Brian Coburn Boulevard Extension | Proposed

[rocketphish]

I'm creating a new thread for this project, as it is planned to be a 2-lane road and not part of the Cumberland Transitway at this time.

[rocketphish]

Orléans road extension could finally be on the way
City, NCC reach tentative agreement on 2-lane link through Greenbelt

CBC News
Posted: Feb 28, 2024 1:44 PM EST | Last Updated: 3 hours ago



After years of stops and starts, the City of Ottawa and the National Capital Commission (NCC) say they've finally reached an agreement that could improve road transportation for east-end residents.

According to a "memo of understanding" announced Wednesday, the city and the NCC have agreed on a roughly 1.5-kilometre, two-lane extension of Brian Coburn Boulevard through the Greenbelt to connect with Renaud Road.

The current stretch of Renaud Road, which zig-zags sharply and crosses the Prescott-Russell Trail, "would be closed and returned to greenspace," according to the news release.

It said the change would "help address the transportation needs of the growing east end community," essentially by adding a more direct east-west alternative to Innes Road and the Blackburn Hamlet Bypass.

The new alignment would improve road safety in the area, according to the news release.

Thousands of homes have been built in the area based on a long-promised bus rapid transit line that has never materialized, resulting in gridlock on nearby roads where commuters have few options other than driving.

In 2013, the city and the NCC signed an agreement for a new Transitway to run along the existing bypass. A few years later, the city decided soil conditions would make that project too expensive.

More recently, the NCC has informed the city that it would not consider a new road through Greenbelt farmland located to the south.

Despite that, city staff recommended that council approve a plan to link Renaud Road directly to Brian Coburn Boulevard, though it focused more on improving the southern portion of Renaud Road than removing it entirely

Those recommendations were approved in March 2022.

Alongside that connection, there's been work underway to add transit and carpool lanes to the Blackburn Hamlet Bypass and Innes Road.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottaw...road-1.7128149

[rocketphish]

City, NCC reach deal on long-awaited Brian Coburn Boulevard extension
NCC CEO Tobi Nussbaum called the agreement a true win-win: a land swap with no net loss to the Greenbelt.

Blair Crawford, Ottawa Citizen
Published Feb 28, 2024 • Last updated 2 hours ago • 2 minute read

The City of Ottawa and the National Capital Commission have reached an agreement to extend Brian Coburn Boulevard, eliminating two sharp “hockey stick” turns on nearby Renaud Road, which has become a busy artery for east-end commuters.

The deal is a first step toward solving a transportation problem that has had the city and the NCC at loggerheads for more than a decade. The city has been seeking a more direct route into the city for commuters in south Orléans, while the NCC has been opposed to a new road across the environmentally sensitive Mer Bleue Bog.

The memorandum of understanding, announced Wednesday morning, will extend Brian Coburn west across the NCC Greenbelt at the north end of the Mer Bleue about 300 metres north of the awkward zig-zags on Renaud Road. In return, the NCC will receive the land of the old roadway, which will be rehabilitated to a natural state.

NCC CEO Tobi Nussbaum called the agreement a true win-win.

“This is a compromise over the transportation needs of a very important and growing part of the City of Ottawa while also thinking about the preservation of some of the National Capital Region’s most unique and fragile ecosystems,” Nussbaum said. “We’re going to make Renaud Road safer while moving infrastructure further away from the Mer Bleue Bog.”

The land swap means there will be no net loss to the Greenbelt, he said.

It will cost the city $52 million to build the new 1.8-kilometre extension of Brian Coburn Boulevard west of Navan Road and to rehabilitate and restore the old path of Renaud Road, which will be given to the NCC.

The announcement is welcome news to the residents of Bradley Estates, who see tens of thousands of vehicles pass through their neighbourhood on Renaud Road during the morning and afternoon commutes. The change will also eliminate two hazardous spots for cyclists and pedestrians where the Prescott-Russel Trail crosses Renaud Road’s zig-zags.

Environmental assessment studies of the Brian Coburn Boulevard Extension, the Blackburn Hamlet Bypass and the Innes Road Transit Priority Measures were to be posted on the city’s website Wednesday afternoon for public review, Mayor Mark Sutcliffe said.

Wednesday’s announcement is only part of what the city envisions to improve east-west transportation in the area. While a high occupancy and transit priority lane will be added to the Blackburn Hamlet Bypass, the city is ultimately hoping to build a rapid bus transit corridor through the area.

https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local...vard-extension

[J.OT13]

Much improved over the City's ridiculous plan. Hopefully this kills the Hunt-Club/Walkley extension.

Transitway though should follow Navan Road and Innes to hit up Blackburn, but the City isn't interested in, you know, serving anyone not outside the Greenbelt.

[danishh]

Honestly I still don't understand the point of this. You're diverting traffic from one end of the Blackburn bypass to the other end. The traffic will still end up on Innes.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by danishh

Honestly I still don't understand the point of this. You're diverting traffic from one end of the Blackburn bypass to the other end. The traffic will still end up on Innes.

Renaud Road was not built for the volume of cars it currently carries. This proposal from the NCC will make the route straighter and shorter, while leaving space for widening if need be and re-naturalizing the southern branch of Renaud.

It's not really about Innes, but having more/better options to get to Chapel Hill, Avalon and Navan from Innes.

Now the City's idiotic plan had the new Brian Coburn connect to a future Hunt Club/Walkley extension, which should never be built IMO. We don't need a highway parallel to a highway that's nowhere near capacity.

[lrt's friend]

The choke point is Innes Road itself, not the highways. The intent is to bypass that section of Innes Road. The issue is that we have 100K++ in Orleans and the only road connections into the city are Hwy 174 and Innes Road.

[vtecyo]

Originally Posted by lrt's friend

The choke point is Innes Road itself, not the highways. The intent is to bypass that section of Innes Road. The issue is that we have 100K++ in Orleans and the only road connections into the city are Hwy 174 and Innes Road.

And St. Joseph/Montreal Rd.

And technically there's a few routes through the Greenbelt as well - depending on how far out of the way you want to go.

The shortest of those is to turn south from Renaud onto Anderson, then west onto Ridge Rd - then north on Ramsayville Road - and then west onto Walkley. There's no lights, only a few stop signs - although Ridge Rd *really* isn't made for high traffic volumes or speeds.

[lrt's friend]

Originally Posted by vtecyo

And St. Joseph/Montreal Rd.

And technically there's a few routes through the Greenbelt as well - depending on how far out of the way you want to go.

The shortest of those is to turn south from Renaud onto Anderson, then west onto Ridge Rd - then north on Ramsayville Road - and then west onto Walkley. There's no lights, only a few stop signs - although Ridge Rd *really* isn't made for high traffic volumes or speeds.

Yes, those are capable of relatively low volumes of traffic. Some traffic likely goes even further south to cross the city.

[Tesladom]

All thro growth in Orleans is coming from the South portion. 174 is a non factor for anyone living in Trailsedge, Chaperal or Avalon.
Walkley extension makes the most amount of sense... but then again logic never works

[J.OT13]

Not sure how Walkley/Hunt Club extension works. I doubt that many people from Orleans are traveling to the old South End. The 417 is nowhere near capacity and that road would be more detrimental to the Greenbelt than the Brian Coburn extension (which adds greenspace overall).

[orleans_man]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

Not sure how Walkley/Hunt Club extension works. I doubt that many people from Orleans are traveling to the old South End. The 417 is nowhere near capacity and that road would be more detrimental to the Greenbelt than the Brian Coburn extension (which adds greenspace overall).

I think there were a couple of different things the connector was solving. I believe that Innes Rd. between Blair and the 417 was projected to reach capacity (in the medium term) and once you add the traffic coming from all of the new developments in south Orleans, there would eventually be a
capacity problem on that stretch. So the problem was Innes, not the 417 from what I remember. However, that was with pre-pandemic traffic projections, not sure it still stands? But at the time, I think modelling suggested that another "artery" heading south (and diverting traffic from Innes) would be required.

On another note, it's funny how many people I know that actually work in south Ottawa and also live in south Orleans. You wouldn't think there would be too many people, but South-East Ottawa does have a large employment sector. Heck, I worked there for about 10 years myself and would have loved such a connector. Big Industrial Parks / Hospitals etc.

One of the reasons be chose Orleans (and some people I know as well) was that it had decent transit Downtown and it was "geographically" close to South-East Ottawa. Easy Drive and Easy Bus. The good o'l days

[rocketphish]

For the full story, we have a thread for the Innes-Walkley-Hunt Club Connector over here:
https://www.skyscraperpage.com/forum...d.php?t=175495

[hwy418]

Originally Posted by orleans_man

I think there were a couple of different things the connector was solving. I believe that Innes Rd. between Blair and the 417 was projected to reach capacity (in the medium term) and once you add the traffic coming from all of the new developments in south Orleans, there would eventually be a
capacity problem on that stretch. So the problem was Innes, not the 417 from what I remember. However, that was with pre-pandemic traffic projections, not sure it still stands? But at the time, I think modelling suggested that another "artery" heading south (and diverting traffic from Innes) would be required.

On another note, it's funny how many people I know that actually work in south Ottawa and also live in south Orleans. You wouldn't think there would be too many people, but South-East Ottawa does have a large employment sector. Heck, I worked there for about 10 years myself and would have loved such a connector. Big Industrial Parks / Hospitals etc.

One of the reasons be chose Orleans (and some people I know as well) was that it had decent transit Downtown and it was "geographically" close to South-East Ottawa. Easy Drive and Easy Bus. The good o'l days

Phase II of the Hunt Club Extension (417 to Innes) doesn't make sense. But, a direct connection from Brian Coburn to Walkley via the hydro corridor almost makes too much sense! I work with the guy who was the City's project manager for that study and he said the NCC wouldn't allow it... sensitive grasses I guess! I'm in Chapel Hill and my old office was located off Hunt Club near Bank. There were many east-enders who commuted to the south end.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by Tesladom

All thro growth in Orleans is coming from the South portion. 174 is a non factor for anyone living in Trailsedge, Chaperal or Avalon.
Walkley extension makes the most amount of sense... but then again logic never works

Yup. There is a huge population that goes far south of Innes now and from there to get down to the 174 it's about a 15-minute drive.

This is about the same amount of time it takes drive from westernmost parts of Orléans near the Jeanne-d'Arc exit, all the way to the Rideau Centre in downtown Ottawa!

[Marshsparrow]

Looking at a map, this seems like one of the dumbest infrastructure investments yet. Extending Walkley to something makes more sense.

[J.OT13]

What they need to do is bring back the Cumberland Transitway to Hurdman. It's ridiculous that they cut the most useful stretch serving hospitals and dense Elmvale Acres (adjacent) areas. Maybe that's a better way instead of increasing road capacity.

[FrostyMug]

There are many, many people who live in Orleans and work in Ottawa's south end. My commute was among them. It was a simple commute 20+ years ago but with all the growth in the south end of Orleans it became a challenge. Those back roads are not designed for the traffic they handle particularly Renaud and the Ridge Rd. Not to mention that the intersection of Anderson and Ridge is at the crest of the hill and no where near ideal. The extension is a start but honestly there does need to be a better connection to Walkley from the East end of the city that doesn't involve a one interchange hop on and off the 417. Funneling all the traffic to Innes doesn't get me to the south end any quicker, it just dumps me into the traffic I want to avoid on a road that is already at or over capacity at rush hour.

[lrt's friend]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

What they need to do is bring back the Cumberland Transitway to Hurdman. It's ridiculous that they cut the most useful stretch serving hospitals and dense Elmvale Acres (adjacent) areas. Maybe that's a better way instead of increasing road capacity.

I look at this as a lost opportunity.

I always favoured new rapid transit investment on new corridors in order to attract new riders. I also saw growth areas as the areas to serve, again because of the potential for new riders in years to come and also to have some impact on the design of new development.

South Orleans is not well served by the Confederation Line, so its potential to attract new riders is quite limited.

I also see the Cumberland Transitway as out of date. It was conceived when bus transitways gave the convenience of express bus service. This is no longer possible and this is being double downed now that suburbanites don't see the post-pandemic transfer bus services as being efficient enough for their travels.

In that respect, I wish we had considered more seriously a southern route to Orleans via the hospital corridor but it was critical that Innes Road be considered rather than the Cumberland Transitway. A skytrain route perhaps, but this is already too late to consider, given the amount of money that is being spent on the northern route via Highway 174. We really can't have two rail routes to Orleans, at least not within our lifetimes.

Another reason why I see this as a lost opportunity is that the eastern transitway was perfectly viable for decades to come, east of Hurdman. But that is spilt milk.

[TransitZilla]

Originally Posted by hwy418

But, a direct connection from Brian Coburn to Walkley via the hydro corridor almost makes too much sense! I work with the guy who was the City's project manager for that study and he said the NCC wouldn't allow it... sensitive grasses I guess!

The Mer Bleue Bog is a provincially significant wetland, and an internationally recognized wetland protected under the UN Ramsar convention since the mid 1990s.

There is zero chance of any new transportation infrastructure being built within the Ramsar boundaries. Building a road along the hydro corridor is a non-starter for this reason.