Over reading week, the City of Ottawa cleared trees surrounding the Line 2 O-Train tracks running through Carleton University, in preparation for the construction of Stage 2 of the Light Rail Transit (LRT).
Line 2 of the O-Train is scheduled to be closed from May 2020 to September 2022 for Stage 2 construction, which will double the width of the tracks, add a new pedestrian bridge over the Rideau River and extend the platforms at Carleton Station to 77-metres in length.
“The next upgrade is the double-track electrified light rail transit that will enable travel from many parts of the city to the campus,” wrote Ata Khan, a transportation engineering professor at Carleton, in an email. “All these developments are in the best interest of Carleton University.”
During the closure, detour bus route R2 will run between Bayview and Greenboro station. According to an emailed statement from the city, buses will come every 10 minutes during peak service in the summer, and more frequently in the fall and winter.
“The bus routes will serve the demand by taking into account the most efficient routing of buses,” Khan said.
The upcoming closure of Line 2 has led to students finding other ways of getting on-campus for their daily commute.
“I’ll no longer have an easy way to get to work,” said Jessica Paquette, a fourth-year English major. “I’m going to have to keep in mind that bussing is going to take more time, especially having to get through the campus traffic.”
“I’m feeling frustrated,” Paquette added. “[I] am worried about an increase in vehicle traffic on campus as a cause of the O-Train being shut down.”
The closure of Line 2 was initially proposed to take only 16 months, re-opening in September 2021, but was extended a year as the scope of the project expanded, according to an emailed statement from the City of Ottawa.
“Ultimately, the expanded system will extend service to more communities, eliminate interactions with VIA Rail service, and provide a system that is reliable and prepared for expansion in the future,” the statement read.
Line 1 of the LRT opened in 2019 after more than a year of delays, something that is still on the minds of many students.
“I’ve lost my trust in our transit providers,” said Liam Lowe, a CUSA public affairs councillor for the upcoming academic year. “I hope the city can stay true to their word. If they say it’s going to be a year-and-a-half or two years then I hope that’s it.”
Students taking public transportation won’t be the only ones affected, with those who plan to drive to campus also facing challenges. Carleton’s transportation strategy from January 2019 states that over the next five years, 900 parking spots will be lost as three campus parking lots are shrunk or eliminated.
Parsons Inc., the firm that prepared the transportation strategy, also recommended Carleton raise fees to reduce demand for parking. Parsons recommended increasing daily rates to $16 per day and monthly permit passes to a range of $73 to $177.
While there may be some growing pains, Khan believes that an upgraded LRT system will efficiently serve the Carleton community.
“The LRT system is an efficient mode of serving high travel volumes,” wrote Khan. “During peak times, 16,000 passengers are served per hour, per direction. There is a good balance of demand for travel with the seat supply offered by frequent LRT service.”
The City of Ottawa plans to clear more trees in the fall of 2020, while Carleton plans to develop a restoration plan to replace the greenery once construction is complete.
Featured image by Marieta-Rita Osezua.
