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Rejection of Prince of Wales Bridge illustrates difficulty of planning Ottawa-Gatineau rail link
Jon Willing, Ottawa Citizen
Publishing date: 1 hour ago • 4 minute read
The Ottawa-Gatineau region has struggled to attain an overarching public transit vision for interprovincial travel, as illustrated by last week’s acknowledgement that the Prince of Wales Bridge is useless for a primary rail connection.
The City of Gatineau confirmed Friday that the Portage Bridge is the best place to connect a rail service from the west end of the city to Ottawa, echoing the results of an initial analysis made public last year. Two options under consultation now include a surface tram across the Portage Bridge and down Wellington Street in front of the Parliament Buildings, and a tram tunnel under Sparks Street.
The Prince of Wales bridge on the Ottawa River leading to the O-Train Bayview Station isn’t in the running.
It’s a relatively recent revelation that the timeworn crossing isn’t suitable for a main, high-capacity transit connection between Ottawa and Gatineau, but judging by the rationale provided by transit officials, the writing was on the wall years ago.
Studies have determined that all the capacity at Bayview Station would be eaten up by customer volumes going to and coming from Gatineau if there was a connection at the Prince of Wales bridge. It might be fine for a secondary connection — between west Gatineau and south Ottawa, perhaps — but not for a high-frequency transit link between the two cities.
In other words, the newly constructed Bayview Station is too small for interprovincial transit volumes.
The other big reason for eliminating the Prince of Wales bridge from contention is obvious enough: it could cut off passenger flows to key government buildings in Hull. If west-Gatineau residents want to get to work at the Portage government complex, it would require an awkward trip into Ottawa then a transfer to Hull.
It’s common that local governments look to the National Capital Commission for guidance on issues of interprovincial concerns, since it’s uniquely positioned as a local agency whose jurisdiction covers lands on both sides of the river.
The NCC helped lead a regional transportation study about seven years ago with the Prince of Wales bridge still part of the vision, along with some other scenarios describing rail extensions into Hull and a transit loop connecting the Ottawa and Gatineau downtowns. The Prince of Wales bridge was included in the City of Ottawa’s 2013 transportation master plan as long-term interprovincial LRT link.
But putting words into action is another story.
Consider the bureaucratic nightmare that comes with interprovincial transit planning. At least five jurisdictions are involved: two municipal governments, two provincial governments and the federal government via various agencies, like Transport Canada and the NCC. Then there’s the matter of who pays. During a briefing last week on the latest interprovincial transit plan, one official called it the most complex public transit project in Canada.
On the Ottawa side, it has never been clear to council that city hall should be building a huge Bayview Station to accommodate the massive passenger flows projected to happen at some unknown time in the future. The City of Ottawa had no responsibility to build a rail station that could accommodate a connection with Gatineau’s transit network.
Nowhere in a 2011 business case that provided the arguments to build the LRT system was there commentary about how useful Bayview Station would be for an interprovincial transit hub.
A March 2012 report tweaking the design of Bayview Station said the “refinements” would protect the potential to continue the rail line north toward the bridge. A December 2012 report authorizing the east-west LRT project talked about Bayview Station’s capabilities for handling future customer volumes for the Confederation Line and Trillium Line, but nothing specific to interprovincial ridership.
Locking in the $2.1-billion budget was the highest priority for council heading into the 2012 decision to build the LRT system. Upper government funding didn’t come with strings attached to ensure Ottawa’s LRT system would accommodate a high-capacity link to Gatineau.
Gatineau and Ottawa municipal officials seem to be working more closely than ever on the interprovincial transit file, which is good news for anyone hoping to see a rail connection in their lifetime.
However, the City of Ottawa is left holding the bag on the decrepit Prince of Wales bridge.
The city took a flyer on the bridge in 2005 as part of an $11-million purchase of the railway corridor from the Canadian Pacific Railway Company. The rickety crossing, which had a land value of $399,000 at the time of the transaction, was thought to be the key to a future interprovincial rail system.
Instead of a high-capacity public transit, the bridge’s potential has been downgraded to an interprovincial multi-use pathway. The City of Ottawa’s estimate for a railway-to-pathway conversion is $10 million.
With the federal government eyeing quick-win construction work to boost the economy after the COVID-19 pandemic, and Infrastructure Minister Catherine McKenna representing the Ottawa riding where the bridge touches down, it might be the right time to get started on the consolation project.
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https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local...-c03b3fc447ed/
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