Confederation Line (Stage 1) | In Service 1.0

[lrt's friend]

Originally Posted by TransitZilla

Pimisi station is not closed today (except for 8-10pm in order to clear Booth Street and set up the queues for egress).

You can take the train to Pimisi today, but unless you have a mobility challenge, you will likely be asked by the event organizers to walk around to Wellington St. The event organizers will have the security queue along Wellington toward the Portage Bridge. OC Transpo is asking customers to get off at Lyon because this the station closest to the way the organizers want people to access the site.

They are expecting 100k+ at LeBreton today. The requirement for crowd control shouldn’t come as a shock.

This is what the OC Transpo website is saying with those with mobility issues can still use Pimisi Station from what I understand. Pimisi Station is be fully closed from 8 to 10 p.m. This is all pretty confusing for the user. I don't fully understand the security setup to be honest, and no desire to attempt to use the unreliable R2 from the south end.

[DTcrawler]

Originally Posted by lrt's friend

While you vehemently disagree with me, you bring up exactly the points that I made. Perhaps, you should call CFRA to 'correct' the view that they are presenting.

Also, you read into my comments, things that I did not say. I did not say that I disagree with any reasonable security plan. All that I said is that the station is closed for much of the day for 'security' reasons. Untrue?

It seems to me that more than 30,000 could be accommodated when the event was held downtown. I understand that downtown is not available with the current construction.

CFRA could find out that OC Transpo is implementing the most seamless, ironclad plan in the world and they’d still find a way to disparage it. It’s their brand and it’s what their listeners expect to hear. It’s a station for people who like to feel like they know more than the experts who are paid to make these decisions.

That being said, I don’t think we improve as a city from blindly defending its decision-making, even if we can see the rationale they used. And even if the decisions under scrutiny were made by Heritage Canada and security partners, rather than OC Transpo and the City.

Let’s be clear first: Pimisi is open all day except from 8-10pm. However, only people with disabilities can walk straight north on Booth upon exiting to access Lebreton, while everyone else needs to take a roundabout way there. This makes Lyon the best station for able-bodied users, as it’s a shorter walk than taking the detour from Pimisi.

This is where I think Heritage Canada went wrong, I think its an overly- cautious crowd control measure to limit access north on Booth when the stream of people accessing Lebreton is spread out throughout the day.

From 8-10pm, when people will start arriving for the fireworks en masse, it makes sense for trains to bypass Pimisi otherwise you will be dumping trainloads of people on an area already saturated with people gathered to watch the fireworks.

The post-fireworks plan makes sense too, with westbound users catching bus lines that have been extending eastward from Tunney’s to Pimisi, and eastbound users catching the O-Train at Pimisi.

If you understand this, you can see it’s evident that none of this has to do with O-Train capacity issues, but rather the capacity of Booth overpass and surrounding streets. When the load on the O-Train will be the greatest, post-fireworks, people will be getting on the O-Train at Pimisi to go eastbound.

[lrt's friend]

Originally Posted by DTcrawler

CFRA could find out that OC Transpo is implementing the most seamless, ironclad plan in the world and they’d still find a way to disparage it. It’s their brand and it’s what their listeners expect to hear. It’s a station for people who like to feel like they know more than the experts who are paid to make these decisions.

That being said, I don’t think we improve as a city from blindly defending its decision-making, even if we can see the rationale they used. And even if the decisions under scrutiny were made by Heritage Canada and security partners, rather than OC Transpo and the City.

Let’s be clear first: Pimisi is open all day except from 8-10pm. However, only people with disabilities can walk straight north on Booth upon exiting to access Lebreton, while everyone else needs to take a roundabout way there. This makes Lyon the best station for able-bodied users, as it’s a shorter walk than taking the detour from Pimisi.

This is where I think Heritage Canada went wrong, I think its an overly- cautious crowd control measure to limit access north on Booth when the stream of people accessing Lebreton is spread out throughout the day.

From 8-10pm, when people will start arriving for the fireworks en masse, it makes sense for trains to bypass Pimisi otherwise you will be dumping trainloads of people on an area already saturated with people gathered to watch the fireworks.

The post-fireworks plan makes sense too, with westbound users catching bus lines that have been extending eastward from Tunney’s to Pimisi, and eastbound users catching the O-Train at Pimisi.

If you understand this, you can see it’s evident that none of this has to do with O-Train capacity issues, but rather the capacity of Booth overpass and surrounding streets. When the load on the O-Train will be the greatest, post-fireworks, people will be getting on the O-Train at Pimisi to go eastbound.

Where exactly is this all explained in clear terms? I went to the OC Transpo website and it mentioned various bus stop changes but nothing that really gives an overview, like in years prior to Covid. Perhaps, I didn't find the right page that shows maps and clear descriptions of overall service, road closures etc. Maybe, I just can't navigate the new world of apps, whereas in the past, it was just a whole lot more obvious. Nevertheless, your comments show how two dimensional the city has become. You either go east or west. I know, nobody really lives south of the Queensway.

[DTcrawler]

Originally Posted by lrt's friend

Where exactly is this all explained in clear terms? I went to the OC Transpo website and it mentioned various bus stop changes but nothing that really gives an overview, like in years prior to Covid. Perhaps, I didn't find the right page that shows maps and clear descriptions of overall service, road closures etc. Maybe, I just can't navigate the new world of apps, whereas in the past, it was just a whole lot more obvious. Nevertheless, your comments show how two dimensional the city has become. You either go east or west. I know, nobody really lives south of the Queensway.

This article on their website does a pretty good job at explaining everything, including diagrams:

https://www.octranspo.com/en/news/article/canada-day-weekend-service/

It's where I got the information that I relayed here. Admittedly, they could have done a better job explaining why they're doing what their doing, and explaining whose decision it was. That being said, I put a bigger blame on local media outlets for failing to distribute that article, despite it having been available well in advance of Canada Day. Between CBC, CTV, Citizen, etc., explanations of how Canada Day service would run were incomplete, inconsistent, and in a few instances, plain wrong. But that's a whole different issue.

[Kitchissippi]

They just evacuated LeBreton early because of the storm, the only people allowed on the bridge were people heading to the LRT.

[swimmer_spe]

My silly thinking is to use transit to get people in and out of a location to reduce traffic. Silly me.

[zzptichka]

Originally Posted by Kitchissippi

They just evacuated LeBreton early because of the storm, the only people allowed on the bridge were people heading to the LRT.

Been there. Pretty dumb on their part, forcing people with strollers to walk through the Library construction zone. As opposed to just letting people go down Booth to Wellington. No Joy!

[DTcrawler]

Originally Posted by zzptichka

Been there. Pretty dumb on their part, forcing people with strollers to walk through the Library construction zone. As opposed to just letting people go down Booth to Wellington. No Joy!

Sounds like they effed up... even the post-fireworks map shows that a lane was supposed to be maintained for through-traffic. Not sure why they abandoned that plan. Was Booth overly congested?

[swimmer_spe]

Originally Posted by DTcrawler

Sounds like they effed up... even the post-fireworks map shows that a lane was supposed to be maintained for through-traffic. Not sure why they abandoned that plan. Was Booth overly congested?

Maybe for events like this, cars shouldn't be able to get within several blocks of the Hill. Have similar blockades such as post convoy and funnel everyone into the transit.

[lrt's friend]

Originally Posted by DTcrawler

This article on their website does a pretty good job at explaining everything, including diagrams:

https://www.octranspo.com/en/news/article/canada-day-weekend-service/

It's where I got the information that I relayed here. Admittedly, they could have done a better job explaining why they're doing what their doing, and explaining whose decision it was. That being said, I put a bigger blame on local media outlets for failing to distribute that article, despite it having been available well in advance of Canada Day. Between CBC, CTV, Citizen, etc., explanations of how Canada Day service would run were incomplete, inconsistent, and in a few instances, plain wrong. But that's a whole different issue.

I know I am pretty stupid, but when I went to the OC Transpo main page, I got lost in the site. Maybe I missed the obvious. I didn't find that page.

[Kitchissippi]

The other extremely stupid thing they did was block all pedestrian and bike access between LeBreton park and Bayview station, preventing better diffusion of transit users. The LRT could have been a great shuttle between Parliament Hill and LeBreton, instead people looked tired and weary from the long boring walk.

Gone are the throngs of mostly happy cheering people that used to go from Wellington to Rideau, it’s now all open to busy traffic. The most visible things in front of Parliament were the F#CK Trudeau anti-vaxxers and sidewalk preachers. Canada Day in Ottawa used to be fun (especially in the 80s and 90s when people really participated). It doesn’t seem to be anything substantial anymore, people just ‘attend’ and don’t do much else.

It was actually hugely inconvenient to even bike in from the west end, not only did they cancel the weekend bike day parkway closure, the river pathway and parkway were closed to all starting at Lemieux Island. Really horrible planning.

[lrt's friend]

Originally Posted by DTcrawler

Sounds like they effed up... even the post-fireworks map shows that a lane was supposed to be maintained for through-traffic. Not sure why they abandoned that plan. Was Booth overly congested?

Notice something about the map? There is no options for southbound passengers. ZERO! They couldn't even bother extending the R2 bus to Lebreton. They don't even acknowledge that the R2 bus exists somewhat close by.

[lrt's friend]

Originally Posted by Kitchissippi

The other extremely stupid thing they did was block all pedestrian and bike access between LeBreton park and Bayview station, preventing better diffusion of transit users. The LRT could have been a great shuttle between Parliament Hill and LeBreton, instead people looked tired and weary from the long boring walk.

Gone are the throngs of mostly happy cheering people that used to go from Wellington to Rideau, it’s now all open to busy traffic. The most visible things in front of Parliament were the F#CK Trudeau anti-vaxxers and sidewalk preachers. Canada Day in Ottawa used to be fun (especially in the 80s and 90s when people really participated). It doesn’t seem to be anything substantial anymore, people just ‘attend’ and don’t do much else.

It was actually hugely inconvenient to even bike in from the west end, not only did they cancel the weekend bike day parkway closure, the river pathway and parkway were closed to all starting at Lemieux Island. Really horrible planning.

This used to be a windfall for downtown businesses. Not anymore.

[zzptichka]

Originally Posted by Kitchissippi

The other extremely stupid thing they did was block all pedestrian and bike access between LeBreton park and Bayview station, preventing better diffusion of transit users. The LRT could have been a great shuttle between Parliament Hill and LeBreton, instead people looked tired and weary from the long boring walk.

Gone are the throngs of mostly happy cheering people that used to go from Wellington to Rideau, it’s now all open to busy traffic. The most visible things in front of Parliament were the F#CK Trudeau anti-vaxxers and sidewalk preachers. Canada Day in Ottawa used to be fun (especially in the 80s and 90s when people really participated). It doesn’t seem to be anything substantial anymore, people just ‘attend’ and don’t do much else.

It was actually hugely inconvenient to even bike in from the west end, not only did they cancel the weekend bike day parkway closure, the river pathway and parkway were closed to all starting at Lemieux Island. Really horrible planning.

Yep, walked along Wellington. Felt like organizers were more preoccupied with controlling the crowd, making sure they don't deviate from their path.

Zero music, zero entertainment, zero fun. Just thousands of lost people wandering around, not sure what they were doing there. I guess all budget went towards all those cops' overtime.

[DTcrawler]

Originally Posted by zzptichka

Yep, walked along Wellington. Felt like organizers were more preoccupied with controlling the crowd, making sure they don't deviate from their path.

Zero music, zero entertainment, zero fun. Just thousands of lost people wandering around, not sure what they were doing there. I guess all budget went towards all those cops' overtime.

I hate being negative on Canada Day but at the same time it's ironic that on Canada's national holiday, we see a perfect example of what's wrong with decision-making in our country.

The organizers (Heritage Canada) seem to have spent all their time, money and effort on overly restrictive and cumbersome transit detours, pathway closures and security measures. They were so busy making sure their asses were covered that they forgot about the main goal of creating a fun, vibrant and bold celebration for our country.

[zzptichka]

[zzptichka]

While we are at it, to stay on topic. A bird and a train.

[lrt's friend]

Originally Posted by DTcrawler

I hate being negative on Canada Day but at the same time it's ironic that on Canada's national holiday, we see a perfect example of what's wrong with decision-making in our country.

The organizers (Heritage Canada) seem to have spent all their time, money and effort on overly restrictive and cumbersome transit detours, pathway closures and security measures. They were so busy making sure their asses were covered that they forgot about the main goal of creating a fun, vibrant and bold celebration for our country.

This all started with the Canada 150 fiasco in 2017.

[phil235]

Originally Posted by lrt's friend

This used to be a windfall for downtown businesses. Not anymore.

Just to balance perspectives,I walked down to Wellington around 2pm and was pleasantly surprised by the number of people out despite the threatening forecast. There were food trucks and displays, and only about 20 convoy/antivaxxer/anti-social types who were basically drowned out by the normal folk.

Went over to the market and found a spot in a pub just before the downpour. The pub became packed as the rain came down, as did everything nearby. Later headed over to the Rideau Centre, which was also doing a brisk business. The market and Rideau street got really busy when the rain let up. Then we hopped on the train for free, transferred to a bus and got home with zero issues.

I also read that downtown hotels are at 100% capacity for the second weekend in a row. So not all doom and gloom. Cheer up people, it’s a holiday!

[DTcrawler]

Originally Posted by phil235

Just to balance perspectives,I walked down to Wellington around 2pm and was pleasantly surprised by the number of people out despite the threatening forecast. There were food trucks and displays, and only about 20 convoy/antivaxxer/anti-social types who were basically drowned out by the normal folk.

Went over to the market and found a spot in a pub just before the downpour. The pub became packed as the rain came down, as did everything nearby. Later headed over to the Rideau Centre, which was also doing a brisk business. The market and Rideau street got really busy when the rain let up. Then we hopped on the train for free, transferred to a bus and got home with zero issues.

I also read that downtown hotels are at 100% capacity for the second weekend in a row. So not all doom and gloom. Cheer up people, it’s a holiday!

Yeah, to add onto this, downtown along Wellington and the Byward Market were packed beyond belief yesterday. It was amazing to see. Keeping it on topic, O-Train was well-used yesterday too and I had a chance to help out some tourists who seemed quite happy with their experience landing at YOW and taking transit to get downtown.