Trillium Line (O-Train) Updates

[lrt's friend]

Yes, let's spend a few more billion. But, most importantly, make sure the trains bypass downtown. Just like Montreal's REM plan, not.

[lrt's friend]

Or build the east end bridge where we don't have any bridges

[lrt's friend]

I think if we are going to approve a project of this magnitude and cost, it better be multi-purpose. In other words, it is not going to be for trains alone. Just like the new bridge in Montreal.

[kmcamp]

I was driving past Greenboro today, and decided to stop and take a couple quick pics of the progress on the new entrance. It's moving along pretty well, not the best angles though.

https://1drv.ms/f/s!AvjxZtrbkixTqsU5-m7vR7k-AsPZ1w

[zzptichka]

Edit: nevermind, it's an old picture

[roger1818]

Originally Posted by zzptichka

Edit: nevermind, it's an old picture

Even if it is an old picture, it is still the logical place for a stop. The space between overhead walkways is about 80 m and Trillium line platforms are currently only about 35 m so there is plenty of space to connect to the existing elevators and ramps on both sides.

[rocketphish]

Transfers better than no train at all to YOW, airport head says

Matthew Pearson, Ottawa Citizen
Published on: February 17, 2017 | Last Updated: February 17, 2017 5:45 PM EST

Changing trains twice to get to the airport from downtown is still better than having no rail connection at all, the head of Ottawa’s airport authority said Friday after the city formally unveiled its ambitious plan for expanding the light-rail transit network.

The plan includes a four-kilometre spur to the airport, but riders would have to change trains at South Keys station. Those heading downtown would have to make a second connection onto the Confederation line at Bayview station. The total trip would take about 40 minutes.

“It is what it is,” said Mark Laroche. “We still think it’s better than what we are able to offer now and that ridership will pick up.”

Including the airport link adds another $155 million to the city’s $3-billion project.

The provincial government has offered to split the cost of the airport extension with the federal government, which has yet to make any formal funding commitment toward the project.

Laroche said he understands the city has to work within a budget and is not frustrated by the plan to make passengers transfer trains.

“Everyone always likes the Cadillac solution but we can’t always afford it and I understand that,” he said.

It comes down to ridership.

When the Confederation line is extended west from Tunney’s Pasture, the track will split at Lincoln Fields and westbound trains will alternate between Baseline and Moodie stations. That’s because demand to and from both destinations is relatively equal. But the same can’t be said for the airport, particularly at rush hour, said Chris Swail, director of O-Train planning.

Ridership demand to and from Bowesville station, the future terminus of the extended Trillium line, is about ten times the ridership demand to the airport, he said.

“Maybe that will grow and that would be great and we would love that, but for right now we’re planning to prioritize where we have the most capacity and where we want to move the most people the most efficiently,” he said.

To compensate, Swail said the city will try to time transfers effectively so riders aren’t left waiting too long to catch the next train. Best-case scenario: People coming from the airport would hopefully arrive at South Keys station, walk across the platform and board a train to Bayview station.

But, Swail added, the work will be done in such a way to ensure direct airport-to-Bayview service would be an option down the road if ridership warrants it.

The goal for the airport link is to offer the same frequency of service as the main Trillium line, which is a train every 12 minutes, Swail said.

The airport authority has committed to paying for its new LRT station, which would be incorporated into the north end of the terminal building near the U.S. check-in counters, Laroche said.

“People will be able to walk from the terminal without going outside at all and just get on the train,” he said.

Drawing up designs would happen once all federal and provincial funding for the project has been confirmed, Laroche said.

mpearson@postmedia.com
twitter.com/mpearson78

http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-...port-head-says

[rocketphish]

Here we go again...

Buses not welcome on Bayswater, councillor says

Matthew Pearson, Ottawa Citizen
Published on: February 17, 2017 | Last Updated: February 17, 2017 7:21 PM EST

Kitchissippi Coun. Jeff Leiper says he doesn’t want OC Transpo buses detoured down Bayswater Avenue for months while the Trillium line is closed as part of its $535-million expansion.

The eight-kilometre O-Train line between Bayview and Greenboro stations would be shut down for 16 months between May 2020 and September 2021 while the city adds new stations at Gladstone, Walkley and South Keys, and extends the line south to the Ottawa airport and Bowesville Road.

The replacement Route 107 bus, which typically goes into service whenever the Trillium line is closed, currently uses Preston, Carling, Bronson and Heron. But Preston can get pretty congested, so city officials want the option of running buses down Carling, Sherwood Drive and Bayswater instead.

Leiper says the suggestion stokes a long-standing concern among Bayswater residents about how the city considers the street. Several years ago, there was some discussion, later abandoned, about officially designating it a collector street.

“It is a residential road and the residents are very keen to ensure the city sees it as a residential road,” he said.

Allowing buses on Bayswater would “normalize this thinking about Bayswater as something other than a residential street,” Leiper said.

It would also go against recent efforts to slow traffic down by installing five speed humps on Bayswater between Highway 417 and Carling Avenue.

“Proposing it as a bus detour represents a significant reversal of what we’ve been trying to do with that street,” Leiper said.

Chris Swail, the director of O-Train planning, says the city will consult residents later this spring — a promise Leiper welcomes.

“We’re just leaving it as an option for now, so we’ll talk to residents, get community feedback, work with the councillor and see if that’s feasible. If not, we would probably return to Preston Street,” he said.

Elsewhere, buses that currently use the Transitway trench between Tunney’s Pasture and Dominion station would be detoured onto Scott Street for two years.

The city is working on an assessment of air quality, noise and vibration impacts, and is also developing a plan, to be presented in the spring, for getting buses from Scott Street to the Sir John A. Macdonald Parkway, where they would continue west to Lincoln Fields.

In the east end, OC Tranpso will continue to use existing bus-only lanes on Highway 174 between Blair and Trim stations.

mpearson@postmedia.com
twitter.com/mpearson78

http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-...ouncillor-says

[Uhuniau]

Originally Posted by rocketphish

[B]Transfers better than no train at all to YOW, airport head says

I wonder what kind of vehicle the airport head drives everywhere?

[lrt's friend]

Bayswater had a bus route for decades. Service should probably be restarted on its own merits.

I don't like neighbourhoods or councillors working towards banning bus service on specific streets. Transit is for the greater good.

[Uhuniau]

Originally Posted by lrt's friend

Bayswater had a bus route for decades. Service should probably be restarted on its own merits.

I don't like neighbourhoods or councillors working towards banning bus service on specific streets. Transit is for the greater good.

And yet, they pulled artics off many runs of the 7 a few years ago because of a few whiners on Sunnyside and Grove in Old Ottawa South, resulting in hideous overcrowding up and down the rest of the line from Bank Street to Manor Park.

[1overcosc]

A 107 service on Bayswater would probably not stop on the street. Just use it as a fast way from Carling station to Bayview.

[ortelius]

Hi,
I've never lived in the suburbs, never owned a car. How do suburbanites, car-owners see the park and ride option? Is it popular?

How do you think the Leitrim and Bowesville station are going to perform? Are they necessary? Could they have continued then all the way to Barrhaven like they did with Trim and Moodie?

I guess there's always a question of money. Some things can be done later. I'd like to see trains everywhere, city and suburbs (to offer suburbanites an alternative to cars).

I hope the construction continues next decade and the following decades beyond Phase II and the Kanata extension.

[lrt's friend]

Originally Posted by ortelius

Hi,
I've never lived in the suburbs, never owned a car. How do suburbanites, car-owners see the park and ride option? Is it popular?

How do you think the Leitrim and Bowesville station are going to perform? Are they necessary? Could they have continued then all the way to Barrhaven like they did with Trim and Moodie?

I guess there's always a question of money. Some things can be done later. I'd like to see trains everywhere, city and suburbs (to offer suburbanites an alternative to cars).

I hope the construction continues next decade and the following decades beyond Phase II and the Kanata extension.

The DMUs used on the Trillium Line require a 100% exclusive right of way according to the operating license. Because the corridor through Riverside South and Barrhaven was not designed for 100% separation, an extension beyond Bowesville is not possible. This can only be done if they electrify the route and switch to a different type of train.

[Uhuniau]

Originally Posted by lrt's friend

The DMUs used on the Trillium Line require a 100% exclusive right of way according to the operating license. Because the corridor through Riverside South and Barrhaven was not designed for 100% separation, an extension beyond Bowesville is not possible. This can only be done if they electrify the route and switch to a different type of train.

Or if Canada changes its regulations.

[Buggys]

Originally Posted by 1overcosc

A 107 service on Bayswater would probably not stop on the street. Just use it as a fast way from Carling station to Bayview.

That's probably precisely why Bayeswater folks don't want the 107 to run along that street. It's not as wide as an arterial like Carling, especially in winter with all the snow. Also, people who live there probably want to be able to park on the side of the street & cross the street, and perhaps even play street hockey on quiet stat holiday nights... just like a small community street.

[Uhuniau]

Originally Posted by Buggys

That's probably precisely why Bayeswater folks don't want the 107 to run along that street. It's not as wide as an arterial like Carling, especially in winter with all the snow.

If only there was some way of removing snow from streets, but as the past two winters have proved in Ottawa, there isn't. You just have to let it melt in April and May. There is absolutely no other way of removing the snow.

Also, people who live there probably want to be able to park on the side of the street & cross the street, and perhaps even play street hockey on quiet stat holiday nights... just like a small community street.

Good for them.

It's not like the detour would be permanent, and at the end of it, they get a nice big bump in the value of their homes.

The West-Side Whining Brigade is seriously getting on my nerves.

[zzptichka]

Jon Willing @JonathanWilling 1h1 hour ago

Twin tracked electrification of Trillium Line would cost $800M-$1B. That's why we're not doing it in Stage 2, councillors told.

[roger1818]

Originally Posted by zzptichka

Jon Willing @JonathanWilling 1h1 hour ago

Twin tracked electrification of Trillium Line would cost $800M-$1B. That's why we're not doing it in Stage 2, councillors told.

But how about electrifying the line without twin tracking it (the two aren't dependant on each other)? Or twin tracking everything except the tunnel (which is presumably the most expensive part)?

[TransitZilla]

Originally Posted by roger1818

But how about electrifying the line without twin tracking it (the two aren't dependant on each other)? Or twin tracking everything except the tunnel (which is presumably the most expensive part)?

$300M to electrify the entire line, apparently.

So I guess $500-700M to double track.

It would be interesting to know the cost of just widening the Dows Lake tunnel and the rock cut, which would at least facilitate double tracking later without an extended shut-down.