Apartment613

Apartment613 is pleased to offer a take on the new transit tunnel plan today from David McClelland of the Ottawa Project. You’ll also hear him discuss the tunnel on CBC Radio.  If you have comments on the proposal please leave us a comment!

With the release of a proposed route and stations for Ottawa’s future downtown tunnel on April 28th, the nation’s capital seems to be one small step closer to a proper light rail system. While the plan is still somewhat up-in-the-air due to a lack of funding commitments from the federal and provincial governments at this point in time, the very fact that an actual plan has been released seems to have Ottawans both excited about its potential, and for some, disappointed by what it lacks.

The plan itself is actually pretty basic. The downtown section starts at Lebreton Station, from which point the light rail tunnel will begin, running underneath Albert Street to Kent Street, at which point it angles north slightly to travel in more or less a straight line to the corner of Rideau Street and Sussex Avenue. From there, the tunnel will arc back to the south to line up with Nicholas Avenue before finally emerging back on to the surface along the current Transitway somewhere around the south end of the University of Ottawa campus.

The plan also calls for five stations downtown: the aforementioned Lebreton Station, a Downtown West station between Bay Street and Lyon Street, a Downtown East Station centered on the intersection of O’Connor Street and Queen Street, a station at the intersection of Rideau and Sussex, and a station in roughly the same location as the current Campus station.

Of course, on the surface—pardon the pun—this plan sounds fantastic, but it’s already starting to attract controversy. One of the most common criticisms of the plan is the relative lack of stations. There are only two within Ottawa’s Central Business District, and they are about 700 metres apart, much greater than the 450-500 metres that is the average distance between stations in other major Canadian cities. As well, many people are wondering why there’s no station right at Bank Street. Though the Downtown East station comes close to Bank, it looks as there is no direct connection, which is puzzling owing to the street being one of the city’s most important.

Other questions surround the timing of the plan. As it stands, the earliest that construction can start would be 2012, meaning that light rail wouldn’t begin running in Ottawa until at least 2016. And it’s also hard to forget that big infrastructure problems like this one almost inevitably lend themselves to unexpected delays. Once you consider the fact that former-Mayor Bob Chiarelli’s cancelled O-Train extension would have had trains running through downtown by now, it’s not hard to see why some people are frustrated.

It’s not all negative, though. When you get down to it, the City has come up with a solid plan, even if it is in need of a few tweaks. There’s still plenty of time to get involved in the public consultation process and there is a lot to be excited about in the plan as it stands. The prospect of Ottawa’s old Union Station being used for trains again, for one, as the Rideau\Sussex station will be built right underneath. As well the City is dreaming big, with 180 metre-long platforms, putting the stations on the same scale as most major subway and metro systems.

The bottom line is now is the time to get involved. The light rail project is going to be one of the biggest issues in Ottawa’s near future, and everyone who lives here has a stake in it. Debate over the tunnel will play out in both mainstream media like the Citizen and in alternative outlets like Transit Ottawa, and there will almost undoubtedly be many conflicting opinions. As a city and as a community, Ottawa will be facing a big decision, so keep yourself informed and make your opinion known.