Rideau Centre Expansion | Completed

[Boxster]

Now if we could only move the homeless shelters away from the tourist area.

[Uhuniau]

Originally Posted by OTSkyline

This will do wonders for Rideau Street.. That part was always so ugly, dirty and sketchy. With a revitalized and modernized exterior, and hopefully a nice, clean, wide sidewalk, this can become a ncie place to walk and shop around.

Now hopefully we can clean up and do the same on the opposite of the street where the McDonald, crowded bus-stop shelter, Gangster hangout, pee stained sidewalk is.

"Gangster"?

[Uhuniau]

Originally Posted by Beedok

There'll probably still be loads of buses at both MacKenzie King and Rideau. The Confederation line won't eliminate all the local buses.

I should bloody well hope not. However, the powers that be seem to want to move local service to the bridge, and force all passengers to transfer to/from the LRT through the Rideau Centre, which just goes to show, yet again, that the people in Ottawa who plan transit, don't take transit.

[Uhuniau]

Originally Posted by hwy418

I believe it is since the Rideau Centre wants to maintain the pedestrian traffic between Mackenzie King and Rideau. This was a major issue for them during the N-S LRT Study which would have shifted most of the transit to the Mackenzie King Bridge.

The Rideau Centre doesn't take transit.

People take transit.

It is disgusting that the wants of the Rideau Centre's owners take precedence over the needs of transit users.

[YOWetal]

Originally Posted by Uhuniau

The Rideau Centre doesn't take transit.

People take transit.

It is disgusting that the wants of the Rideau Centre's owners take precedence over the needs of transit users.

Agree and this doesn't even make sense for the Rideau Centre. People running for their bus aren't big shoppers and detract from the ambiance of the place generally.

[hwy418]

Originally Posted by YOWetal

Agree and this doesn't even make sense for the Rideau Centre. People running for their bus aren't big shoppers and detract from the ambiance of the place generally.

The notion that transit users don't shop or buy anything during their commute is ridiculous. Of course they do!

[hwy418]

Originally Posted by Uhuniau

The Rideau Centre doesn't take transit.

People take transit.

It is disgusting that the wants of the Rideau Centre's owners take precedence over the needs of transit users.

Whether you like or not the Rideau Centre is a big influence on how pedestrians circulate through their doors. Especially after hours when additional security is required - who do you think pays for that? It's not the City or OC Transpo.

[Uhuniau]

Originally Posted by hwy418

Whether you like or not the Rideau Centre is a big influence on how pedestrians circulate through their doors. Especially after hours when additional security is required - who do you think pays for that? It's not the City or OC Transpo.

I'd rather not be forced to circulate through those doors in the first place.

A Rideau Street bus to Rideau Station LRT connection is the shortest and most direct, resulting in the fewest missed connections, esp. when transferring from LRT to bus, because, as we know, there will not be any mass transit service WITHIN the core any time this century. Downtown residents will have to make do with buses, even as LRT is extended to all the suburbs.

Forcing the transferring passengers from the LRT station up and south through the Rideau Centre to buses on the bridge will result in a too-long transfer time, many missed connections, and thousands of wasted person-hours every year.

But at least the Rideau Centre will be happy, and that's all that really matters, right Viv?

[1overcosc]

It wouldn't be that bad. Moving buses onto the bridge would mean buses would access it by turning from Rideau left onto Waller. If there was a bus stop at Rideau & Waller, the eastern LRT entrance at William St is a very short walk away.

[acottawa]

Trudging across the mall to change buses (or from bus to light rail) isn't ideal, but the current situation with local buses on Rideau is terrible. The sidewalk is too crowded for the number of people getting on and off the bus, the atmosphere is pretty bad, there are too many STO buses and Rideau/Wellington is too slow and has limited dedicated lanes. If the tradeoff for getting somewhere faster and in more comfort is walking through a warm, dry mall then I would prefer that.

Ideally there would be some sort of underground bus station, but that would be a long way in the future.

[Uhuniau]

Originally Posted by acottawa

Trudging across the mall to change buses (or from bus to light rail) isn't ideal, but the current situation with local buses on Rideau is terrible. The sidewalk is too crowded for the number of people getting on and off the bus

Good. There is safety in those numbers.

the atmosphere is pretty bad

And?

there are too many STO buses

Too many for what?

and Rideau/Wellington is too slow and has limited dedicated lanes.

Well, until the Magical Time Machine Fairy comes and puts more streets across the Rideau Canal, that's what we have to work with.

Maybe - crazy idea here - prioritize transit over private autos? You know, like the official plans talk about doing, but never actually get around to doing?

Ideally there would be some sort of underground bus station, but that would be a long way in the future.

Now that's a recipe for a bad atmosphere, in both senses of the word. I'll leave underground for the subway and the CHUDs.

[Aylmer]

Originally Posted by Uhuniau

Good. There is safety in those numbers.

Normally, I'd agree, but there comes a point at which a place is so crowded that people try to avoid it if they don't absolutely have to be there. Rideau has already gotten to that point - the overcrowding of the sidewalks with people waiting for their bus has made it almost impossible to get through, let alone stop to enjoy Rideau. When I was at OttawaU, I would take any STO bus to Bank just to avoid having to wait at Rideau.

However, I don't agree with taking the buses off Rideau: they insure that there are always people at all hours of the day waiting, getting on and getting off. That's where your "safety in numbers" argument holds true.

That said, what is needed is a fair allocation of space on the road and a reason for people to stay: much, much wider sidewalks, trees, benches, vendors and storefronts would all go a very long way in making Rideau a destination instead of a necessary evil. With the thousands of people waiting for buses, going to the Rideau Centre or taking LRT, Rideau has the potential to become one of the most vibrant spaces in Ottawa, but the infrastructure has to be able to accommodate a place where people want to stay instead of just pass through.

[Uhuniau]

Originally Posted by Aylmer

Normally, I'd agree, but there comes a point at which a place is so crowded that people try to avoid it if they don't absolutely have to be there. Rideau has already gotten to that point - the overcrowding of the sidewalks with people waiting for their bus has made it almost impossible to get through, let alone stop to enjoy Rideau.

The south side is a temporary mess until construction is over; I'd suffer it for a few more years.

The north side sidewalk could stand to be widened at the STO stop, and there could be a linear segregation of OC Transpo stops (1,2,4 at A, 7,9,12,14,18 at B, or some such.) Especially so if the number of STO routes is dropped dramatically or eliminated through a transfer hub on the LRT line.

[Aylmer]

The south side isn't as big a problem as the north side...

I would reduce the street from 4 lanes +bus bays to 2 lanes +bus bays, giving an extra 6m of breathing room. I would object to a removal of buses from Rideau exactly because it keeps the place busy. Instead of trying getting rid of people, why don't we try accommodating the busyness?

[citydwlr]

Nordstroms' Mackenzie King façade:


[source]

[ars]

Originally Posted by citydwlr

Nordstroms' Mackenzie King façade:


[source]

That's coming along nicely. I think it'll look pretty close to the concept image/render when all is said and done.

[teej1984]

I'm hoping the finished product looks better than it does now. While it's an improvement, I find the cladding looks a little cheap.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by 1overcosc

It wouldn't be that bad. Moving buses onto the bridge would mean buses would access it by turning from Rideau left onto Waller. If there was a bus stop at Rideau & Waller, the eastern LRT entrance at William St is a very short walk away.

Very good point. Presumably bus passengers coming from the east transferring to the metro would get off at Rideau-Waller and walk to Rideau-William which is only 200 m away.

Most of those coming from the west won't have to wait until Rideau to transfer to the metro (unless they have some business to attend to there), and will likely do so at one of the CBD stations.

[eternallyme]

If all buses (including STO) were sent to Mackenzie King Bridge and Albert/Slater, would it allow for much wider sidewalks on Wellington as well, for more pedestrian activity between Parliament and Rideau? Also buses could be removed from Queen Street and bicycle lanes like on Laurier could be built there. Albert and Slater are already set up for bus movements, and with about 90% of them removed, the local and STO service could easily be accommodated.

The one issue is how to move STO buses back to Wellington to the Portage Bridge, convert Bay Street south of Slater to buses only?

[Catenary]

Originally Posted by eternallyme

If all buses (including STO) were sent to Mackenzie King Bridge and Albert/Slater, would it allow for much wider sidewalks on Wellington as well, for more pedestrian activity between Parliament and Rideau? Also buses could be removed from Queen Street and bicycle lanes like on Laurier could be built there. Albert and Slater are already set up for bus movements, and with about 90% of them removed, the local and STO service could easily be accommodated.

The one issue is how to move STO buses back to Wellington to the Portage Bridge, convert Bay Street south of Slater to buses only?

My solution for this connection is to cleanup Commissioner and Old Wellington so they connect to the weird SJAM-Wellington intersection. Although it's a park, fixing it up could actually reduce the number of square metres of asphalt there.