Albert and Slater Improvement Project

[Aylmer]

Originally Posted by zzptichka

Gotta feel for those people in Europe where you'd be hard-pressed to find a local street wider than 2 lanes. They are probably all dead by now still waiting for that emergency vehicle to arrive.

I've lived in Germany and the Netherlands. I can confirm this is true.

[phil235]

Originally Posted by roger1818

True, but restricting Albert and Slater to "ONE driving lane" (as suggested by OTownandDown) would be problematic for STO.

No, 2 lanes with provision for stopping/drop-off is clearly the way to go. Balance is the key.

[phil235]

Originally Posted by Acajack

I am generally in favour of narrowing, humanizing and pedestrianizing streets like these, but not sure that's a real solution for emergency vehicles.

I know they're allowed to hop curbs if absolutely necessary, but that's not always possible if the sidewalk is filled with pedestrians, or there are other obstacles on there.

I know that walking on a sidewalk I certainly don't expect to be confronted with an ambulance or police car to appear where I am walking. That would be pretty unsettling.

Well, on Main it’s not like they would be driving down the sidewalk mowing down mailboxes. They would use the bike lanes that are in the same direction of travel and separate from sidewalks if absolutely necessary to bypass a bottleneck.

I’ve seen ambulances completely stuck on 4-lane roads in rush hour, and I kind of doubt that a single lane of traffic on Main is a more daunting proposition. If drivers move to the right side of their lanes, there is room for an ambulance to go down the middle.

[danishh]

I didnt get a chance to go on Monday but sent in email comments.

I'm basically ok with the core of this plan, which is removing the bus lanes and restricted parking and replacing them with cycling track. My minor complaint is that not all bike stop lines are advanced relative to the turning lane, increasing chances of conflict with vehicles.

I'm also concerned about the Slater/Elgin right turn across the bike lane, but they know that's an issue and are studying it.

I have no problem with the removal of parking spots. I'm a resident of the area and wont miss them. Hopefully the public parking at the claridge site has reasonable/cheap off-peak prices to compensate for local businesses. I've always wondered why the city doesnt try to mandate low parking rates for off-peak parking in private garages - most of the CBD garages are empty after 5:30.

[Multi-modal]

Originally Posted by danishh

I didnt get a chance to go on Monday but sent in email comments.

I'm basically ok with the core of this plan, which is removing the bus lanes and restricted parking and replacing them with cycling track. My minor complaint is that not all bike stop lines are advanced relative to the turning lane, increasing chances of conflict with vehicles.

I'm also concerned about the Slater/Elgin right turn across the bike lane, but they know that's an issue and are studying it.

I'm also concerned that they haven't provided dedicated right-turn lanes for vehicles to cross the bike lane - from Albert to Metcalfe, and from Slater to Lyon. Having dedicated right-turn lanes allows the City to implement right-turn signals, and even if they don't do this drivers don't feel so rushed to make the turn aggressively.

[Gat-Train]

Originally Posted by danishh

I didnt get a chance to go on Monday but sent in email comments.

I've always wondered why the city doesnt try to mandate low parking rates for off-peak parking in private garages - most of the CBD garages are empty after 5:30.

Parking rates have frozen over the last few years, while transit fares have increased. This is backwards of what we should be doing to encourage ridership.

[danishh]

Originally Posted by Gat-Train

Parking rates have frozen over the last few years, while transit fares have increased. This is backwards of what we should be doing to encourage ridership.

Off-peak.

[OTownandDown]

Originally Posted by Gat-Train

Parking rates have frozen over the last few years, while transit fares have increased. This is backwards of what we should be doing to encourage ridership.

The government can't help us out of every situation. Private parking rates are market-based, and $200+ for a month of parking in a garage seems pretty steep to me!

The Minto Place garage has two free EV charging stations, and is only $5 to park from 5:30pm. I regularly go there in the cold of winter to charge and warm my car

[J.OT13]

Shawn Gettler
@shawngettler
We've invented this slip lane, seemingly as a prank, rather than accept that maybe some routes for motor vehicles would have to be indirect.



12:20 PM · Nov 16, 2021·Twitter Web App

https://twitter.com/shawngettler/sta...58991797841923

[rocketphish]

550 Albert Street and the northeast corner of Albert and Booth Streets were purchased by the City of Ottawa from the National Capital Commission for $6,744,034 or $1,779,428 per acre. It is zoned Residential Fifth Density and Mixed-Use Downtown.

http://www.juteaujohnsoncomba.com/ne...mber-Sales.pdf

[phil235]

Originally Posted by rocketphish

550 Albert Street and the northeast corner of Albert and Booth Streets were purchased by the City of Ottawa from the National Capital Commission for $6,744,034 or $1,779,428 per acre. It is zoned Residential Fifth Density and Mixed-Use Downtown.

http://www.juteaujohnsoncomba.com/ne...mber-Sales.pdf

Do we know if this is for affordable housing?

[SL123]

Originally Posted by phil235

Do we know if this is for affordable housing?

I think its the library

[rocketphish]

Originally Posted by SL123

I think its the library

No, this is the strip of land currently between Albert and Slater that is to be redeveloped after the road realignment work is completed.

https://documents.ottawa.ca/sites/do...recplan_en.pdf

[SL123]

Albert, Slater and Bronson closures to begin week of April 11
April 4, 2022
Announcements and Events
Beginning the week of Monday, April 11, the following streets will have ongoing lane closures or reductions until November 2022 for work as part of the Albert/Queen/Slater/Bronson reconstruction project:

Albert Street, between Bay Street and Bronson Avenue, will be reduced to one multi-purpose lane
Slater Street, between Bronson Avenue and Bay Street, will be reduced to one multi-purpose lane
Bronson Avenue, between Laurier Avenue and Albert Street, will be reduced to one northbound multi-purpose lane
Commissioner Street, between Albert and Slater streets, will be reduced to one southbound lane. The cycle track will remain open.
Pedestrians, cyclists and OC Transpo

Pedestrian, cyclist and transit access will be maintained, and residents are encouraged to watch for signage and visit OCTranspo.com(link is external) for transit service impacts.

Parking and local access

As the various road reconstruction activities are in progress, on-street parking will be restricted. Local access will be maintained to residents, business owners and emergency vehicles.



https://ottawa.ca/en/news/albert-sla...2GanzHVshb8qj8

[J.OT13]

New renderings of the soon to be renewed Mackenzie King Bridge. Looks like the renewal won't go all the way to uOttawa. The Nicholas structure is in good condition, so they decided to not even reconfigure the 4 lane road, it seems.

Timeline Summer 2022-Fall 2024.







Website:

https://ottawa.ca/en/city-hall/publi...bridge-renewal

[SL123]

That's a nice big sidewalk on the north side of the bridge. I like, Its an improvement for sure especially for cycling.

[Uhuniau]

Yet another set of diamond-marked "bus" lanes in the downtown core bites the dust.

[RuralCitizen]

Will buses continue to use the bridge?

If they do, hopefully they keep the 4 lanes on the east portion to allow for the buses to pull off.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by Uhuniau

Yet another set of diamond-marked "bus" lanes in the downtown core bites the dust.

I'm pretty happy with what will end up being a 7+ km bikeway between Westboro and uOttawa. With the central Transitway no longer in use, this is a good evolution for the corridor.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by RuralCitizen

Will buses continue to use the bridge?

If they do, hopefully they keep the 4 lanes on the east portion to allow for the buses to pull off.

A few OC Transpo and STO routes use it, but nowhere near the levels we had in the past.