265 Catherine St [Former Greyhound terminal] | 110/117/127m | 32/34/36f | Site Prep

[Kitchissippi]

I think It would be more elegant if they mirrored the train station with a bus station facing Terminal Avenue. Commuter buses to Embrun/Limoge/Cassleman could leave from here, too.

[McC]

Originally Posted by ServiceGuy

Who currently owns the bus terminal?

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/mobile/...000/story.html

Vancouver real estate entrepreneur Stewart Robertson... the station is owned by Robertson’s company, Crerar Silverside Corporation. Until recently, it was operated by Station Centrale, a Montreal-based firm, which leased space to Greyhound. Station Centrale recently sold its business to a new operator, Corporate Customer Service Limited.

[Jamaican-Phoenix]

Yes, let's continue to relocate what SHOULD be urban transit hubs to the suburbs. This is sound planning.

Granted, it does make a certain amount of sense to have the hubs be inter-modal, but come on; we're planning on putting people even further away from a core we are supposedly trying to bring more people to and more urban and more transit-friendly...

[McC]

Originally Posted by Jamaican-Phoenix

Yes, let's continue to relocate what SHOULD be urban transit hubs to the suburbs. This is sound planning.

Granted, it does make a certain amount of sense to have the hubs be inter-modal, but come on; we're planning on putting people even further away from a core we are supposedly trying to bring more people to and more urban and more transit-friendly...

what's transit friendly about the existing location served by one bus route with inconsistent service levels and shorter hours of operation than the bus station has? the Via station is much easier to get to from all around the City, and as I said above, is only about 1.5 km further from the Rideau Centre than the current bus station is.

Kitchissippi, as much as I liked Dado's plan, I like yours even better!

[LeadingEdgeBoomer]

I agree with McC The current bus station is dinky and cramped. It lacks parking, it is even difficult to find space to drop off or pick someone up. It is not well serviced by public transit.

The Via station is much easier to access.

As this sprawling city has grown , the Via station is no longer way out of the central core as McC has indicated. Orleans/Cumberland is way out of the core, Kanata is way out of the core. Via is out of the core, but far from "way out" of the core.

I think the move would be good, with the bonus of the possibility of some nice new buildings and densification on the current Greyhound site.

[Jamaican-Phoenix]

Originally Posted by McC

what's transit friendly about the existing location served by one bus route with inconsistent service levels and shorter hours of operation than the bus station has? the Via station is much easier to get to from all around the City, and as I said above, is only about 1.5 km further from the Rideau Centre than the current bus station is.

But we could have a state-of-the-art and classy terminal in the heart of downtown. Am I seriously the only one who has thought that an LRT station under the Government Conference Centre (old train station) could rather easily tie into a bus terminal that could be adjoined to said station, thereby carrying busloads of people along the canal right into downtown?

Even if that were somehow impossible, there are plenty of sites around downtown that could work, or even in places like LeBreton Flats. Hell, we could even pull a NYC and stick the bus terminal underneath a city block occupied by business towers. We shouldn't just keep sticking stuff in the suburbs simply because there is more space and it's cheaper; we should find innovative and creative solutions that keep services in the core.

Originally Posted by LeadingEdgeBoomer

I agree with McC The current bus station is dinky and cramped. It lacks parking, it is even difficult to find space to drop off or pick someone up. It is not well serviced by public transit.

The Via station is much easier to access.

As this sprawling city has grown , the Via station is no longer way out of the central core as McC has indicated. Orleans/Cumberland is way out of the core, Kanata is way out of the core. Via is out of the core, but far from "way out" of the core.

I think the move would be good, with the bonus of the possibility of some nice new buildings and densification on the current Greyhound site.

Perhaps it is not "way out" from the core, but it is still away from the core nonetheless. Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver, New York, Quebec, Chicago, Boston, etc. ALL have their bus terminals downtown and have either renovated existing terminals or built new ones in an urban location. The VIA station is still far from being urban.

[Dado]

Originally Posted by Kitchissippi

So what you are saying is that it would be great for occasional out-of-towners to breeze through town in winter wearing beachwear while we have to trudge daily into downtown bundled up and in winter boots, dodging trains and getting splattered with dirty slush stepping off of surface LRT?

If it's surface LRT, where's all this dirty slush going to come from and how is it going to get splattered anywhere?


Anyway, there is another thread more appropriate to discussing the coach terminal relocation:

Ottawa intercity bus terminal relocation thread

And another for discussions on transportation more generally in the downtown area:

Byward Market - Sandy Hill - Hurdman Transportation Sort-out

[hhunter]

Originally Posted by jcollins

But does it NOT make sense? Why not house multiple modes of transit together if you can?

Oh no, there's no problem with housing multiple modes of transit together. But relocating solely for that purpose when it doesn't bring significant benefit IS a problem.

I've never seen stats on whether people do transfer between the two (it does have value if you're coming from or going to somewhere that has no Via connection, and want to get a train first chance you get). But unless that's common, the transit hub idea is quite weak.

That said, the current greyhound location is poor because it doesn't offer a connection to the transit way. At least relocating it could have that benefit.

[AuxTown]

It wouldn't be as much about the transfer from Greyhound to Train (though some will use it I'm sure), but more about how to get where you're going once off of the bus. Drive by the Catherine station on any given night after the bus from Toronto arrives. People drag their suitcases in all directions to get cabs, walk to the buses on Bank, and very few live within easy walking distance with luggage (save for the Southern end of Centretown and the Northern end of the Glebe; both sparsly populated). The VIA area just happens to be:

1) blessed with plenty of open space
2) right on the 417 (same as Catherine)
3) within 1 stop of the 2nd busiest rapid transit hub in the city (Hurdman)

As a long-time Westender it pains me to see things moving East, but I think this move would be a good one.

[acottawa]

I think the condo is a good idea: walkable to downtown/glebe, close to a grocery store, probably a more more affordable option than condos further downtown.

As far as the bus station goes, while I don't use the bus, I would think the easiest solution is to survey bus passengers. If most of the passengers are centretown/glebe residents who arrive on foot then it should stay where it is. If most of the passengers drive, take public transit or taxis then the via station offers much better access to the transitway/lrt, parking, highways and taxis than its current location.

[blackjagger]

Application is up.

Very interesting.

http://app01.ottawa.ca/postingplans/...appId=__7FUPZ1

Cheers,
Josh

[McC]

wow. what a good-looking plan.

[ThaLoveDocta]

Originally Posted by blackjagger

Application is up.

Very interesting.

http://app01.ottawa.ca/postingplans/...appId=__7FUPZ1

Cheers,
Josh

Not Halfway bad, the twins are a nice touch...

[Davis137]

That render looks really nice, and would be nice to view from just about eerywhere, and bring some new life to that particular portion of centertown...

[jcollins]

Looks good!! What's the rear portion? Parking?


I wonder if we'll see anyone try to build on the property right across the street from this. As Toronto has shown, people will still build even if it's right next to the highway.

[blackjagger]

Originally Posted by jcollins

Looks good!! What's the rear portion? Parking?


I wonder if we'll see anyone try to build on the property right across the street from this. As Toronto has shown, people will still build even if it's right next to the highway.

The rear portion is 7 storey residential with townhouses at grade.

Parking is two underground levels, first level for the office and commerical and the lower level for residence.

Cheers,
Josh

[Harley613]

this is truly awesome. this has the potential to be the most visible development in the city, being right along the queensway. i really truly hope they get that eyesore of a bus station out of there. i used to think the train station was too far away, but with the way ottawa is growing it's practically downtown and with light rail it'll be a really easy trip.

[McC]

Originally Posted by jcollins

Looks good!! What's the rear portion? Parking?


I wonder if we'll see anyone try to build on the property right across the street from this. As Toronto has shown, people will still build even if it's right next to the highway.

MTO probably owns that land and would hold is as right of way, I doubt it'd be open for development

[kevinbottawa]

This is the kind of project that we need at Lebreton.

[Dundas]

that would bring something nice to look at in that area since the whole place is kinda boring.