Ahead of the incoming upheaval of on-campus transportation, students are anticipating the worst. After the conversion of Campus Avenue to a one-way street in September, transportation on-campus has become a start-and-stop nightmare.
The O-Train Trillium Line is closing between May 2020 and September 2022–a total of 28 months. The closure is part of construction on Stage 2 extensions to the Confederation line.
It will also invariably lead to a heavier load on Carleton’s on-campus buses. OC Transpo has several measures planned to mitigate the increase in traffic, but students have yet to hear from Carleton on an issue which will undoubtedly affect the student population.
These include a bus-only entrance from Bronson Avenue onto Raven Road and a northbound jump lane on Bronson and Holmwood to allow buses to bypass traffic at the Holmwood traffic light, according to the CBC.
Data obtained by The Ottawa Citizen from OC Transpo shows after the opening of Line 1, the city-wide delivery rate actually increased to 98.05 from 97.1 per cent in the period before the LRT’s opening.
While these numbers seem counter-intuitive, they do show the closure of Carleton’s O-Train station does not need to be a disaster for students.
However, the issues don’t stop at an increased load on bus service. Students who drive to school will also be affected by the closure, since 900 parking lots will be lost as a consequence of the construction.
At this point, Carleton has yet to outline the upcoming changes or propose any solutions. Hopefully, the measures introduced by OC Transpo will be enough. However, Carleton still needs to play a part in the transition process.
File photo.
