What could have been — old visions and plans for Ottawa

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by Harley613

I wonder when the general consensus will finally arrive that the 'new' train station is only 3870m from the Peace Tower, and while not 'downtown', is actually extremely central in the grand scheme of the city at it's current and future size.

It's true. I've shared this before, but Ottawa station is very central and has a significant population within 5 km. .

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Originally Posted by SweazyCavalry

Oh I Love Ottawa Station on Tremblay. Grew up in the east-end and current access on Line 1 makes it a no-brainer. Also great 60s architecture with so much light.

I agree. Line 1 and the extensions make it far more convenient than before. The location is not as egregious as it once was thanks to the improved access.

Originally Posted by phil235

I also like the current station, and it still has lots of room to expand capacity. Ideally it also works for high speed rail.

I think that the justification for a revived downtown station would have been for commuter rail, which really needs to end downtown. Since we've decided to extend LRT into the hinterlands instead, that justification is gone. The current station isn't going anywhere.

And having the current station is better for high speed rail since it's a through station, while Union would be a terminus.

Originally Posted by Acajack

My main quibble with Ottawa Station is how dead it feels considering it's the intercity rail station for a major metro area of 1.5 million people and the national capital.

It's not an unpleasant place to travel through.

If HSR gets done it'll be a lot busier, and there isn't anything wrong with it playing that role going forward.

Developing the parking lots around the station and making the area a destination all its own would go a long way.