Montreal-Blair Road Transit Priority Corridor [St. Laurent Blvd to Shefford Rd]

[TransitZilla]

Originally Posted by Uhuniau

Speaking of which, YET AGAIN, the City of Ottawa, in keeping with its laughable commitment to transparency and accountability, has bit-bucketed almost all of the archival information about the Montreal Road project.

Yep, I was looking for it. I think this was the link but it no longer works: https://ottawa.ca/en/2/en/city-hall/...l-design-study

As I recall the 8 minute increase was in the context of the design between North River and Montreal Rd. If that section had been narrowed to 2 or 3 lanes, it would have allowed bike lanes but there would have been an 8 minute increase to transit times.

The alternate option (which they ended up going with) was to keep that section as-is, and put in an eastbound queue-jump lane for buses. That means no bike lanes in that section but the increase to transit times is only 1 minute. (Bikes were accommodated with an alternate route on Mark Ave).

I'm very pro-biking but I supported the alternate option because I thought an 8 minute transit increase would be unacceptable.

[OTownandDown]

I agree with the new transit corridor, and surrounding bus routes should be rearranged into the model of hub-and-spoke, especially out at Blair station.

As for the urban Montreal Road section, why don't we just do Champlain bridge reversing centre lane, with the curb lanes being timed bus lanes? Or better yet, following the Alexandre Tache redesign example?

Or will this neighbourhood be forever confined to tiny little sidewalks with a traffic sewer down the middle?

[roger1818]

Originally Posted by bradnixon

As I recall the 8 minute increase was in the context of the design between North River and Montreal Rd.

I assume you mean between North River and Vanier Pkwy?

[PHrenetic]

Good Day.

More like approximately the entire stretch of Montreal Road from North River Road to St. Laurent. Total Disaster !

NoJoy!

[TransitZilla]

Originally Posted by OTownandDown

I agree with the new transit corridor, and surrounding bus routes should be rearranged into the model of hub-and-spoke, especially out at Blair station.

As for the urban Montreal Road section, why don't we just do Champlain bridge reversing centre lane, with the curb lanes being timed bus lanes? Or better yet, following the Alexandre Tache redesign example?

Or will this neighbourhood be forever confined to tiny little sidewalks with a traffic sewer down the middle?

Well the redesign between Vanier Pkwy and St Laurent will narrow the road to 3 lanes but the middle lane will not be reversible. I suggested it but there were various reasons expressed why they could not do it.

So the sidewalks will be wider, plus new cycle tracks. There will still be a WB bus lane but the EB lane will be lost.

[TransitZilla]

Preliminary design for transit improvements east of St Laurent:



Boards and presentation here: https://ottawa.ca/en/city-hall/publi...c-consultation

Online consultation now open until June 11.

[Uhuniau]

Originally Posted by bradnixon

Preliminary design for transit improvements east of St Laurent:



Boards and presentation here: https://ottawa.ca/en/city-hall/publi...c-consultation

Online consultation now open until June 11.

Oh yay! The suburban portion of Montreal Road might get continuous bus priority in the second half of the 21st century! Visionary!

[Truenorth00]

Originally Posted by Uhuniau

Oh yay! The suburban portion of Montreal Road might get continuous bus priority in the second half of the 21st century! Visionary!

I was happy. Until I saw that date.

WTF.

[Uhuniau]

Originally Posted by Truenorth00

I was happy. Until I saw that date.

WTF.

It's fun to compare the garbage that the city is inflicting on Montreal Road with the 2006 transportation "plan", if you ever need a quick lesson in how much stock you can put in any "plan" in Ottawa, especially if it deals in any way with the forbidden zone between the Rideau Centre east to the Greenbelt.

[Truenorth00]

Originally Posted by Uhuniau

It's fun to compare the garbage that the city is inflicting on Montreal Road with the 2006 transportation "plan", if you ever need a quick lesson in how much stock you can put in any "plan" in Ottawa, especially if it deals in any way with the forbidden zone between the Rideau Centre east to the Greenbelt.

Sadly, the solution to basic problems on a forum like this is to fantasize about putting up elevated metros along Montreal Rd. Instead of actually prioritizing transit today....

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by Truenorth00

Sadly, the solution to basic problems on a forum like this is to fantasize about putting up elevated metros along Montreal Rd. Instead of actually prioritizing transit today....

I wholeheartedly support improving the existing bus system on Bank and Montreal by proving more priority measures. This will help build ridership until such time as the City may consider higher order transit in 20-30+ years.

[Truenorth00]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

I wholeheartedly support improving the existing bus system on Bank and Montreal by proving more priority measures. This will help build ridership until such time as the City may consider higher order transit in 20-30+ years.

A great side effect of the laser focus of folks in this town, on only building the highest order transit is that there's no public discussion or effort by politicians to even bother improving the basics. After all, they can just shrug and say that when they build that fantasy metro in half a century the problem will be solved. People hear them say they promised a metro and that's the end of it.

Meanwhile buses on Montreal Rd are stuck in traffic and will be for the next 45 years according to that slide.

[TransitZilla]

Originally Posted by Truenorth00

A great side effect of the laser focus of folks in this town, on only building the highest order transit is that there's no public discussion or effort by politicians to even bother improving the basics. After all, they can just shrug and say that when they build that fantasy metro in half a century the problem will be solved. People hear them say they promised a metro and that's the end of it.

I agree that we should be focusing a lot more on bus priority measures and increasing bus frequencies. We should have a target date where all Frequent routes run every 10 minutes.

Meanwhile buses on Montreal Rd are stuck in traffic and will be for the next 45 years according to that slide.

I think only a willful misreading of that slide would lead you to that conclusion.

All of the sections highlighted in red are places where bus lanes are proposed in the near term (over 1km in each direction if you add up the distances listed). That's not nothing.

[Truenorth00]

Originally Posted by bradnixon

I agree that we should be focusing a lot more on bus priority measures and increasing bus frequencies. We should have a target date where all Frequent routes run every 10 minutes.

Would love to see something like what Toronto did with the Transit City Bus plan. Especially the Blue Night network over there.

Originally Posted by bradnixon

I think only a willful misreading of that slide would lead you to that conclusion.

All of the sections highlighted in red are places where bus lanes are proposed in the near term (over 1km in each direction if you add up the distances listed). That's not nothing.

Fair. I was being a bit facetious.

[Uhuniau]

Originally Posted by bradnixon

All of the sections highlighted in red are places where bus lanes are proposed in the near term (over 1km in each direction if you add up the distances listed). That's not nothing.

It's not nothing, but it's also not enough to make up for the deliberate downgrade of transit service along the urban part of Montreal Road, west of St. Laurent - ish.

You can't help but get the feeling that at some point, OC Transpo would just like to abolish the route 12, or any equivalent, entirely. It'll be chopped up into uselessness along the lines of the current construction detours, or everyone will be nudged towards taking terrible northish-south-ish routes to and from the LRT just to get to and from downtown.

[rocketphish]

Redesign for Montreal and Blair roads is too suburban, committee hears
Staff have been planning $150-million overhaul of 2 main roads for years

Kate Porter · CBC News
Posted: Sep 01, 2021 1:16 PM ET | Last Updated: 4 hours ago



The City of Ottawa has re-designed two major arterial roads in the east end to add cycling tracks and improve traffic flow, but some wonder whether the future $150-million project will lead to roads that are still too wide and suburban.

City staff spent a couple of years studying 5.5 kilometres of Montreal Road east of St. Laurent Boulevard, and 2.8 kilometres of Blair Road north of Highway 174.

The area affects how people make their way to and from the Blair and Montreal light rail stations, and includes the area where thousands of homes are being built at the Wateridge development on the former Rockcliffe air base.

The plans call for the number of traffic lanes to remain the same. For Montreal Road, staff recommend adding bus lanes in various places to give buses priority, and creating segregated cycling lanes. Blair Road would get a new, separate multi-use pathway on the west side and a cycling track on the east.



The Vanier Community Association pointed out part of the Montreal Road redesign between St. Laurent Boulevard and the Aviation Parkway falls in an area called "inner urban" under the new official plan up for debate in October.

That designation calls for far more people living in compact areas with more multi-storey buildings, which would require a different planning focus.

"This section of Montreal Road needs to be more urban and less suburban," said Chris Greenshields, echoing comments made by the city's urban design review panel in July.

The city should have been more aggressive to boost transit use on Montreal Road, Greenshields said.

City staff said they considered many designs and found a compromise, which neither requires buying a lot of private land nor does it create extra congestion at intersections that might block transit lanes.

Transportation committee chair, Coun. Tim Tierney, pointed to comments from the city's emergency services general manager about Montreal Road having the number of lanes unchanged so ambulances can come and go from the Montfort Hospital and use the fire station.

In all, the project would cost $150 million funded by revenues the city receives from gas taxes. The timeline will depend on the new list of priority transportation projects, and that master plan has been delayed to fall 2024.

A bus loop for the Montreal Road light rail station would move ahead as part of the construction of Stage 2 of light rail to Orléans.

Transportation committee approved the designs in a 10 to 1 vote with only Rideau-Vanier's Mathieu Fleury voting against.

If this design also gets the support of full city council, the City of Ottawa will post the environmental assessment for a 30-day public feedback period this fall.



https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottaw...ling-1.6160947

[lrt's friend]

A bus loop for the Montreal Road light rail station would move ahead as part of the construction of Stage 2 of light rail to Orléans.

A high priority project that makes sure that local bus routes don't take people to a real transit destination. A recipe for lower ridership.

[Truenorth00]

Originally Posted by lrt's friend

A high priority project that makes sure that local bus routes don't take people to a real transit destination. A recipe for lower ridership.

An LRT station is not "a real transit destination"?

[acottawa]

Originally Posted by Truenorth00

An LRT station is not "a real transit destination"?

It is going the wrong way.

[lrt's friend]

Originally Posted by Truenorth00

An LRT station is not "a real transit destination"?

Let's be fully accurate. It is a dead transfer station that offers no services. We talk about 15 minute neighborhoods. What is worse when accessibility to basic services will not be on the local bus route but requires a transfer in the future. This is about efficiency and commuting over reducing car dependence . No longer will it be as easy to shop or go to the movies by transit in Beacon Hill. Those short trips become substantially longer and less reliable when the same trip by car remains at 5 or 10 minutes