Ottawa Transit Developments

[Kyle Campbell]

Offhand, I can't think of any other Canadian city where rail expansion is on hold! We see new projects not held in Hamilton, Waterloo, Toronto, and all over the GO Transit network in Southern Ontario. We see a federal rail expansion with VIA HFR. We see Ontario's Northland expansion going ahead. We see work in Vancouver and planning for the next Millennium line expansion. They are moving towards building the Blue Line extension in Montreal after about a 40-year hold. I'm not up on Calgary and Edmonton, but this seems the exact opposite.

It looks to me to be the opposite. If all expansion was on hold, then the tender for the Line 1 extension would be cancelled.

Not affecting the inflight stuff, but Stage 3 has been indefinitely postponed, and the mayor in his game of budget chicken with the province says they should just shutter stage 2 because they can't afford to operate it.

 

[nfitz]

Not affecting the inflight stuff, but Stage 3 has been indefinitely postponed, and the mayor in his game of budget chicken with the province says they should just shutter stage 2 because they can't afford to operate it.

I didn't say otherwise. It was the "(like most public transit agencies) all future rail expansion is on hold" I was responding to. Reading it again though, I may have guessed wrongly on where the missing punctuation was.

I'm not sure what the "inflight stuff" is. Or what ones affections have to do with that. I feel I'm missing something here.

 

[CapitalSeven]

The problem with Stage 3 of Ottawa's system is that it's very expensive for very little gain in riders or improvement in service. Progress on some of the bus projects would cost a lot less and deliver more.

 

[nfitz]

The problem with Stage 3 of Ottawa's system is that it's very expensive for very little gain in riders or improvement in service. Progress on some of the bus projects would cost a lot less and deliver more.

It might be a good idea to refresh us with what Stage 3 currently is. Looking at the OC Transpo it talks about Steps and Phases. But perhaps that's all just Phase 2?

I poked around more - but the most recent CBC article I found from 2023, seems to be using a 2023 map - which appears to also be the most recent one anyone has posted in this thread!

 

[ARG1]

It might be a good idea to refresh us with what Stage 3 currently is. Looking at the OC Transpo it talks about Steps and Phases. But perhaps that's all just Phase 2?

I poked around more - but the most recent CBC article I found from 2023, seems to be using a 2023 map - which appears to also be the most recent one anyone has posted in this thread!

Stage 3 is the extension of Lines 1/3 into Barrhaven and Kanata respectively. Both lines have EAs already completed, all they need is funding.

Both extensions also have phasing options, with Barrhaven having a $2B Phase 1 from Algonquin to Fallowfield, and an extra $1B to Barrhaven Centre.

Then the Kanata Extension can be split into 3 phases, first to Terry Fox, then to Palladium (Canada Tire Centre), and finally to Hazeldean (don't know if there's an up to date cost estimate)

Here's a map (Source: https://map.railfans.ca/):

 

[nfitz]

Stage 3 is the extension of Lines 1/3 into Barrhaven and Kanata respectively. Both lines have EAs already completed, all they need is funding.

Interesting. The last (2019) map posted here showed those as BRT instead.

I wonder if the Kanata one would work better as a single new station at Eaglson, then with a good bus terminal and service. That would save huge amounts of money.

Is there a good map of the 4(?) stages? I can't even read the line numbers on that one - let alone tell which parts are open, under construction, or just proposed.

 

[Kyle Campbell]

I didn't say otherwise. It was the "(like most public transit agencies) all future rail expansion is on hold" I was responding to. Reading it again though, I may have guessed wrongly on where the missing punctuation was.

I'm not sure what the "inflight stuff" is. Or what ones affections have to do with that. I feel I'm missing something here.

Ah, sorry for the confusion. The budget crisis is common to transit agencies coast to coast. The postponed rail is just Ottawa.

Inflight refers to the stuff under construction, the postponed extensions are the ones to Kanata and Barrhaven

Between the abysmal start to the original confederation line and budget woes, there's no appetite for any future expansion projects. The focus for the next while is trying to stop the current death spiral of service cuts and low ridership

 

[nfitz]

Between the abysmal start to the original confederation line and budget woes, there's no appetite for any future expansion projects. The focus for the next while is trying to stop the current death spiral of service cuts and low ridership

With the province and feds providing 100% funding with no municipal portion for most projects in the last 15 years, I don't see why Ottawa would be different. If Ottawa's municipal financial woes have any part of this, then the local government has failed.

 

[ARG1]

Interesting. The last (2019) map posted here showed those as BRT instead.

I wonder if the Kanata one would work better as a single new station at Eaglson, then with a good bus terminal and service. That would save huge amounts of money.

Is there a good map of the 4(?) stages? I can't even read the line numbers on that one - let alone tell which parts are open, under construction, or just proposed.

The map allows you to turn of the Stage 3 lines in the legend (the stack of papers button on the top right)

 

[Kyle Campbell]

With the province and feds providing 100% funding with no municipal portion for most projects in the last 15 years, I don't see why Ottawa would be different. If Ottawa's municipal financial woes have any part of this, then the local government has failed.

100% funding is a GTA thing

In Ottawa, the province and feds contributed less than 25% each, the city paid the remaining 50+%

Neither the province nor the feds are interested in contributing more, and Ottawa votes
are very stable, so neither government throws much candy this way to try and woo voters

That being said the GTA and Golden horseshoe are different. Ottawa is just Ottawa, Gatineau is Quebec's to deal with,.so transportation is less a provincial responsibility anyway. There's no need for something like Metrolinx to organize between multiple municipalities.OC Transpo already was the regional transit authority before amalgamation and now it only answers to one government
----

Industry Sector: Transit
Project Type: LRT
Project Value: $4.675 billion
Funding Source: P3
Federal Funding: $1 billion
Provincial Funding: $1.208 billion
Municipal Funding: $2.449 billion
Province: Ontario
City / Region: Ottawa
Estimated End Date of Substantial Completion: 2026

 

[Kyle Campbell]

OC Transpo in general gets a fraction of the funding that GTA agencies do, but large enough we get the occasional bone thrown our way.

Transit agencies in places like London and Sudbury don't even register on the provinces radar

New report reveals Ottawa transit funding is 5x less than GTA

The Financial Accountability Office of Ontario (FAO) released a new report on Sept. 12, revealing transit funding inequalities across Ontario. The report discusses disparities in operational subsidies for local and regional transit across the province, said Stephen Blais, MPP for Orléans and...

www.google.com

 

[nfitz]

London has repeatedly rejected plans for anything other than bus transit. Sudbury is relatively small. Neither have the type of capital expenditures which the feds and province have been funding. I have no doubt London would get significant funding if they asked for it.

Increased operational funding from the province though for all agencies should happen in my opinion.

 

[drum118]

London has repeatedly rejected plans for anything other than bus transit. Sudbury is relatively small. Neither have the type of capital expenditures which the feds and province have been funding. I have no doubt London would get significant funding if they asked for it.

Increased operational funding from the province though for all agencies should happen in my opinion.

The funding for all systems is suppose to be in the works now Mississauga is asking for fund of its LRT and Hamilton request is in the works.

The day they get rid of IO and ML, it will free up a lot of capital. I have no issues with a regional authority as along that it is arm length from MTO and the province along well the municipalities it is covering.

London was more apposed to transit in the past as well the usual folks with BRT being the best thing for it. Ottawa was the poster child for building BRT in place of LRT, but they have shot themselves in the foot moving to LRT along with a number of systems as well.

 

[drum118]

Transit throwback: The bumpy ride to Ottawa's 'new' north-south LRT​

 

[felix123]

Jan. 6 start. Great news for Ottawa!