Crews mobilize to begin glazing for the station skylight, working on the soffit, and installing light fixtures and composite and porcelain panels. They also construct precast concrete stairs and install tiles and porcelain panels in the lower concourse area.

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Tunnel Excavation and Support

In the running tunnel west of Lyon Station cavern, trackwork crews mobilize to begin concrete track slab work in the next weeks. In the running tunnel east of Parliament Station, arch final concrete lining work begins. Crews complete excavation of the bench in the last section of running tunnel west of Rideau Station. Tunnel mining is now 100% completed.

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OCS ready for pole installation in spring on the guideway just west of Pimisi Station

Did you know that construction continues on the O-Train Confederation Line guideway through winter?

Crews have been hard at work along sections of the guideway from Tunney’s Pasture Station to Blair Station. Activities include the assembly of crossover tracks east of Tunney’s Pasture Station, completing the removals of parapets along Bayview Bridge, pouring Overhead Catenary System foundations west of Bayview Station, and drilling dowels and continuing cable bank concrete work in the west running tunnel from the West Portal moving west to Lyon Station.

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West Portal ramp construction progress; concrete and trackwork will follow in spring

Train testing is also ongoing during the daytime and overnight at Belfast Yard and between Cyrville and Blair stations.

As early as end of winter/early spring, crews will resume grading, landscaping, concrete, trackwork and systems installation activities along the guideway. Construction of the guideway is scheduled to be completed in 2018.

---

In the coming weeks, the following construction activities are scheduled to occur:

• Hoe ramming as part of work on the western section of the guideway.
• Pimisi Station structural steel installation.
• Lyon Station west vent shaft work resumes.
• Activities at the Parliament Station west entrance resume with architectural work for the parapets.
• Ongoing overnight work at the Rideau Station west and east entrances, and at the East Portal.
• Ongoing structural steel installation at uOttawa Station requiring overnight lane restrictions.
• Demolition of the abutments at the Mann Avenue bridge requiring full road closure.
• Ongoing Mann Avenue bridge reconstruction work through end of 2017.
• Structural steel installation at Lees Station.
• Fencing installation on guideway just west of Tremblay Station.
• Installation of porcelain panels at Tremblay and St-Laurent stations.
• Systems installation along the guideway, including Overhead Catenary System poles and wires.

Overhead Catenary System energized in phases for ongoing vehicle testing from Belfast Yard to Blair Station.

http://www.ligneconfederationline.ca/construction/construction-update-111/

[rocketphish]

Construction Update
Week of February 20

LRT construction progresses along the alignment: crossover tracks continue to be assembled east of Tunney’s Pasture Station, construction of Pimisi Station walls and slabs ramps up, structural steel installation is ongoing at uOttawa and Hurdman stations and glazing for the Blair Station skylight occurs.

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Work on columns at Tunney’s Pasture Station

West Stations

Tunney’s Pasture Station
Crews continue concrete works at the station. Work includes installing rebar and forming pier columns, pouring concrete for the walls and stairs. Shoring for the retaining wall and underground mechanical and electrical work also occurs.

Bayview Station
Station construction advances with the installation of grade beams, work on slabs as well as escalator and elevator pits.

Pimisi Station
Progress continues to be visible with final foundation construction occurring. Crews are also installing duct banks, continuing mechanical work at the lower concourse and pouring slabs.

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Progress of architectural work in Lyon Station cavern

Central Stations

Lyon Station cavern
Crews continue architectural work – including mechanical rough-ins and masonry block wall installation – begin waterproofing activities and prepare to install the escalators.

Lyon Station west entrance
Integrated entrance construction progresses with concrete work on escalator and stair walls, followed by curing and stripping by end of week. At the east vent shaft, crews complete wire saw cutting and continue waterproofing.

Lyon Station east entrance
Crews continue installing structural steel at the concourse level and prepare to pour the deck, cure and strip in phases and install floors. At the HVAC shaft, crews continue chipping concrete and install rebar and waterproof for the next weeks.

Parliament Station cavern
Construction in the cavern ramps up with concrete arch final lining, deck pours, installation of rebar on footing for the next pillar, work on bulkheads, and the beginning of shoring for the next section of deck work.

Parliament Station east entrance Soft ground excavation and removals for a final breakthrough to the tunnel below take place this week. At the east vent shaft, waterproofing activities are ongoing until the end of the month.

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Progress of structural steel and deck installation on concourse level at Lyon Station east entrance

Rideau Station cavern
Work continues to advance in the cavern with final lining arch and wall concrete pours.

Rideau Station west entrance
Crews install rebar, followed by waterproofing activities on station walls, and chip and remove the shoring system. Work progresses at the HVAC shaft with rebar and formwork installation on walls.

Rideau Station east entrance
The integrated entrance continues to take shape; work includes the installation of rebar for the mechanical room and lower level walls and slabs. Traction power sub station walls and slabs are also being formed and poured this week and work on the station stairs continues.

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uOttawa Station masonry work in the secondary room

uOttawa Station
The first section of station structural steel continues to be installed and work on footings and the pedestrian underpass, as well as excavation of the stairwell, rough-ins in the lower level and masonry, are ongoing

East Portal
The roadheader begins mining a section of the ramp this week. Crews also continue installing rebar and formwork, and waterproofing walls and slabs during the daytime and overnight as required.

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Work on Lees Station foundation and columns

East Stations

Lees Station
Crews continue working on the ancillary building, the communications rooms and the station foundation and columns for the next weeks.

Hurdman Station
Construction continues to advance with the installation of structural steel at the east end of the station, waterproofing, electrical work and rough-ins at the ancillary buildings, as well as concrete work for station stairs and suspended slabs. The bus operators’ building takes shape with the installation of windows and floor tiles.

Tremblay Station
Roofing, soffit framing, the delivery and installation of windscreen bases, work on platforms, and the installation of elevators take place this week. Crews continue installing equipment for the communications room for the next weeks.

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Progress of structural steel at Hurdman Station

St-Laurent Station
Construction progresses at the station with the installation of ceiling panels, doors and light fixtures in phases, mechanical and electrical work in the secondary rooms and pulling wires.

Cyrville Station
Crews are hard at work installing ceiling panels and continue working on the soffit, installing composite and porcelain panels, glazing, painting at the elevators, constructing precast concrete stairs and installing light fixtures in phases.

Blair Station
The station continues to take shape with glazing for the station skylight, work on the soffit, the installation of composite and porcelain panels, as well as tiles at the lower levels, completing work on elevators and stairs, and beginning work on escalators. Interior finishing, including tile installation, is ongoing at the bus operators’ building.

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Cable bank wall work progress in running tunnel east of Lyon Station

Tunnel Construction

In the running tunnel west of Lyon Station cavern, trackwork crews begin working on the concrete track slab and continue final shotcrete lining in the west transition to the cavern. In the running tunnel east of Lyon Station, crews pour concrete cable bank walls in preparation for future guideway work in this section. Just east of Parliament Station arch final concrete lining work occurs.

---

Upcoming Construction Activities

In the coming weeks, the following construction activities are scheduled to occur:

• Hoe ramming as part of work on the western section of the guideway.
• Pimisi Station structural steel installation.
• Lyon Station west vent shaft work resumes.
• Activities at the Parliament Station west entrance resume with architectural work for the parapets.
• Ongoing overnight work at the Rideau Station west and east entrances, and at the East Portal.
• Removal of the East Portal roof and beginning of next phase of ramp construction.
• Ongoing structural steel installation at uOttawa Station requiring overnight lane restrictions.
• Demolition of the abutments at the Mann Avenue bridge requiring full road closure.
• Ongoing Mann Avenue bridge reconstruction work through end of 2017.
• Structural steel installation at Lees Station.
• Fencing installation on guideway just west of Tremblay Station.
• Installation of porcelain panels at Tremblay and St-Laurent stations.
• Systems installation along the guideway, including Overhead Catenary System poles and wires.
• Overhead Catenary System energized in phases for ongoing vehicle testing from Belfast Yard to Blair Station.

http://www.ligneconfederationline.ca/construction/construction-update-112/

[PHrenetic]

Good Day....just a FYI....

Passed by Blair today, and there is an OCS wire-puller hooked up and ready to run northside westbound from just west of the switchpoints. The OCS holder struts are extended, ready to receive wire through Cyrville on northside westbound.

EnJoy!

[lrt's friend]

Wow! No comments following tonight's public LRT presentation at City Hall.

I thought the English presenter was condescending at times and did know what he was talking about when asked about the 2 transfer to reach the airport. He said that there was no direct rail service from Pearson to downtown Toronto and likewise in Washington, where Reagan airport is served by two subway lines and distant Dulles airport is currently having a direct rail connection being built (without transfers).

Another comment was laughable when it was suggested that we walk, order Uber or call a taxi in the event that the Confederation Line shut down. As if there would be enough taxis or Uber drivers available let alone the cost of using either compared to transit.

[roger1818]

Originally Posted by lrt's friend

He said that there was no direct rail service from Pearson to downtown Toronto

Huh? What country has he been in the past 2 years? Obviously not Canada.

I wanted to go, but my wife was sick so I had to take care of the kids.

[lrt's friend]

Originally Posted by roger1818

Huh? What country has he been in the past 2 years? Obviously not Canada.

I wanted to go, but my wife was sick so I had to take care of the kids.

Sorry to hear about the illness. I was just feeling well enough myself after being sick over the weekend.

The person who said that was the English spokesman for the LRT project. He should have been aware of the UPX train.

I think there were a lot of discouraged people at the Hunt Club Community Centre where I watched the event when they said that the current 12 minute single track service for the Trillium Line was sufficient until 2048. It seems what I observed on Saturday (10 minute frequency) is something we can't count on for the future or every day.

The presenter did not understand one of the last questions. With the western terminus being moved from Bayshore to Moodie, would the Baseline BRT also be extended to Moodie? Of course, to avoid two transfers in two stations. But that went right over his head, and probably the transit planners as well. From what I understand, the Moodie Transitway extension will open for a couple of years to be closed again for conversion LRT.

[zzptichka]

Originally Posted by lrt's friend

Wow! No comments following tonight's public LRT presentation at City Hall.

I thought the English presenter was condescending at times and did know what he was talking about when asked about the 2 transfer to reach the airport. He said that there was no direct rail service from Pearson to downtown Toronto and likewise in Washington, where Reagan airport is served by two subway lines and distant Dulles airport is currently having a direct rail connection being built (without transfers).

Another comment was laughable when it was suggested that we walk, order Uber or call a taxi in the event that the Confederation Line shut down. As if there would be enough taxis or Uber drivers available let alone the cost of using either compared to transit.

The English presenter was Chris Swail, director of the whole LRT thing.

They mentioned that Stage2 LRT will be the busiest LRT system in North America. What did they mean? Ridership numbers? Seems like a stretch.

[lrt's friend]

Originally Posted by zzptichka

The English presenter was Chris Swail, director of the whole LRT thing.

They mentioned that Stage2 LRT will be the busiest LRT system in North America. What did they mean? Ridership numbers? Seems like a stretch.

Actually, I expect it to be true, when you are considering transit lines that operate with LRT trains. With the C-Train operating two lines, it will exceed that. And I just saw the Boston Line ridership figures in the last few days he was referring to, and yes it is definitely possible from opening day.

I was amused by the question about express trains (making allowances for it) given the eventual length of the Confederation Line. I had asked the same questions sometime between 2008 and 2010. Chris was befuddled by that question. We aren't New York. Why would we want such a thing? Our trains will be frequent. Of course, that did not really address the reason behind the question. Express buses could bypass little used stations, trains cannot unless you prepare eventually to build bypass tracks. That requires space on the right of way.

I was very impressed by a lot of the questions being asked.

[jimmyjones]

Youtube Stream for Stage 2 LRT Info Session: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lg-GeH6FBC8&feature=em-lbcastemail

[roger1818]

Originally Posted by lrt's friend

The presenter did not understand one of the last questions. With the western terminus being moved from Bayshore to Moodie, would the Baseline BRT also be extended to Moodie? Of course, to avoid two transfers in two stations. But that went right over his head, and probably the transit planners as well.

Certainly an interesting point that I hadn't considered. I don't think it will be as big an issue for the Baseline BRT, but it could be for other routes for the following reasons:

1. I would hope that the Baseline BRT to Bayshore will not replace the 118 but suppliment it. With the 118 still running to Kanata, there will still be direct bus service.
2. The extension of the BRT to Bayshore likely won't be completed until 2031. As much as I am not in favour of the LRT being extended to Kanata, it will also likely be completed by 2031, so if there is an issue, it will be temporary..

From what I understand, the Moodie Transitway extension will open for a couple of years to be closed again for conversion LRT.

An unfortunate consequence to the late change in plans. They are spinning this extension to Moodie as better for riders, but in reality it is a cost savings. As counter intuitive as it sounds, acquiring enough land to allow all the Connexion buses to terminate and wait at Bayshore is more expensive than extending the line less than 2km to Moodie where land is cheaper. If they had costed it out earlier, they likely wouldn't have built the Moodie Transitway extension, but often hindsight is 20/20.

I haven't seen the plans for the Moodie Transitway extension, but it is looking like they are building an overpass over Moodie. That will still be used after Stage 2 to get buses to/from Moodie station.

[lrt's friend]

It was explained last night that the Transitway extension to Moodie includes an at-grade crossing at Holly Acres. This will have to be grade separated for LRT.

It also seemed that the main reason for extending service to Moodie Drive was to facilitate an new western LRT maintenance yard, since the previous planned location off of Woodroffe had been unpopular with local residents (understandable).