West Gatineau LRT & Downtown Loop | Proposed

[GoTrans]

The discussion of interprovincial transit and the use of the Prince of Wales bridge will be an issue that the City of Ottawa may be forced to deal with sooner rather than later. The article below from the Ottawa Citizen is claiming Gatineau is going to study LRT as an option for its long range transit plans.


Gatineau city council to vote on plans for light rail transit


OLIVIA ROBINSON
Ottawa Citizen: Published on: April 16, 2018 | Last Updated: April 16, 2018 5:18 PM EDT

Mere months before the opening of Ottawa’s Confederation Line LRT, Gatineau city council will decide on Tuesday whether it will give the green light to planning its own light rail system.

Council is largely basing its decision on input from its municipal transit agency, the Société de transport de l’Outaouais. A second study will be made available in the next year and will elaborate on potential routes and budget estimates. It could also elaborate on how it would affect Ottawa’s transit system, such as connecting with the Confederation Line’s Bayview station, said Aylmer ward Coun. Audrey Bureau.

“I think it’s prudent to say that we are going to depose it or advocate for the project that’s the most ambitious and more extensive.”

Bureau said council could decide to change the plan back to buses pending the release of the second STO study, but at least the provincial government will have already prioritized the more extensive system. If Gatineau goes ahead with the project, it would afford more flexibility to the city later on. 

Bureau said it’s important to be “precautious and ambitious” with these projects to assure funding from the provincial and federal levels of government.

It’s been five years since the National Capital Commission, in partnership with the City of Ottawa and the STO, released a report on how to best integrate transit between Ottawa and Gatineau. According to Canadian Census data from 2016, 19.6 per cent of Ottawans use public transit to get to work, compared with 14.5 per cent of people in Gatineau.
The Interprovincial Transit Strategy Report proposed expanding the LRT from Bayview station, across the Prince of Wales Bridge, up to Montcalm in Hull, with an alternate route snaking down from Hull to the Rideau Centre. It was recommended in the report that the “extension of O-Train to Gatineau” be implemented by 2021.

Streetcar service once ran across the Alexandra Bridge between Hull and Ottawa, but when the Hull Urban Transport Company was formed in 1946, it was the end of the line for streetcars on the Quebec side. Streetcars on the Ottawa side were discontinued in 1959 thanks to soaring electricity prices and the increased popularity of diesel buses.

Now, more than 50 years later, Gatineau and Ottawa have established a joint committee to discuss interprovincial transportation issues.

“We see that the two cities want to work together and we want to have a technology to be able to respond to the needs of a region, and not just as two distinct cities.”

[Acajack]

I may be proven wrong but my gut feeling is that the STO is not too keen on taking on the operation of a rail system. City council is more divided on the issue I'd say.

Also, what the hell do words like "precautious" or "depose" mean in the context of this article?

These are either mistakes made by a francophone speaking English, or sentences said in French poorly translated into English by the reporter.

Either way the reporter should be reflecting them in understandable English in her article.

[OtrainUser]

Originally Posted by Acajack

I may be proven wrong but my gut feeling is that the STO is not too keen on taking on the operation of a rail system. City council is more divided on the issue I'd say.

Also, what the hell do words like "precautious" or "depose" mean in the context of this article?

These are either mistakes made by a francophone speaking English, or sentences said in French poorly translated into English by the reporter.

Either way the reporter should be reflecting them in understandable English in her article.

The Mayor and his party want light rail in Gatineau to connect to Alymer so he has to convince the other members of city council who are not in his party that light rail is the solution.

Yeah the reporter should have translated better.

[lrt's friend]

I still think that the best solution is offered by a two way tramway loop between Hull and Ottawa that makes use of the Interprovincial and Chaudiere bridges. This provides the best service for Gatineau residents to both downtowns and eliminates unnecessary and unwelcome additional transfers at Bayview, which will eventually create a service bottleneck. The two way loop would allow LRT to run from Aylmer and/or old Gatineau to provide continuous and transfer free service. The two way loop would also provide transit service for Ottawans working in Hull government offices.

[roger1818]

Originally Posted by Acajack

Also, what the hell do words like "precautious" or "depose" mean in the context of this article?

I was thinking the same thing.

Precautious is an action where as cautious is using forethought, so given the context, cautious would have been a better word.

As for depose, according to the Oxford dictionary, it has 2 meanings:

1. Remove from office suddenly and forcefully.
2. Law
   Testify to or give (evidence) under oath, typically in a written statement.

I somehow don't think they plan to remove the project "suddenly and forcefully" nor is the project going under oath, so it definitely isn't the correct word.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by roger1818

I was thinking the same thing.

Precautious is an action where as cautious is using forethought, so given the context, cautious would have been a better word.

As for depose, according to the Oxford dictionary, it has 2 meanings:



I somehow don't think they plan to remove the project "suddenly and forcefully" nor is the project going under oath, so it definitely isn't the correct word.

If I think about French, maybe "precaucious" was used as a false friend of "précoce" which officially means "premature" but is often used these days to refer to "early adoption" or "moving full steam ahead".

As for "depose", as a false friend from French it might come from "déposer" which has many meanings but one of them is to "table" a report, a plan, a bill, etc. in some type of assembly.

My theories...

[J.OT13]

Bureau probably meant "précaution" as in be cautious not to sell the City short and get a weaker valuation on the project (like Ottawa has done over and over again, requesting funds from upper tier governments based on under-estimations, resulting in the City paying a bigger chunk in the end) and "déposer" as in "present" a rail project.

So my estimation, francophone anglicising French words and the reporter taking it to the bank as is.

[Horus]

My gut feeling is that council will approve the idea of investigating an LRT option since:
1) it's non-committal, meaning they will just continue to keep the LRT option open for the time being, and
2) the Aylmer Rapibus/Transit study released earlier this year was flawed and has only resulted in the commissioning of a second study.

Since Action Gatineau campaigned on a platform of Light Rail in the Western sectors of the city, it would seem logical that they would at least make this token effort to keep the file "open", whether there will be any real action out of it or not.

[McC]

It could also be a typo. "Precocious" is a perfectly cromulent word.

[Uhuniau]

Originally Posted by Acajack

If I think about French, maybe "precaucious" was used as a false friend of "précoce" which officially means "premature" but is often used these days to refer to "early adoption" or "moving full steam ahead".

As for "depose", as a false friend from French it might come from "déposer" which has many meanings but one of them is to "table" a report, a plan, a bill, etc. in some type of assembly.

My theories...

Your depose theory is right on, if you've ever been shut in sick and watched Routine Proceedings in the House of Commons on CPAC.

[Aylmer]

Gatineau fait le choix du train léger
LeDroit

Gatineau fait officiellement le choix du train léger. Réunis en conseil municipal, mardi, les élus gatinois se sont rangés, à l’unanimité, derrière un système sur rails pour le futur lien rapide de transport en commun dans l’ouest de la ville.

Les élus ont adopté une résolution demandant au gouvernement du Québec d’«inscrire comme priorité aux programmes fédéraux d’aide financière l’implantation d’un système sur rails comme solution pour répondre aux besoins de mobilité des résidents de l’ouest de la Ville de Gatineau». Pour le maire Maxime Pedneaud-Jobin, il s’agit d’une victoire politique. Il martèle la nécessité d’un système sur rails dans l’ouest de la Ville depuis la fondation de son parti Action Gatineau.

Ce dernier s’attend maintenant à ce que «tous les partis politiques» appuient le projet qui sera bientôt présenté par la Ville de Gatineau et qu’ils s’engagent, avant les prochaines élections, à le financer. «Il y a une fenêtre politique, a-t-il rappelé. Le fédéral arrive avec de l’argent comme jamais auparavant pour le transport en commun. Les villes se positionnent et nous devons le faire aussi pour avoir notre part.»

Une première étude récemment rendue publique par la Société de transport de l’Outaouais (STO) favorisait l’aménagement d’un système rapide par bus, mais le conseil rappelle, dans sa résolution, qu’un tel mode de déplacement ne tient pas compte de la nécessité d’arrimer le réseau gatinois avec celui de la Ville d’Ottawa qui migrera vers le train léger dans les prochains mois.

«Un système rapide par bus serait saturé dans un horizon de 10 à 15 ans», poursuit la résolution adoptée mardi.

La conseillère du secteur Aylmer, Audrey Bureau, a salué la position prise par le conseil municipal. Selon elle, il s’agit du meilleur moyen d’attirer plus de gens vers le transport en commun. Il y avait urgence d’agir dans ce dossier, a-t-elle ajouté, notamment en raison de la signature imminente pour l’entente fédérale-provinciale sur les infrastructures de transport en commun et du positionnement clair des villes de Montréal et Québec pour le prolongement du métro et l’aménagement d’un tramway.

Google translation:

Gatineau officially chooses light rail

Meeting on city council on Tuesday, Gatineau's elected officials unanimously voted for a rail system for the future rapid transit link in the west end of the city.

Elected officials passed a resolution calling on the Quebec government to "make rail a priority in federal funding as a solution to meet the mobility needs of residents in the west end of the City of Gatineau ". For Mayor Maxime Pedneaud-Jobin, this is a political victory. He hammered out the need for a rail system in the west end of the city since the founding of his Action Gatineau party.

The latter now expects "all political parties" to support the project that will soon be presented by the City of Gatineau and that they commit, before the next election, to fund it. "There is a political window," he said. The federal government arrives with money like never before for public transit. Cities are positioning themselves and we have to do it too to get our share. "

A first study recently released by the Outaouais Transport Corporation (STO) favored the development of a rapid bus system, but the council reminds, in its resolution, that such a mode of travel does not take into account the need to link the Gatineau network with that of the City of Ottawa, which will migrate to light rail in the coming months.

"A rapid system by bus would be saturated within a horizon of 10 to 15 years," continues the resolution adopted Tuesday.

Aylmer Sector Councilor, Audrey Bureau, welcomed the position taken by City Council. According to her, this is the best way to attract more people to public transit. It was urgent to act on this issue, she added, particularly because of the imminent signing of the federal-provincial agreement on public transit infrastructure and the clear positioning of the cities of Montreal and Quebec for the extension of the metro and the development of a tramway.

[Acajack]

Not too surprised by the decision, but surprised by the unanimity.

[Horus]

It is all well and good that the entire council supports an LRT proposal. I think that there have been compelling cases made that this could be a viable, long-term solution to the transit issues in Aylmer and Hull.

However, I am curious if there will be any action by Council and/or STO to address the current difficulties experienced by west-end transit users in the short-term. If, as the article posted by Aylmer indicates, the plan for Council is to get a committed, funded project in place by the end of the current Council term, how much longer will it take to construct and effect service on this LRT system? What will they do in the interim, since it could still be close to a decade before the first train even rolls?

I am appreciative of the positive step and long-term vision, but there is still much pain to overcome.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by Horus

It is all well and good that the entire council supports an LRT proposal. I think that there have been compelling cases made that this could be a viable, long-term solution to the transit issues in Aylmer and Hull.

However, I am curious if there will be any action by Council and/or STO to address the current difficulties experienced by west-end transit users in the short-term. If, as the article posted by Aylmer indicates, the plan for Council is to get a committed, funded project in place by the end of the current Council term, how much longer will it take to construct and effect service on this LRT system? What will they do in the interim, since it could still be close to a decade before the first train even rolls?

I am appreciative of the positive step and long-term vision, but there is still much pain to overcome.

My initial reaction to this was exactly that - "you guys over there are gonna have to be patient..."

[c_speed3108]

Originally Posted by Acajack

My initial reaction to this was exactly that - "you guys over there are gonna have to be patient..."

I remember the CFRA headline (with respect to Ottawa) in the late 90's "Region considers the light rail option"

That was pre-amalgamation!

These things take time....

[Aylmer]

But unlike Ontario/Canada in the 90s, there is actual infrastructure money now.

[lrt's friend]

Originally Posted by Aylmer

But unlike Ontario/Canada in the 90s, there is actual infrastructure money now.

Until we elect Conservatives again, whose only vision is republican style tax cuts. This window of infrastructure money will be limited. Then everything will come to standstill for a decade or two.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by Aylmer

But unlike Ontario/Canada in the 90s, there is actual infrastructure money now.

That's a good point. I still think it won't be before 2030 at least until the first G-Train (or whatever it's called) leaves the station.

[Uhuniau]

Fell down a research rabbit hole. From the Ottawa Citizen. Guess the year!

If we are to avoid condemning ourselves to a future of big roads cutting through decaying neighborhoods, we must must improve our transit system. This means making it more reliable, more comprehensive -- and faster.

This shouldn't cost us a cent. Roads are horrifically expensive, and if you channel money that would otherwise be destined for roads into transit, you can get first-rate transit.

Unfortunately, our political leaders have become so mesmerized by fear of tax increases, they think only of ways to cut. They're willing to cut improvements to transit, they're even willing to cut improvements to roads.

The future is easy to predict. A few years of this and we won't have the roads to handle the cars or the bus system to offer an alternative. Getting around the city will be an increasingly frustrating task, the quality of life in the city will decline, and people will start wondering why Ottawa isn't like it used to be.

Most people won't even remember that things could have been different, if only we had made better decision back in the early XXXX's1

People seldom remember their mistakes.

1. Decade reference redacted.

[Vixx]

Originally Posted by lrt's friend

Until we elect Conservatives again, whose only vision is republican style tax cuts. This window of infrastructure money will be limited. Then everything will come to standstill for a decade or two.

That's not true. Harper pumped a lot of $ into infrastructure.