Montreal Road Revitalization Project [N. River Rd to St. Laurent Blvd]

[Truenorth00]

Originally Posted by acottawa

There isn't a huge amount of demand on that corridor. Even in the Before Time I don't think the bus came more often than every 10 minutes. It was pretty crowded, so maybe an 8 minute frequency would have been better. To me this is one of those problems that could have been easily solved with dedicated bus lanes (not just the two hour dedicated bus lanes in one direction in rush hour they had before).

I agree. But let's be honest. Ottawa is a city where the suburban mindset rules. So they'd never give up roadspace to buses.

[silvergate]

Originally Posted by kwoldtimer

Or, in the case of Montreal Rd, widen the corridor....

Trying to brainstorm ideas that cost the least amount of money here

[TransitZilla]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

Speaking of reliability, the 10 minutes or so frequency is on paper only. Purely theoretical. Never have I seen that bus on time. It comes in two and three every 45+ minutes. All day bus lanes would help, but the ship has sailed with the Montreal Road renewal The only way to solve reliability is with a subway or light-metro.

As I've said on another thread (here), I don't agree that the Montreal Road renewal design means that any improvement to transit is impossible. There are lots of things that can be done.

It will be particularly important that the curb lanes between North River and Vanier are reserved for buses at peak, and that the traffic signals all along the corridor are equipped with technology to be able to "hold the green" for buses.

The constant issues with bus bunching suggest that OC needs to assign a supervisor or people in the control centre to manage headways more actively. For example, they could consider staging buses at various points so they can be inserted into the service if the headway gaps get too wide.

And finally, just because bus lanes exist (and they still will, between Dalhousie and Vanier Pkwy) doesn't mean they are respected. We need more active enforcement, probably best in the form of NYC-style bus lane cameras. But we likely need permission from the province to be able to do that. The TTC is installing a lot of bus lanes; hopefully that will lead to louder demands to be able to do this.

[acottawa]

Originally Posted by Truenorth00

I agree. But let's be honest. Ottawa is a city where the suburban mindset rules. So they'd never give up roadspace to buses.

That’s true, but is also unlikely they would pay for it either.

[kwoldtimer]

Originally Posted by silvergate

Trying to brainstorm ideas that cost the least amount of money here

I figure it would be cheaper than a tunnel and, as a bonus, eliminate a lot of blight.

[YOWflier]

I wonder how the population density maps would compare between Ottawa today and Toronto in the day where its first rail line(s) came online.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by ac888yow

I wonder how the population density maps would compare between Ottawa today and Toronto in the day where its first rail line(s) came online.

Back in the 50s, many big cities were denser than today, even though they had far fewer towers, so I imagine TO's subway corridors were far denser than Ottawa's today.

That said, Ottawa's O-Train corridor is probably denser than Calgary's or Edmonton's today... if we remove the Greenbelt from the equation.

[acottawa]

Originally Posted by ac888yow

I wonder how the population density maps would compare between Ottawa today and Toronto in the day where its first rail line(s) came online.

Last easily accessible apples to apples comparison would be 1971 the first census after “old Toronto” reached its final boundaries. Population density for the city was 7,340 per sq km, which is denser than every Ottawa neighbourhood except centretown.

[YOWflier]

If you wouldn't mind linking the data I'm curious to snoop around a bit.

Edit: never mind I'll find it.

[acottawa]

Both from the Wikipedia.

Old Toronto article has populations of the former city by census

Demographics of Ottawa lists several central neighbourhoods by density

[eltodesukane]

Many street cement fixtures on a long stretch of Montreal Rd east of Vanier Pkwy.
For patios on the street? or what else? Temporary or permanent?

[CapitalCity613]

I haven't been out to Vanier in a while, but I saw some Montreal Road progress on Google Maps. What a difference! With the slip lane removed it has become so much safer for pedestrian and cyclists. You don't have to stand out on that tiny murder island while cars fly past you at 80 km/h anymore! It also looks way nicer.

There aren't all positives with the design, like the fact they cheaped out and didn't continue the cycle track the last block to North River Road. But hey, what an absolute improvement!

Progress:

Old:

Design:

[eltodesukane]

[QUOTE=CapitalCity613;9232653]
Old:
I saw safer pedestrian island on my last visit near Brossard bus terminal on Taschereau Blvd.

[Kitchissippi]

How is this “safer”? It just prevents pedestrians from walking a straight path, and the barriers reduce the responsibility away from drivers. Visually it reinforces the priority for cars and vehicle speed.

[YOWflier]

It's safer because there's a structure there to impede a motor vehicle from squashing a pedestrian like a grape (vs a simple island with no barrier). That's pretty obvious.

The other aspects you mention and others are legit and can be debated.

[roger1818]

Originally Posted by eltodesukane

I saw safer pedestrian island on my last visit near Brossard bus terminal on Taschereau Blvd.

One has to love that there are absolutely no pedestrians in sight in the photo. Very telling.

Originally Posted by Kitchissippi

How is this “safer”? It just prevents pedestrians from walking a straight path, and the barriers reduce the responsibility away from drivers. Visually it reinforces the priority for cars and vehicle speed.

To be fair, this pocket is in the middle of an 8 lane highway and is only a few hundred meters of the A10 interchange. I don't think the presence or absence of the barriers will affect the speed all that much. The reality isn't all that much to make that area all that walkable in the first place.

[JHikka]

Really appreciate the updated corner at Montreal & Vanier. It was indeed not fun standing there waiting for the walk signal.

[Uhuniau]

Originally Posted by JHikka

Really appreciate the updated corner at Montreal & Vanier. It was indeed not fun standing there waiting for the walk signal.

Ottawa: Here look at our official plan which prioritizes pedestrians!

Also Ottawa: Oh, you still have to push the beg-button on this "complete" street!

[eltodesukane]

The St-Laurent Coventry Ogilvie intersection (next to St-Laurent mall) is also difficult for pedestrians

[lrt's friend]

This whole area is totally hostile to both pedestrians and cyclists. What should be the centre of the community, St. Laurent Shopping Centre, is designed only for cars and transit. Intensification in the surrounding area will still face these barriers unless major and costly improvements are made.