Roads/Bridges projects/issues

[JM1]

Had they considered a bridge at tenth line road across the Ottawa River instead of trying to drive one through existing communities, they could have been well underway on a new bridge by now. A bridge at Tenth Line would also have been much cheaper (not as much reworking of existing urban roadways).

Originally Posted by rocketphish

Traffic nightmare looms for users for Macdonald-Cartier Bridge

Public Works posts tender for extensive refit of 50-year-old span

By David Reevely and don butler, OTTAWA CITIZEN January 7, 2014

Commuters and truckers who use the Macdonald-Cartier Bridge should brace themselves for two years of traffic chaos.

The steel box girder bridge, built between 1964 and 1966, is about to undergo the most extensive refit in its history to replace worn-out parts and give it upgrades to better resist earthquakes, according to a tender posted by the Department of Public Works.

The 618-metre-long bridge that connects King Edward Avenue to Hwy. 5 in Quebec is a major transportation link between Ottawa and Gatineau, with average annual daily traffic of 70,000 vehicles. It’s also the main route for interprovincial trucking, handling more than 2,000 heavy trucks a day.

In the tender document, Public Works says the chosen contractor must do the work in a specific sequence to minimize its impact on the free flow of traffic. The department may reject work plans that “unduly penalize users when other solutions are available,” it says.

Still, it’s clear the project will be a royal pain for those who rely on the bridge. Work is scheduled to begin this spring and won’t be completed until the spring of 2016.

While complete bridge closures are not anticipated, “lane reductions will be required,” Public Works said in an email Tuesday. At times, the six-lane bridge will be down to a single lane in each direction, according to the tender document.

There will also be several short-term closures of exit and access ramps and the speed limit on the bridge will be reduced to 50 kilometres an hour for the duration of the work.

To minimize the impact of the work on bridge users, Public Works will issue notices informing the public in advance when lane closures are required.

Further complicating matters for motorists, the bridge work is to be done in conjunction with a city-run project to renovate a section of Sussex Drive from St. Patrick Street to King Edward Avenue.

That work, which includes the rehabilitation of the Sussex Drive Bridge over the Rideau River, won’t be finished until the end of this year.

The Macdonald-Cartier Bridge rehabilitation, valued at more than $5 million, is for a “seismic retrofit of the bridge and the rehabilitation of deteriorating components, specifically the deck, sidewalks, lighting system, barriers, concrete surfaces of pillars and abutments,” the tender documents say.

A description of the project on the Public Works website adds further details. Among other things, the project will widen the roadway in both directions, add a wider multi-use sidewalk for pedestrian and cyclist use, replace existing railings and install a new median.

The tender document specifies that the contractor has to hire a “quality verification engineer,” a professional technical consultant qualified to work in both Ontario and Quebec, whose job is to provide expert monitoring of the construction work.

dreevely@ottawacitizen.com

dbutler@ottawacitizen.com

ottawacitizen.com/greaterottawa
© Copyright (c) The Ottawa Citizen

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/Ma...616/story.html

[rocketphish]

Federal workplace watchdog orders city to improve train-bus crossings

By Derek Spalding, OTTAWA CITIZEN January 9, 2014

OTTAWA — A federal workplace watchdog has ordered changes to city rail crossings that intersect with OC Transpo buses as part of the ongoing investigation into a fatal collision that killed six people last year.

Any city crossings where buses and trains meet must be analyzed for existing safety hazards and improved, according to the order from Employment and Social Development Canada.

The federal agency is conducting part of the investigation into the Sept. 18 collision between an OC Transpo bus and Via train near Woodroffe Avenue. The city must clear any hazards from all crossings that buses encounter, such as obstructed sightlines, according to a notice to city council and transit commission members from the office of city solicitor Rick O’Connor.

OC Transpo has bus routes using more than 20 level crossings, according to the city’s communications department. Of those crossings, 15 have lights and gates, four have only lights, and one has markings but neither lights nor gates.

City and OC Transpo staff would not comment Thursday when asked what public works crews will be looking for at the crossings, but work already done on the Transitway at the fatal crash site near Fallowfield station gives some indication.

The city in October cut back brush and trees to improve sight linesand installed signs to warn of the level crossing. The speed limit was reduced from 60 km/h to 50, and the was also looking to install a warning sign with a light to alert drivers about the crossing before they even make the curve leading to the tracks.

O’Connor says the city will comply with the ESDC direction.

“I can advise that transit services, in cooperation with the public works department, will be immediately undertaking comprehensive assessments of all other railway crossings on OC Transpo routes and any required remedial work will be carried out as soon as possible thereafter,” he wrote.

dspalding@ottawacitizen.com

Twitter.com/Derek_Spalding
© Copyright (c) The Ottawa Citizen

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/Fe...268/story.html

[rocketphish]

Watson wants more murals on 417 overpasses

By Matthew Pearson, OTTAWA CITIZEN January 22, 2014 1:12 PM

OTTAWA — Jim Watson wants to paint the town.

Specifically, the town’s Highway 417 “dark and dingy” overpasses.

In Wednesday’s State of the City address, the Ottawa mayor announced plans to work with councillors, Business Improvement Areas (BIAs), youth groups and local artists to paint large murals on overpasses, in the spirit of the Little Italy-themed mural that adorns the Preston Street overpass.

Watson said he’s already secured the permission of the province’s Ministry of Transportation to paint overpasses with high pedestrian traffic, such as Parkdale, Bronson, Kent, Bank and Metcalfe.

Now he wants some corporate sponsors to step up to the plate and purchase the paint.

“Little Italy had it right many years ago because it does brighten up those areas, it acts as a bit of a marketing device to attract people to the neighbourhood. We have some great local artists who can gussy up those and make them look a little brighter,” the mayor told reporters following his speech.

If all goes according to Watson’s plan, the murals will be completed by the end of summer.

mpearson@ottawacitizen.com

twitter.com/mpearson78
© Copyright (c) The Ottawa Citizen

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/ot...095/story.html

[McC]

a great, simple idea to make things a little bit better. endorse!

[J.OT13]

Love it! I always wondered why no one ever followed Preston BIA's lead.

[umbria27]

I agree we should be doing something for this space, but the Preston mural isn't the best advertisement for underpass art. I applaud the Preston BIA's initiative, but it's pretty amateur work. Get some real artists involved and don't limit it to murals. We don't need any more Naïf Art vignettes. There should be Op Art in there, high quality graffiti, photo transfers, mosaics, sculptures, light art like the OHare light tunnel.

Here are some examples:

Bike Part chandeliers in Texas

http://www.thisiscolossal.com/2013/0...exas-overpass/



Paintings in LA

https://la-artist.com/news/2012/09/m...sunset-bridge/



German Lego Bridge

http://www.megx.de/?p=1059



LED Underpass in Scotland
http://inhabitat.com/scottish-underp...-installation/



Fish Under the I95
http://interface-studio.com/projects...-to-the-river/

[kevinbottawa]

Very good idea. Interesting that councillors were always worried about electronic signs and billboards distracting drivers, but they probably won't be worried about drivers being distracted by this kind of art.

[Buggys]

This initiative better not cost taxpayers money. We need as much money in public transit as possible.

[Catenary]

Originally Posted by Buggys

This initiative better not cost taxpayers money. We need as much money in public transit as possible.

Are you aware that a percentage of all public transit dollars has to go towards art? It's not much, but it's not a bad idea to make public transit look good.

The cost to prep and paint a couple of underpasses would do nothing to improve transit on the surface, but would improve neighborhoods, possibly improve walkability and have a positive impact on transit demand.

I agree that some ideas seem like vanity projects, and I don't like it when the "art" is an afterthought (the current O-Train expansion comes to mind) but this seems like a pretty good idea for the cost involved.

[rocketphish]

Small fixes could help unclog 2 Hunt Club intersections

By Jon Willing, Ottawa Sun
First posted: Thursday, January 30, 2014 01:03 PM EST | Updated: Thursday, January 30, 2014 04:46 PM EST

Are the two Hunt Club Rd. intersections flanking the Rideau River the worst in Ottawa?

It's a question asked repeatedly over the years, especially when the annual collision data ranks the intersections high on the list of Ottawa's crash crossroads.

River Coun. Maria McRae asked staff last summer what they're considering as solutions to address the traffic issues, specifically at Hunt Club and Riverside.

The observation of public works is published in a response attached to next week's transportation committee agenda. Staff say the intersection at Riverside Dr. on the east side of the river and Prince of Wales Dr. on the west side experience "severe congestion" during the peak-time commutes, simply because of the number of vehicles trying to get through the lights from each direction.

Both north-south roads are main links to Ottawa's core from the southern suburbs.

The 2012 Ottawa Road Safety Report listed Hunt Club and Riverside as the signalized intersection with the most crashes that year with 34. Thirteen crashes resulted in minimal or minor injuries. The intersection was also tops in 2011 with 53 collisions and in 2010 with 43 crackups.

In 2011, Hunt Club and Prince of Wales saw 30 collisions, ranking fourth on the top-10 list that year. The intersection dropped out of the top 10 in 2012.

Traffic lights are coordinated in this section of Hunt Club and staff at the city's traffic control centre monitor the vehicle flow via cameras.

The planning department says road allowances around the two intersections are protected for lane additions in the future.

There is only one project on the books that might help the traffic flow in the Prince of Wales corridor, but the $23.6-million widening between Hunt Club and Colonnade Rd. isn't scheduled to happen until 2026 at the earliest under the transportation master plan.

Staff believe there is still room to make more timely, but minor, improvements in this section of Hunt Club starting in 2015. The work could include an extension of the right-turn lane on northbound Prince of Wales, and twin right turn lanes on southbound Riverside approaching Hunt Club. Intersection work in the Prince of Wales stretch at Merivale Rd., Deakin St. and Fallowfield Rd. could also help, staff say.

The big hope is the new Strandherd-Armstrong bridge, scheduled to open in September, will distribute traffic more evenly across the north-south routes.

jon.willing@sunmedia.ca Twitter: @JonathanWilling

http://www.ottawasun.com/2014/01/30/...-intersections

[rocketphish]

Overnight parking ban costly, dysfunctional, city staff say

Roads manager says rigid rule doesn’t mesh with snowplow operations

By Carys Mills, OTTAWA CITIZEN February 5, 2014

OTTAWA — Ottawa’s overnight parking ban isn’t working and needs to be rejigged, city staff told the transportation committee Wednesday.

When Environment Canada forecasts seven or more centimetres of snow, the ban is automatically put in place between 1 a.m. and 7 a.m. But that doesn’t align with the movement of snow plow crews through city streets, said Kevin Wylie, manager of the city’s roads, traffic operations and maintenance branch.

“It’s not working very well. It’s not co-ordinated well with the operations,” he told reporters after telling the committee that responding to snow storms in 2013 left the city’s road maintenance budget with a $21.5-million deficit.

Wylie said a change could be possible for next winter. His department is speaking with the city’s bylaw and legal departments to see whether there could be a more flexible alternative than the rigid rule.

“The ban is automatically on,” he said. “Well, we may not be plowing until the next day.”

He said there are a lot of details to be worked out, such as whether on-street permit parking would still be exempt. It’s also unclear what the solution would look like, though one possibility would be rolling bans throughout neighbourhoods, co-ordinated with plowing.

“I don’t know how to do it,” he said. “But the option I’d like to see is it to line up better with the operations.”

He gave the example of a two-day storm, which doesn’t accumulate much snow on the first day. It doesn’t make sense to plow on the first day, so there’s no need for the ban, although there might be on the second day, he said.

“I don’t want to be in there, having bylaw (officers) ticket residents when we’re not going to be plowing. That doesn’t make sense. I just think there’s a better way of approaching it.”

It would also save money to go through residential streets only once, when all the cars are off the road, he said. “I don’t want to do it twice. If you do it twice, that’s twice the money.”

Coun. David Chernushenko told the committee he wants staff to look into whether residents could use private lots, such as at malls, for free when there’s a ban. “That seems to be a way that we could be much more efficient in getting cars off the roads and giving them somewhere to go,” he said.

Wylie said it’s “not a bad idea” to see if a reduced price deal could be worked out with private lots.

cmills@ottawacitizen.com

twitter.com/CarysMills
© Copyright (c) The Ottawa Citizen

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/ot...735/story.html

[Buggys]

Does the city have a coordinated way of consulting with people when these discussions are held?

Why should everyone else pay, for the few of those who chose to live in a cheaper place with inadequate parking?

[waterloowarrior]

Notice of road improvements

Strandherd Drive from Fallowfield Road to Kennevale Drive
• New concrete sidewalks
• New cycle tracks
• New median on Strandherd Drive
• New traffic signals at Strandherd Drive and Maravista Drive
• New traffic signals at Strandherd Drive and Jockvale Road
• New southbound right-turn and left-turn lanes on Fallowfield Road
• New southbound right-turn lane on Strandherd Drive at Maravista Drive
• New southbound left-turn-turn lane on Strandherd Drive at Maravista Drive
• New northbound double left-turn lane on Strandherd Drive at Maravista Drive

[Dado]

Is Maravista Dr going to cross Strandherd?

Otherwise I can't figure out why there'd be a northbound double left-turn lane on Strandherd at that location.

And poor Jockvale. Its conversion from useful off-grid diagonal road to near useless loopy road is now complete. I sure would love to know why it is that our transportation planner-engineers so dislike straight diagonal roads but love loopy roads, like Strandherd and Longfields.

[waterloowarrior]

^ the turn lanes and signals are related to the entrances to that big Citi Gate campus across the street
http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=141085

[TransitZilla]

Originally Posted by Dado

And poor Jockvale. Its conversion from useful off-grid diagonal road to near useless loopy road is now complete. I sure would love to know why it is that our transportation planner-engineers so dislike straight diagonal roads but love loopy roads, like Strandherd and Longfields.

I'm not sure I understand how extending Jockvale from Cedarview to Strandherd somehow transforms it from being straight and useful to loopy and useless...

[Dado]

Originally Posted by bradnixon

I'm not sure I understand how extending Jockvale from Cedarview to Strandherd somehow transforms it from being straight and useful to loopy and useless...

Not in and of itself, no. But that's not what I said, either. The extension to Strandherd is just the last step in its conversion (admittedly this last extension probably makes it slightly more useful than it has been for the last decade or so).

But just look at where Jockvale used to go: it would have gone from the crossing of the Jock River diagonally northwestwards to the Cedarview-Fallowfield area. Jockvale Rd is at least as old as the survey grid; indeed it would appear it was cut by natives to move between the Rideau and the Ottawa Rivers and subsequently used by settlers:

"Jockvale Road also know as the forced road, was originally cut by the
Indians. Many men, women, children, Indians and soldiers have travelled that route by foot in the early 1800's. Amazing isn't it?"

http://www.bytown.net/barrhaven.htm

There is plenty more on that page and site about settlement along it.

Jockvale has been broken up and the northern end of it goes from Strandherd to... Strandherd, so that it now forms a half loop. The bit between Longfields and Greenbank will eventually be developed. When they're done we're going to have two disjointed and widely separated Jockvale Roads in existence, and for what? So part of it could have a shopping mall built upon it?

Jockvale should have been developed as a traditional mainstreet, not broken up. Indeed "Barrhaven" itself should have been named after Jockvale or at least the Jock River. But this is what we get with a suburban development ethos that cares not a whiff for history or function.

[eternallyme]

Jockvale Road is a historic road that was built long before any of Barrhaven developed. Diagonal roads don't go well in street grids. Of course the main street idea would be useful, but we would have had to plan that about 40 years ago. Back in the 1970s, no one cared at all about the main streets.

I do think that a connection - as a 2-lane collector road - between the two is necessary though. Otherwise it might be worth renaming some roads.

[eternallyme]

Originally Posted by rocketphish

Small fixes could help unclog 2 Hunt Club intersections

By Jon Willing, Ottawa Sun
First posted: Thursday, January 30, 2014 01:03 PM EST | Updated: Thursday, January 30, 2014 04:46 PM EST

Are the two Hunt Club Rd. intersections flanking the Rideau River the worst in Ottawa?

It's a question asked repeatedly over the years, especially when the annual collision data ranks the intersections high on the list of Ottawa's crash crossroads.

River Coun. Maria McRae asked staff last summer what they're considering as solutions to address the traffic issues, specifically at Hunt Club and Riverside.

The observation of public works is published in a response attached to next week's transportation committee agenda. Staff say the intersection at Riverside Dr. on the east side of the river and Prince of Wales Dr. on the west side experience "severe congestion" during the peak-time commutes, simply because of the number of vehicles trying to get through the lights from each direction.

Both north-south roads are main links to Ottawa's core from the southern suburbs.

The 2012 Ottawa Road Safety Report listed Hunt Club and Riverside as the signalized intersection with the most crashes that year with 34. Thirteen crashes resulted in minimal or minor injuries. The intersection was also tops in 2011 with 53 collisions and in 2010 with 43 crackups.

In 2011, Hunt Club and Prince of Wales saw 30 collisions, ranking fourth on the top-10 list that year. The intersection dropped out of the top 10 in 2012.

Traffic lights are coordinated in this section of Hunt Club and staff at the city's traffic control centre monitor the vehicle flow via cameras.

The planning department says road allowances around the two intersections are protected for lane additions in the future.

There is only one project on the books that might help the traffic flow in the Prince of Wales corridor, but the $23.6-million widening between Hunt Club and Colonnade Rd. isn't scheduled to happen until 2026 at the earliest under the transportation master plan.

Staff believe there is still room to make more timely, but minor, improvements in this section of Hunt Club starting in 2015. The work could include an extension of the right-turn lane on northbound Prince of Wales, and twin right turn lanes on southbound Riverside approaching Hunt Club. Intersection work in the Prince of Wales stretch at Merivale Rd., Deakin St. and Fallowfield Rd. could also help, staff say.

The big hope is the new Strandherd-Armstrong bridge, scheduled to open in September, will distribute traffic more evenly across the north-south routes.

jon.willing@sunmedia.ca Twitter: @JonathanWilling

http://www.ottawasun.com/2014/01/30/...-intersections

Didn't notice that, but the only reasonable solution IMO is a grade-separated interchange at each end. It won't be cheap, but there really isn't any other solution that I can think of.

[Dado]

Originally Posted by eternallyme

Jockvale Road is a historic road that was built long before any of Barrhaven developed. Diagonal roads don't go well in street grids.

What street grid? Barrhaven doesn't have a street grid. It, and particularly the area around Jockvale, has a motley collection of crescents and culs-de-sac. What street grid it did have - the concession roads - have themselves been partially obliterated.

Besides that, diagonal streets exist in many grid systems; they tend to be fairly important streets. Richmond Road is a prime example here in Ottawa.

I do think that a connection - as a 2-lane collector road - between the two is necessary though. Otherwise it might be worth renaming some roads.

Stupidly, they very nearly did this in the plans, but didn't:


http://ottawa.ca/en/city-hall/planni...ns-and-stu-309

Jockvale is the street coming in at the top left from the top. With a small change they could have made it rejoin Jockvale coming across the bridge at the lower right.