1. NORTH-SOUTH CORRIDOR LIGHT RAIL TRANSIT (LRT) PROJECT (RIDEAU CENTRE TO BARRHAVEN TOWN CENTRE)

ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT STUDY

RECOMMENDATIONS ARISING FROM 15 JULY 2005 APPROVED COUNCIL MOTIONS

PROJET DE TRONÇON NORD-SUD DU TRANSPORT EN COMMUN PAR TRAIN LÉGER (TTL) (DU CENTRE RIDEAU JUSQU’AU CENTRE-VILLE DE BARRHAVEN)

ÉTUDE D’ÉVALUATION ENVIRONNEMENTALE

RECOMMANDATIONS DÉCOULANT DES RÉSOLUTIONS DU CONSEIL QUI ONT ÉTÉ APPROUVÉES LE 15 JUILLET 2005

commITTEE RECOMMENDATIONs as amended

That Council:

1. Receive the findings of the technical studies (Documents 1 and 2) that were undertaken to respond to Council’s six resolutions approved at its 15 July 2005 meeting on the North-South Corridor LRT (Rideau Centre to Barrhaven) Environmental Assessment Study;

2. Approve the service design concept shown in Document 1 – Exhibit 3, which will reduce the numbers of buses on Albert and Slater Streets, as the future direction for the transit service plan to be implemented in the coming four years;

3. Approve that Transplan 2006 includes proposals for the initial changes in this direction. Specifically:

a. the introduction of a new rapid transit 90-series bus route along Innes Road in Orléans and Blackburn Hamlet;

b. the extension of rapid transit Route 95 to the Marketplace commercial core of Barrhaven; and,

c. restructuring and improving the transit route network in the Greenboro area.

4. Include in the 2006 capital budget funding to:

a. implement transit priority measures on Baseline/Heron corridor to accommodate the new rapid transit 90-series E-W route;

b. design a new Transitway station at Jeanne d’Arc Boulevard to be built and completed by 2008;

c. design improvements to the Eagleson Transitway Station to be built and completed by 2008;

d. initiate the procurement of a smartcard fare system for both bus and light rail services to be implemented by 2008/9; and

e. direct staff to incorporate the fleet and infrastructure requirements to support the service design concept (Document 1 – Exhibit 3) in the next revision of the Long Range Financial Plan;

5. Introduce a process to monitor and report to Committee and Council on the traffic conditions on Albert and Slater Streets as detailed within this report, initially in 2010 after implementation of the LRT, and thereafter on an annual basis, and informally on a bi-annual basis (i.e. twice per year) through a verbal report;

6. Receive the Terms of Reference – Ottawa Downtown Underground Transit Facility Study (Document 2 – Appendix B) and direct staff to use this document to initiate in 2006 the review of the need for a downtown tunnel, which will serve (along with the findings of other relevant studies) as input to the 2008 Official Plan review;

7. Approve that staff enter into discussions with the University of Ottawa to extend the North-South LRT corridor onto university property, and to initiate a public-private partnership to develop an underground parking facility, integrated light rail transit station and other uses on the proposed site;

8. Subject to the successful outcome of the discussions with the University of Ottawa, approve the 300 metre extension of the North-South LRT Corridor to the University of Ottawa in the vicinity of Stewart Street at a cost of approximately $5.0M for the track extension and station;

9. Subject to Recommendation 8, above, approve the plan for vehicles to share the LRT lane on the Mackenzie King Bridge;

10. Subject to Recommendation 8, above, direct staff to obtain EA approval for the 300 metre extension of the LRT corridor to the University of Ottawa and permit vehicle traffic on the Mackenzie King Bridge.

RecommandationS modifiÉes DU COMITÉ

Que le Conseil :

1. Demande à recevoir les conclusions des études techniques (documents 1 et 2) qu’on a menées pour répondre à six résolutions du Conseil approuvées lors de sa réunion du 15 juillet qui portent sur l’étude d’évaluation environnementale relative au projet de tronçon nord-sud du TTL (du Centre Rideau jusqu’à Barrhaven).

2. Approuve le concept d’aménagement du service présenté à l’annexe 3 du document 1, qui permettra de réduire le nombre d’autobus qui circulent sur les rues Albert et Slater, comme orientation future pour le plan lié au service de transport en commun, qui sera mis en œuvre au cours des quatre prochaines années.

3. Approuve que le processus de consultation de Transplan 2006 comprenne des propositions relatives aux premiers changements à apporter à cette orientation, plus précisément :

a. l’ajout d’un nouveau circuit de transport rapide par autobus de la série 90 le long du chemin Innes à Orléans et à Blackburn Hamlet;

b. le prolongement du circuit de transport rapide n^o 95 jusqu’au noyau commercial de Barrhaven (Marketplace);

c. la réorganisation et l’amélioration du réseau de transport en commun dans le secteur Greenboro.

4. Prévoie des fonds dans le budget d’immobilisations de 2006 pour faire ce qui suit :

a. mettre en œuvre des mesures de priorité au transport en commun qui s’appliqueront au tronçon Baseline-Heron pour le nouveau circuit express est-ouest de la série 90;

b. concevoir une nouvelle station du Transitway sur le boulevard Jeanne-d’Arc, qui sera aménagée et achevée d’ici 2008;

c. élaborer des améliorations pour la station Eagleson du Transitway, qui seront apportées et achevées d’ici 2008;

d. entamer l’acquisition d’un système de perception des tarifs par carte à puce pour le service d’autobus et le service de train léger, qui sera mis en place d’ici 2008 ou 2009;

e. demander au personnel d’intégrer les exigences relatives au parc automobile et à l’infrastructure visant à appuyer le concept d’aménagement du service (annexe 3 du document 1) dans la prochaine révision du Plan financier à long terme.

5. D’instaurer une procédure visant à surveiller les conditions de circulation sur les rues Albert et Slater et à présenter un compte rendu au Comité et au Conseil à cet égard, tel que précisé dans le rapport, d’abord en 2010, soit après la mise en place du service de TTL et, par la suite, tous les ans et, de façon informelle, tous les six mois (c.-à-d. deux fois par année) par le biais d’un rapport verbal.

6. De demander à recevoir le document intitulé Cadre de référence – Étude sur les installations pour le transport en commun souterrain au centre-ville d’Ottawa (annexe B du document 2) et de demander au personnel de l’utiliser pour commencer, en 2006, l’évaluation quant à la nécessité d’aménager un tunnel souterrain, qui servira (tout comme les conclusions d’autres études pertinentes) de suggestion pour l’examen du Plan officiel de 2008.

7. Approuve l’amorce de discussions entre le personnel et l’Université d’Ottawa en vue du prolongement du tronçon nord-sud du TTL sur les terrains de l’Université, et établir un partenariat public-privé visant à aménager un parc de stationnement souterrain, une station de trains légers intégrée et d’autres installations sur le site proposé.

8. Sous réserve de résultats satisfaisants dans les discussions avec l’Université d’Ottawa, approuver le prolongement, sur une distance de 300 mètres, du tronçon nord-sud du TTL jusqu’à l’Université d’Ottawa à proximité de la rue Stewart, au coût d’environ 5 millions de dollars pour le prolongement des voies et la station.

9. Approuve, sous réserve de l’approbation de la recommandation n^o 8 ci‑dessus, le plan qui permettra aux véhicules d’emprunter la voie des trains légers sur le pont Mackenzie-King.

10. Sous réserve de la recommandation 8 ci‑dessus, demander au personnel d’obtenir l’approbation de l’ÉE pour le prolongement, sur une distance de 300 mètres, du tronçon du TTL jusqu’à l’Université d’Ottawa et de permettre aux véhicules de circuler sur le pont Mackenzie King.

Documentation

1. Deputy City Manager, Planning and Growth Management report dated 21 October 2005 (ACS2005-PGM-POL-0060).

2. Extract of Draft Minutes, 2 November 2005 will be distributed prior to Council.

Report to/Rapport au :

Transportation Committee

Comité des transports

and Council / et au Conseil

21 October 2005 / le 21 obtobre 2005

Submitted by/Soumis par : Ned Lathrop, Deputy City Manager/Directeur municipal adjoint,

Planning and Growth Management/Urbanisme et Gestion de la croissance

Contact Person/Personne ressource : Peter Steacy, Program Manager - Transportation Environmental Assessments

Planning, Environment and Infrastructure Policy/Politiques d’urbanisme, d’environnement et d’infrastructure

(613) 580-2424 x, peter.steacy@ottawa.ca

Somerset (14), Rideau -Vanier(12)

Ref N°: ACS2005-PGM-POL-0060

SUBJECT:	NORTH-SOUTH CORRIDOR LIGHT RAIL TRANSIT (LRT) PROJECT (RIDEAU CENTRE TO BARRHAVEN TOWN CENTRE) ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT STUDY RECOMMENDATIONS ARISING FROM 15 JULY 2005 APPROVED COUNCIL MOTIONS
OBJET :	PROJET DE TRONÇON NORD-SUD DU TRANSPORT EN COMMUN PAR TRAIN LÉGER (TTL) (DU CENTRE RIDEAU JUSQU’AU CENTRE-VILLE DE BARRHAVEN) ÉTUDE D’ÉVALUATION ENVIRONNEMENTALE RECOMMANDATIONS DÉCOULANT DES RÉSOLUTIONS DU CONSEIL QUI ONT ÉTÉ APPROUVÉES LE 15 JUILLET 2005

REPORT RECOMMENDATIONS

That the Transportation Committee recommend Council:

1. Receive the findings of the technical studies (Documents 1 and 2) that were undertaken to respond to Council’s six resolutions approved at its 15 July 2005 meeting on the North-South Corridor LRT (Rideau Centre to Barrhaven) Environmental Assessment Study;

2. Approve the service design concept shown in Document 1 – Exhibit 3, which will reduce the numbers of buses on Albert and Slater Streets, as the future direction for the transit service plan to be implemented in the coming four years;

3. Approve that Transplan 2006 includes proposals for the initial changes in this direction. Specifically:

a. the introduction of a new rapid transit 90-series bus route along Innes Road in Orléans and Blackburn Hamlet;

b. the extension of rapid transit Route 95 to the Marketplace commercial core of Barrhaven; and,

c. restructuring and improving the transit route network in the Greenboro area.

4. Include in the 2006 capital budget funding to:

a. implement transit priority measures on Baseline/Heron corridor to accommodate the new rapid transit 90-series E-W route;

b. design a new Transitway station at Jeanne d’Arc Boulevard to be built and completed by 2008;

c. design improvements to the Eagleson Transitway Station to be built and completed by 2008;

d. initiate the procurement of a smartcard fare system for both bus and light rail services to be implemented by 2008/9; and

e. direct staff to incorporate the fleet and infrastructure requirements to support the service design concept (Document 1 – Exhibit 3) in the next revision of the Long Range Financial Plan;

5. Introduce a process to monitor and report to Council on the traffic conditions on Albert and Slater Streets as detailed within this report, initially in 2010 after implementation of the LRT and thereafter at three year intervals, and;

6. Receive the Terms of Reference – Ottawa Downtown Underground Transit Facility Study (Document 2 – Appendix B) and direct staff to use this document to initiate the review of the need for a downtown tunnel in context of the upcoming TMP and OP updates.

7. Approve that staff enter into discussions with the University of Ottawa to extend the North-South LRT corridor onto university property, and to initiate a public-private partnership to develop an underground parking facility, integrated light rail transit station and other uses on the proposed site;

8. Subject to the successful outcome of the discussions with the University of Ottawa, approve the 300 metre extension of the North-South LRT Corridor to the University of Ottawa in the vicinity of Stewart Street at a cost of approximately $5.0M for the track extension and station;

9. Subject to Recommendation 8, above, approve the plan for vehicles to share the LRT lane on the Mackenzie King Bridge;

10. Subject to Recommendation 8, above, direct staff to obtain EA approval for the 300 metre extension of the LRT corridor to the University of Ottawa and permit vehicle traffic on the Mackenzie King Bridge.

RECOMMANDATIONS DU RAPPORT

Que le Comité des transports recommande au Conseil :

1. De demander à recevoir les conclusions des études techniques (documents 1 et 2) qu’on a menées pour répondre à six résolutions du Conseil approuvées lors de sa réunion du 15 juillet qui portent sur l’étude d’évaluation environnementale relative au projet de tronçon nord-sud du TTL (du Centre Rideau jusqu’à Barrhaven).

2. D’approuver le concept d’aménagement du service présenté à l’annexe 3 du document 1, qui permettra de réduire le nombre d’autobus qui circulent sur les rues Albert et Slater, comme orientation future pour le plan lié au service de transport en commun, qui sera mis en œuvre au cours des quatre prochaines années.

3. D’approuver que le processus de consultation de Transplan 2006 comprenne des propositions relatives aux premiers changements à apporter à cette orientation, plus précisément :

a. l’ajout d’un nouveau circuit de transport rapide par autobus de la série 90 le long du chemin Innes à Orléans et à Blackburn Hamlet;

b. le prolongement du circuit de transport rapide n^o 95 jusqu’au noyau commercial de Barrhaven (Marketplace);

c. la réorganisation et l’amélioration du réseau de transport en commun dans le secteur Greenboro.

4. De prévoir des fonds dans le budget d’immobilisations de 2006 pour faire ce qui suit :

a. mettre en œuvre des mesures de priorité au transport en commun qui s’appliqueront au tronçon Baseline-Heron pour le nouveau circuit express est-ouest de la série 90;

b. concevoir une nouvelle station du Transitway sur le boulevard Jeanne-d’Arc, qui sera aménagée et achevée d’ici 2008;

c. élaborer des améliorations pour la station Eagleson du Transitway, qui seront apportées et achevées d’ici 2008;

d. entamer l’acquisition d’un système de perception des tarifs par carte à puce pour le service d’autobus et le service de train léger, qui sera mis en place d’ici 2008 ou 2009;

e. demander au personnel d’intégrer les exigences relatives au parc automobile et à l’infrastructure visant à appuyer le concept d’aménagement du service (annexe 3 du document 1) dans la prochaine révision du Plan financier à long terme.

5. D’instaurer une procédure visant à surveiller les conditions de circulation sur les rues Albert et Slater et à présenter un compte rendu au Conseil à cet égard, tel que précisé dans le rapport, d’abord en 2010, soit après la mise en place du service de TTL et, par la suite, tous les trois ans.

6. De demander à recevoir le document intitulé Cadre de référence – Étude sur les installations pour le transport en commun souterrain au centre-ville d’Ottawa (annexe B du document 2) et de demander au personnel de l’utiliser pour commencer à évaluer la nécessité d’aménager un tunnel souterrain dans le contexte de la mise à jour prochaine du PDT et du PD.

7. Approuver l’amorce de discussions entre le personnel et l’Université d’Ottawa en vue du prolongement du tronçon nord-sud du TTL sur les terrains de l’Université, et établir un partenariat public-privé visant à aménager un parc de stationnement souterrain, une station de trains légers intégrée et d’autres installations sur le site proposé.

8. Sous réserve de résultats satisfaisants dans les discussions avec l’Université d’Ottawa, approuver le prolongement, sur une distance de 300 mètres, du tronçon nord-sud du TTL jusqu’à l’Université d’Ottawa à proximité de la rue Stewart, au coût d’environ 5 millions de dollars pour le prolongement des voies et la station.

9. D’approuver, sous réserve de l’approbation de la recommandation n^o 8 ci‑dessus, le plan qui permettra aux véhicules d’emprunter la voie des trains légers sur le pont Mackenzie-King.

10. Sous réserve de la recommandation 8 ci‑dessus, demander au personnel d’obtenir l’approbation de l’ÉE pour le prolongement, sur une distance de 300 mètres, du tronçon du TTL jusqu’à l’Université d’Ottawa et de permettre aux véhicules de circuler sur le pont Mackenzie King.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Assumptions and Analysis

On 15 July 2005, City Council approved the Environmental Assessment (EA) Study’s recommended plan for the North-South Corridor Light Rail Transit (LRT) Project along with a series of six additional resolutions aimed at addressing public concerns regarding the proposed integration of both LRT and bus rapid transit on Albert and Slater Streets.

The six resolutions included: the direction to ensure that a minimum of 30% of bus traffic be removed from Albert and Slater streets by end of 2009; that a full evaluation be conducted to address the possibility of removing up to 100% of buses using methods such as possibility using Hurdman and Bayview stations as transfer stations; that a terms of reference for a study to determine the ways and means to construct a bus and/or LRT tunnel be prepared; that all businesses in the Albert and Slater street corridors be provided with budget estimates for the capital and operating cost for streetscaping these streets; that the University of Ottawa including the Transitway Station be evaluated as a terminal point for the LRT service; and, that options be evaluated for the accommodation of vehicular traffic as well as LRT service on the Mackenzie King Bridge.

Staff in conjunction with ENTRA Consultants, and McCormick Rankin Corporation/Hatch Mott MacDonald (the EA Study consultants) undertook this work. The results of the analysis appear in Documents 1 and 2.

Four basic options were identified to reduce bus volumes by 30% on Albert and Slater Streets. These are:

• Carrying some customers in other ways, i.e. on LRT or create and operate new east-west cross-town routes;
• Carrying the remaining customers on fewer buses;
• Operating some buses through downtown on other streets, i.e. Queen, Laurier and Wellington; and,
• Operating out-of-service buses on other streets

A recommended service design concept that significantly reduces bus volumes on Albert and Slater Streets, which is a combination of all four options, has been developed. The concept illustrated in Document 1 – Exhibit 3, is based on a limited hub and spoke system, rapid transit 90-series bus routes by-passing the downtown and local feeder bus routes to the light rail line. It incorporates 11 frequent express routes from the suburban communities to the downtown and moves two routes onto Queen and Wellington Streets.

The recommended service design concept would reduce the volume of buses on Albert and Slater streets by approximately 30% at the busiest times and would result in a much more fluid, less intrusive operation in the downtown which, along with the construction of the new light rail line, would contribute to a significantly enhanced street environment. It is a sustainable operating strategy for the longer term, with no net change expected in total ridership. The recommended service concept also provides an opportunity to significantly reduce the number of out-of-service (dead-head) buses operating through the downtown.

Certain infrastructure investment is required to accommodate the recommended service design concept, including transit priority measures on Baseline and Heron Roads and new transfer stations at Jeanne d’Arc Boulevard and Eagleson Park and Ride. It will also require a change in the planned bus fleet incorporating more high-capacity articulated buses. The required changes to the bus fleet replacement and acquisition plan would be incorporated into the next revision of the Long Range Financial Plan.

Implementation of the recommended service design concept would be staged over four years from 2006 to 2009. The first route changes would occur in 2006, with the final route changes being made at the time the North-South LRT line begins operation in the Fall of 2009.

A process to review transit and auto traffic conditions, develop forecasts for the coming years, consult with the business community and provide reports to Council at regular intervals is recommended. A first report would be presented to Council in 2010, based on the first few months of experience with the LRT. Thereafter reports would be presented every three years.

A range of options for removing up to 100% of buses from Albert and Slater Streets were examined. These include:

• Removing all buses on Albert and Slater Streets and operating them on other east-west streets in downtown Ottawa;
• Removing a percentage of buses (greater than 30% but less than 100%) and operating them on other east-west streets; and,
• Creating transfer hubs and Hurdman and Bayview Stations, and providing an alternative transit service from these stations into and across downtown.

Wellington Street, Queen Street, and Laurier Avenue were considered as alternate streets for bus operation in downtown. The analysis shows that any of the above-noted scenarios would not be possible without major impacts to operations on these streets. Therefore it is concluded that placing 100% of the Albert/Slater volume on one or both directions of the three streets is not feasible. Diversion of between 30% to 100% on to any of these streets would be a question of finding the balance between the number of buses and the capacity of the roadways and intersections to accommodate the required bus turning movements.

The analysis of Bayview and Hurdman Stations as transit hubs concludes that it is not a feasible solution for implementation in 2009. Based on the results of the analysis of the above-noted options, it is concluded that the recommended service design concept is the best alternative at this time.

A draft terms of reference that addresses all of the technical issues associated with examining a potential tunnel is provided in Document 2 – Appendix B. Key strategic planning initiatives and studies currently underway (or soon to be initiated) would provide key input to the planning component of the tunnel study. These include the 2005 origin-destination survey, the East-West Corridor LRT Project EA, and EA studies for the Carling and Rideau/Montreal Corridor LRT projects; and the Interprovincial Rapid Transit EA Study. The City will begin background work with a view to completing an update of the City’s OP and TMP which will include an update to population and employment projections, policies, and modal split targets by 2008. It is recommended that the timing for this study be such that the above-noted input data is available and the strategic planning need for a downtown tunnel be examined in the context of the upcoming TMP and OP updates.

The North-South Corridor LRT Project EA estimated the cost for landscaping/streetscaping, platform and sidewalk treatments on Albert and Slater Streets and the Mackenzie King Bridge at $16 to $17 million. Because bidding teams are being asked to propose improvements/enhancements as part of the LRT procurement process, operating costs of the improvements will not be known until the bidding teams have submitted their proposals.

It is recommended that the LRT line be extended approximately 300 metres to a proposed University of Ottawa LRT Station located on University lands immediately south of Stewart Street, north of Hagen Hall and east of Waller Street, currently used as a parking lot. A rail cross-over would be located immediately east of Waller in the western portion of the parking area while the station area would be positioned in the east end of the block, close to Cumberland Street. This site connects directly to the University’s current pedestrian network, and is compatible with a potential future eastern extension of the LRT. These are lands that the University intends to redevelop at some point in the future, supporting their vision for expansion of the campus northerly. The proximity to Arts Court also represents another opportunity for integrated urban development.

The cost of the additional track and station, as well as required modifications to the Waller Street intersection, to construct this option is approximately $5 million, including engineering and project management costs, but excludes property.

Discussions held with officials at the University to explore the feasibility of accessing this property indicate that if the property were to be made available, it could not be at the expense of preventing development on the site. As a concept it was suggested that the City consider the construction of an underground parking facility with an integrated LRT station at grade and the potential for above grade development. Parking demand at that location will support a three to four storey parking facility with between 400 and 525 spaces. Preliminary assessments indicate that the revenue generation from the parking facility would likely not be sufficient to break even, but conceptually the revenue gap would represent the value of the ground lease for the LRT station.

The University has indicated its willingness to explore this concept further under a public-private partnership. Therefore it is recommended that the City enter into such discussions with the University.

Three scenarios for accommodating vehicular traffic on the Mackenzie King bridge, along with both LRT and bus services were considered. Each of these options would only work if the change of direction rail cross-over is provided off of the bridge, adjacent to the proposed University of Ottawa LRT Station as described above. The analysis determined that the option of vehicles sharing the LRT lane was the best overall option. It is recommended that the EA plan incorporate this feature to allow traffic to use the Mackenzie King Bridge by sharing the LRT lane, contingent on the relocation of the rail cross-over to a location adjacent to the proposed Ottawa University LRT Station.

Financial Implications

Funding required to implement the recommendations has been included in the 2006 budget and will also form part of the Long Range Financial Plan for subsequent years.

Public Consultation/Input

A comprehensive and frequent consultation activity with affected downtown business and landowners was vital to successfully address Council’s resolutions. This was initiated on 21 July 2005 with a meeting between invited representatives of the downtown business group and the Mayor. Five additional meetings status and update meetings were held between the study team and the business group, with two working meetings were held with a subset of the business group to discuss specific issues. Feedback received from the business group during the course of the work was incorporated into the analysis undertaken and into the development of the recommendations presented herein.

In addition, the LRT implementation team met twice with a group of Albert and Slater Street business and property owners to discuss station location and integration opportunities and a meeting with the University of Ottawa was held on 21 October 2005 to discuss the recommendations to extend the LRT onto its campus.

RÉSUMÉ

Hypothèses et analyse

Le 15 juillet 2005, le conseil municipal a approuvé le plan recommandé dans l’étude d’évaluation environnementale pour le tronçon nord-sud du transport en commun par train léger (TTL) ainsi qu’une série de six résolutions supplémentaires destinées à dissiper les inquiétudes du public provoquées par l’intégration proposée du TTL et du service de transport en commun rapide par autobus rues Albert et Slater.

Voici en quoi consistaient ces six résolutions : la directive du Conseil voulant que la circulation d’autobus soit réduite d’au moins 30 % dans les rues Albert et Slater d’ici la fin de 2009; qu’on procède à une évaluation exacte de la possibilité de retirer tous les autobus à l’aide de différentes méthodes, comme la possibilité d’utiliser les stations Hurdman et Bayview comme points de correspondance; qu’un mandat pour une étude visant à déterminer les façons de construire un tunnel pour les autobus ou le train léger soit préparé; que toutes les entreprises dans le corridor des rues Albert et Slater reçoivent des estimations budgétaires quant aux frais d’immobilisation et d’exploitation pour l’aménagement paysager de ces rues; qu’on envisage de transférer le terminus pour le service de TTL à l’Université d’Ottawa, la station Transitway y compris; qu’on étudie différentes options pour prendre en charge la circulation ainsi que le service de TTL sur le pont Mackenzie King.

Avec le concours d’ENTRA Consultants et de McCormick Rankin Corporation et Hatch Mott MacDonald (les experts-conseils pour l’étude d’évaluation environnementale), le personnel a entrepris ces travaux. Les résultats de l’analyse sont présentés dans les documents 1 et 2.

On a établi quatre options de base pour réduire le nombre d’autobus de 30 % rues Albert et Slater :

• assurer le transport de certains passagers de façons différentes, c’est‑à-dire le long du tronçon du TTL ou créer de nouveaux parcours traversant la ville d’est en ouest et les utiliser;
• transporter les passagers qui restent avec moins d’autobus;
• utiliser des autobus qui traversent le centre-ville dans d’autres rues (par exemple, rues Queen, Laurier et Wellington);
• utiliser des autobus hors service dans d’autres rues.

On a mis au point un concept d’aménagement recommandé qui réduit sensiblement le nombre d’autobus rues Albert et Slater et qui est une combinaison des quatre options. Le concept illustré à l’annexe 3 du document 1 est basé sur un système limitée de réseau en étoile, des circuits de transport en commun rapide avec des autobus de la série 90 qui contournent le centre-ville et des circuits d’autobus de rabattement locaux jusqu’au tronçon de transport en commun par train léger. Le concept comprend 11 circuits express à fréquence élevée des collectivités en banlieue jusqu’au centre-ville et deux parcours jusqu’aux rues Queen et Wellington.

Le concept d’aménagement du service recommandé contribuerait à réduire le nombre d’autobus rues Albert et Slater d’environ 30 % aux heures les plus occupées, ce qui rendrait la circulation plus fluide et le service moins dérangeant dans le centre-ville et, avec la construction du nouveau tronçon du transport en commun par train léger, améliorerait considérablement l’environnement dans les rues. Il s’agit d’une stratégie d’exploitation durable à long terme, qui n’entraîne pas de diminution marquée du nombre total d’usagers. Le concept de service recommandé prévoit également de réduire sensiblement le nombre d’autobus hors service (voitures à vide) qui circulent dans le centre-ville.

Il faut effectuer des investissements dans l’infrastructure pour prendre en charge le concept recommandé, notamment des mesures des priorités du transport en commun dans les chemins Baseline et Heron et dans les nouveaux points de correspondance au boulevard Jeanne d’Arc et au parcobus Eagleson. Il faudra également modifier le parc de véhicules prévu en intégrant plus d’autobus articulés à grande capacité. Les changements qu’il faudrait apporter au plan de remplacement et d’acquisition de véhicules pour le parc de véhicules devraient être intégrés dans le plan financier à long terme révisé.

La mise en œuvre du concept de service recommandé se déroulera sur une période de quatre ans entre 2006 et 2009. Les premiers changements dans l’itinéraire auront lieu en 2006, et les derniers au moment où le tronçon nord-sud du transport en commun par train léger entrera en service à l’automne de 2009.

Il est recommandé d’adopter une procédure pour examiner les conditions de transport et la circulation automobile, de produire des prévisions pour les années à venir, de consulter les représentants du monde des affaires et de présenter des rapports au Conseil à intervalles réguliers. Le premier rapport sera présenté au Conseil en 2010, quelques mois après l’entrée en service du TTL. Par après, les rapports seront présentés tous les trois ans.

On a examiné toute une gamme d’options pour supprimer tous les autobus des rues Albert et Slater :

• enlever tous les autobus des rues Albert et Slater et les faire circuler dans d’autres rues orientées est-ouest dans le centre-ville d’Ottawa;
• enlever un certain pourcentage d’autobus (supérieur à 30 %, mais inférieur à 100 %) et les faire circuler dans d’autres rues orientées est-ouest;
• créer des réseaux de correspondance et aménager les stations Hurdman et Bayview et offrir un autre service de transport en commun à partir de ces stations, qui se rend au centre-ville et le traverse.

On a envisagé de faire circuler les autobus au centre-ville en les faisant passer par les rues Wellington, Queen ainsi que l’avenue Laurier. D’après l’analyse, il ne serait possible de réaliser aucun des scénarios ci‑dessus sans qu’ils n’aient d’incidence majeure sur la circulation dans ces rues. On en est donc venu à la conclusion qu’il est impossible de transférer tout le trafic d’autobus rues Albert et Slater dans l’une des directions ou les deux directions de ces trois rues. Pour détourner entre 30 % et 100 % de la circulation vers ces rues, il faudrait trouver l’équilibre entre le nombre d’autobus et la capacité des rues et des intersections à prendre en charge les virages de véhicules requis.

D’après l’analyse à laquelle on a procédé pour étudier la possibilité de transformer les stations Bayview et Hurdman en points de correspondance, on en est venu à la conclusion qu’il ne s’agit pas d’une solution possible à mettre en œuvre en 2009. Compte tenu des résultats de l’analyse des options décrites ci‑dessus, on en est venu à la conclusion que le concept de service recommandé est la meilleure option en ce moment.

La version préliminaire du mandat qui traite de toutes les questions techniques associées à l’examen d’un tunnel éventuel figure à l’annexe B du document 2. Des initiatives et des études de planification stratégique clés en cours actuellement (ou sur le point de commencer) permettraient d’obtenir les données essentielles pour le volet de planification de l’étude sur le tunnel. Il s’agit entre autres du sondage sur la destination d’origine de 2005, de l’évaluation environnementale du projet du tronçon est-ouest du transport en commun par train léger et des études d’évaluation environnementale pour les projets du tronçon Carling et Rideau-Montréal du transport en commun par train léger ainsi que de l’étude d’évaluation environnementale du transport en commun rapide interprovincial. La Ville entreprendra des travaux préliminaires en vue de faire le point sur le PD et le PDP, ce qui comprend une mise à jour des prévisions de la population et de l’emploi, des politiques et des objectifs scindés du transport modal d’ici 2008. Il est conseillé de fixer le moment où cette étude sera faite de façon à ce que les données dont il est question ci‑dessus soient disponibles et qu’on examine la possibilité de planifier sur le plan stratégique un tunnel au centre-ville dans la perspective de la mise à jour prochaine du PD et du PDP.

Dans l’évaluation environnementale du projet du tronçon nord-sud du transport en commun par train léger, on estime le coût de l’aménagement paysager et de l’aménagement paysager de rues, des quais et des trottoirs rues Albert et Slater et du pont Mackenzie King à 16 ou 17 millions de dollars. Étant donné qu’on demande aux équipes soumissionnaires de proposer des améliorations dans le cadre de la procédure d’appel d’offres pour le projet du TTL, on ne connaîtra pas les frais d’exploitation des améliorations avant qu’elles n’aient présenté leurs propositions.

On conseille que le tronçon du transport en commun du TTL soit prolongé d’environ 300 mètres jusqu’à la station du TTL de l’Université d’Ottawa située sur les terrains de l’Université immédiatement au sud de la rue Stewart, au nord du pavillon Hagen Hall et à l’est de la rue Waller, qui sert actuellement de terrain de stationnement. Une liaison de chemin de fera serait située immédiatement à l’est de la rue Waller dans la partie ouest du terrain de stationnement, et le secteur de la station se trouverait dans la partie est du pâté de maisons, à proximité de la rue Cumberland. Ce lieu est directement relié au réseau actuel de voies piétonnières de l’Université et est compatible avec un prolongement éventuel vers l’est du TTL. Il s’agit de terrains que l’Université a l’intention de réaménager plus tard, dans l’optique de sa vision de développement du campus vers le nord. La proximité de la Cour des Arts représente également une autre possibilité d’aménagement urbain intégré.

On estime à 5 millions de dollars le coût de la voie et de la station supplémentaires ainsi que des changements requis à l’intersection de la rue Waller pour construire cette option, ce qui comprend les frais de gestion de projet et d’ingénierie, mais à l’exclusion de la propriété.

Les pourparlers avec les représentants de l’Université en vue d’étudier la possibilité d’avoir accès à cette propriété indiquent que si la propriété était mise à leur disposition, il ne faudrait pas que ça empêche l’aménagement sur place. Pour ce concept, on pense que la Ville envisage de construire un terrain de stationnement souterrain avec une station intégrée pour le train léger et la possibilité d’un aménagement en surface. En raison de la demande d’espaces de stationnement à cet endroit, on pourra faire valoir qu’il y aurait lieu d’aménager un terrain de stationnement de trois ou quatre étages offrant de 400 à 525 espaces. D’après les évaluations préliminaires, les recettes générées par le terrain de stationnement ne seraient pas suffisantes pour assurer la rentabilité, mais sur le plan conceptuel, l’écart dans les recettes représenterait la valeur du bail foncier pour la station du train léger.

L’Université a fait savoir qu’elle est disposée à étudier le concept davantage dans la perspective d’un partenariat secteur public-secteur privé. Il est donc recommandé à la Ville d’amorcer des pourparlers avec l’Université.

On a étudié trois scénarios pour prendre en charge la circulation automobile sur le pont Mackenzie King, avec les services de train léger et d’autobus. Chacune de ces options ne fonctionnerait que si la liaison de chemin de fer pour le changement de direction se fait à l’extérieur du pont, à proximité de la station du train léger proposée à l’Université d’Ottawa de la façon décrite ci‑dessus. D’après l’analyse, la possibilité que les véhicules partagent le parcours du TTL représentait la meilleure option globale. On recommande d’intégrer cette caractéristique au plan d’évaluation environnementale pour permettre à la circulation d’emprunter le pont Mackenzie King en partageant le tronçon du train léger, à proximité du nouvel emplacement de la liaison de chemin de fer au lieu d’un accès à proximité de la station du train léger de l’Université d’Ottawa proposée.

Répercussions financières

On a inclus les fonds nécessaires pour mettre en œuvre les recommandations dans le budget 2006, qui font également partie du plan financier à long terme pour les années à venir.

Consultation publique et commentaires

Il était primordial d’organiser de vastes activités de consultation fréquentes auprès des entreprises et des propriétaires immobiliers du centre-ville concernés pour tenir compte des résolutions du Conseil en tout état de cause. On a amorcé cette consultation le 21 juillet 2005 par une réunion des représentants invités du groupe d’entreprises du centre-ville et du maire. On a organisé cinq autres réunions pour faire le point avec l’équipe responsable de l’étude et les gens d’affaires, ainsi que deux réunions de travail avec un sous-groupe constitué de représentants des gens d’affaires pour discuter de problèmes précis. Les commentaires ajoutés par les gens d’affaires au cours des travaux ont été intégrés à l’analyse faite et dans les recommandations formulées présentées ici.

De plus, l’équipe responsable de la mise en service du TTL s’est réunie à deux reprises avec les propriétaires d’entreprises et fonciers des rues Albert et Slater pour discuter des possibilités d’intégration et du lieu de la station, et on a tenu une réunion avec les représentants de l’Université d’Ottawa le 21 octobre 2005 pour discuter des recommandations concernant le prolongement du TTL sur son campus.

BACKGROUND

On 15 July 2005 City Council approved the Environmental Assessment (EA) Study’s recommended plan for the full build-out North-South Corridor Light Rail Transit (LRT) Project. The recommended plan consists of 31 km of twin-track electric LRT – including a 2 km spur line to the Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier International Airport. It includes 34 stations – 27 new and 5 existing on the main line and 2 along the Airport spur, 5 Park & Ride lots and a maintenance and storage facility. The trains will initially operate at 5-minute headways, eventually increasing to 3‑minute headways to serve an expected 60,000 to 70,000 daily riders by 2021.

Through the downtown core both LRT and bus rapid transit service will operate in a shared lane on Slater (eastbound) and Albert (westbound) Streets. Three LRT platforms are located on each street between Bay Street and Elgin Street, alternating with bus platforms on every other block. The tracks converge on the western approach to the Mackenzie King Bridge where the line terminates at the Rideau Centre at Mackenzie King Station. The necessity for a crossover track located at the western approach to Mackenzie King station requires the closing of the Mackenzie King Bridge to general vehicular traffic.

During the course of the study it became clear that the single biggest concern expressed by the public was the proposed integration of both LRT and bus rapid transit on Albert and Slater Streets. Accordingly, a comprehensive special consultation effort was undertaken with the businesses, property owners and tenants along those streets. Their principal concern was related to the volume of buses using these streets during peak hours.

Along with the approval of the EA recommended plan, City Council also approved the following six additional resolutions to address this and other outstanding concerns:

(a) That OC Transpo be directed to ensure that a minimum of 30% of bus traffic be removed from Albert and Slater streets by end of 2009, and that city staff be directed to cause a full evaluation to remove up to 100% of buses from the Slater and Albert corridor by the end of 2009, and that the findings be presented to Transportation Committee by September 30, 2005.

(b) That as part of sub-paragraph (a) above, the LRT Project Team prepare a technical report on the possibility of using Hurdman and Bayview stations as transfer stations to assist in the reduction of bus volume on Slater and Albert streets, with the possibility of retaining the 90-series, but short-turning all local buses at hub stations.

(c) That the LRT Project Team together with its consultants prepare the terms of reference for a study to determine the ways and means to construct a bus and/or LRT tunnel to accommodate longer term transit including interprovincial transit need in the city core and to present same to Council by September 30, 2005.

(d) That the LRT Project Team provide all businesses in the Albert and Slater streets corridors with budget estimates for the capital costs for streetscaping Albert and Slater streets and the operating costs of maintaining same.

(e) That by September 30, 2005 the University of Ottawa including the Transitway Station be evaluated as a terminal point for the North-South Light Rail service.

(f) That by September 30, 2005 the LRT Project Team evaluate options that Mackenzie King Bridge can accommodate vehicular traffic as well as LRT service.

Staff in the City’s Transit Services Branch in conjunction with ENTRA Consultants, and staff in the City’s Planning and Growth Management Department in conjunction with the EA project consultant (McCormick Rankin Corporation/Hatch Mott MacDonald) undertook this work. Their analysis to address these motions appears in Documents 1 and 2. This report summarizes their findings and presents the staff recommendations emanating from this work.

DISCUSSION

Resolution (a) – Removal of Buses from Albert & Slater Streets

There are two distinct components to this resolution:

1. That Transit Services (OC Transpo) be directed to ensure that a minimum of 30% of bus traffic be removed from Albert and Slater streets by the end of 2009; and,
2. That city staff be directed to cause a full evaluation to remove up to 100% of buses from the Slater and Albert corridor by the end of 2009.

Each of these components is discussed separately in the following sections.

1. Removal of a Minimum of 30% of Buses

Refer to Document 1 for the detailed analysis for this component of Resolution (a).

Four basic options were identified to reduce bus volumes by 30% on Albert and Slater Streets. These are:

• Carrying some customers in other ways, i.e. on LRT or create and operate new east-west cross-town routes;
• Carrying the remaining customers on fewer buses;
• Operating some buses through downtown on other streets, i.e. Queen, Laurier and Wellington; and,
• Operating out-of-service buses on other streets

The recommended solution is a combination of all four options.

Three network design concepts were developed to explore the range of possibilities for transit services when the LRT is in place.

• The first assumed a continuation of the widespread use of express routes in areas not directly served by the LRT.
• The second was developed as a full ‘hub and spoke’ concept, providing strong connections outside of the central area. To encourage those who can bypass the central area to do so, cross town rapid transit bus routes serving Orleans to Kanata operating on Heron/Baseline, and Carling/Queensway, as well as Orleans to Tunneys Pasture via the Queensway/Holland were provided. With the incorporation of transit priority measures, these routes have the potential to provide high quality rapid transit service and attract 5 to 10% of the customers who now ride the buses which operate through downtown. This network is based on the replacement of all express routes by local feeder bus routes connecting to rapid transit 90-series routes and the new light rail line.
• The third network is a hybrid of the best elements from the first two. It is based on a hub and spoke system, providing the rapid transit 90-series routes by-passing the downtown and the local feeder bus routes to the light rail line, but introduces 11 frequent express routes from the suburban communities and moves two routes onto Queen and Wellington Streets.

The third of these route design concepts, illustrated in Document 1 – Exhibit 3 is recommended, as it significantly reduces bus volumes on Albert and Slater Streets so that it remains operationally feasible in the longer term, provides convenient new transit connections across the City, results in a balance between improved service and worse service for customers, and requires only moderate increases in costs as compared to the other options. This preferred concept provides the following bus volume reductions compared with 2005 volumes, based upon the TMP ridership projections for 2009:

Street	Bus Reductions
Slater Eastbound Morning	-2% buses +13% standard equivalents
Albert Westbound Morning	-29% buses -18% standard equivalents
Slater Eastbound Afternoon	-29% buses -17% standard equivalents
Albert Westbound Afternoon	-12% buses +3% standard equivalents

The recommended service design concept would result in a much more fluid, less intrusive operation in the downtown which would, along with the construction of the new light rail line, contribute to a significantly enhanced street environment. Because there would be fewer different bus routes serving downtown, the frequency of service on the routes that would serve downtown would be much more frequent than today, and the reduced waiting times for customers would reduce the number of customers waiting on station platforms. Faster boarding times will be possible through implementation of the smart card fare system ($12-million investment), real-time passenger information (with “Smartbus” GPS tracking – $5.5-million investment) and the increased use of high-capacity articulated buses with three doors.

The recommended route network concept would reduce the volume of buses on Albert and Slater streets by approximately 30% at the busiest times.

The recommended service design concept is a sustainable operating strategy for the longer term, providing new cross-town connections and replacing the current 32 express routes serving downtown with 11 more frequent express routes. The positive effects on customers balance negative effects resulting in no net change expected in total ridership, however it will require a change in planned bus fleet incorporating more high-capacity articulated buses. The required changes to the bus fleet replacement and acquisition plan would be incorporated into the next revision of the Long Range Financial Plan.

Implementation of the recommended service design concept would be staged over four years from 2006 to 2009. The first route changes would occur in 2006, with the new cross-town routes to be in place by the time construction begins on the LRT in the downtown. The final route changes would be made at the time the North-South LRT line begins operation in the Fall of 2009.

Certain infrastructure investment is required to accommodate the recommended service design concept. These include transit priority measures on Baseline and Heron Roads to ensure a fast, reliable service bypassing the downtown, and new transfer stations at Jeanne d’Arc Boulevard and Eagleson Park and Ride. A more complete list of infrastructure requirements is in Document 1. The required infrastructure investments would be incorporated into the next revision of the Long Range Financial Plan.

The recommended service concept also provides an opportunity to significantly reduce the number of out-of-service (dead-head) buses operating through the downtown. From the current level of 130 and 160 buses per day on Albert and Slater Street respectively this will be reduced to approximately 25 out-of-service buses per day on each street. This is brought about because the combination of fewer bus trips in the downtown and closer balance between service levels east and west of downtown in the recommended service design concept results in fewer out-of-service buses required.

The consultation process with the Albert and Slater Street businesses, property owners and tenants identified a concern about the future traffic conditions on these streets. It was proposed that a process be adopted to review transit and auto traffic conditions, develop forecasts for the coming years based on current conditions, consult with the Albert and Slater Street business community and provide reports to Council at regular intervals. A first report would be presented to Council in 2010, based on the first few months of experience with the LRT. Thereafter reports would be presented every three years.

Based on the above analysis, recommendations 2, 3 and 4 were formulated for this report.

2. Removal of up to 100% of Buses

Refer to Document 2 for the detailed analysis for this component of resolution (a) and all other subsequent Resolutions.

Three groups of options for removing up to 100% of buses from Albert and Slater Streets were examined:

• Removing all buses on Albert and Slater Streets and operating them on other east-west streets in downtown Ottawa;
• Removing a percentage of buses (greater than 30% but less than 100%) and operating them on other east-west streets; and,
• Creating transfer hubs and Hurdman and Bayview Stations, and providing an alternative transit service from these stations into and across downtown.

The findings of the analysis for the first two above-listed options are discussed below, while the third option (creating transfer hubs at Hurdman and Bayview Stations) is addressed in response to Council Resolution (b).

It was assumed that the following measures would be in place as a starting point for the analysis of the options to remove up to 100% of the buses:

• As many cross-town transit trips as possible that currently travel through downtown have been diverted;
• A “hub and spoke” system of bus operation has been implemented where it is appropriate to do so;
• The bus volumes on Albert and Slater Streets have already been reduced by 30% per the first component of Council resolution (a);
• As many out of service buses as possible have been removed from Albert and Slater Streets;
• Future 2009 passenger volumes as anticipated in the TMP are used;
• The direction and operation of the existing street system will not be changed and all existing turning movements would be maintained.

It was also assumed that only Wellington Street, Queen Street, and Laurier Avenue were to be considered as alternate streets for bus operation in downtown. Sparks Street was not considered because of its current configuration as a pedestrian mall and the unlikelihood of being able to change its configuration by 2009. Also, streets to the south of Laurier Avenue were not considered for additional bus operations because they are too far south of the primary downtown transit demand, and the streets are generally narrower and more residential in character.

A full range of operating scenarios were examined to assess the feasibility of removing 100% of the buses from Albert and Slater Streets. These were:

• All buses in both directions diverted to Wellington Street;
• All buses in both directions diverted to Queen Street;
• All buses in both directions diverted to Laurier Avenue;
• All buses in one direction diverted to Wellington Street and all buses in the other direction diverted to Queen Street;
• All buses in one direction diverted to Wellington Street and all buses in the other direction diverted to Laurier Avenue;
• All buses in one direction diverted to Queen Street and all buses in the other direction diverted to Laurier Avenue.

Assuming that the 30% reduction in the number of buses operating on Albert and Slater Streets is in place by 2009, this would leave approximately 120 buses per hour – which is the theoretical upper limit of the capacity of a curb-side bus lane – to be diverted. The analysis shows that any of the above-noted scenarios would not be possible without major impacts to the street operations, including impact on pedestrian facilities and loss of sidewalk space to bus platforms, the loss of parking and loading zones, and the lack of capacity to accommodate the volume of buses turning to or from the streets. Therefore it is concluded that placing 100% of the Albert/Slater volume on one or both directions of the three streets is not feasible.

Consequently, a proportion of the 120 buses per hour would have to be diverted to operate on one or more of Wellington Street, Queen Street or Laurier Avenue. For each street, it is a question of finding the balance between the number of buses and the capacity of the roadways and intersections to accommodate the required bus turning movements.

The analysis of alternatives for diverting buses from Albert and Slater Streets to Wellington, Queen, or Laurier results in the following conclusions:

• Wellington Street can not accommodate any additional buses in the westbound direction, and only a small number of buses in the eastbound direction;
• Queen Street could accommodate 20 buses per hour in the westbound direction and 30 buses per hour in the eastbound direction;
• Laurier Avenue could accommodate 20 buses per hour in the westbound direction and 15 to 20 buses in the eastbound direction;
• Intersection and turning movement issues must be addressed at each end of each of the streets for any of the alternatives.

It should be noted that the diversion of 3 bus routes on to Queen Street is recommended as part of the solution to address Part 1 of Resolution (a). It should not be assumed that additional buses should automatically be diverted to Queen Street and/or Laurier Avenue without further consideration of where buses and passenger are originating from and destined to before deciding what, if any, routes should be relocated. These decisions should be made as part of Transit Services’ ongoing review of its services and following appropriate customer and community consultation.

Resolution (b) – Bayview and Hurdman Stations as Transit Hubs

As stated previously, this option was considered as one of the methods reducing the number of buses on Albert and Slater Streets by up to 100%. Three different scenarios for operating Hurdman and Bayview stations as transfer stations were developed and evaluated:

1. Stop all buses from the east and southeast Transitways at Hurdman Station, and all buses from the west and southwest Transitways at Bayview Station. Replace rapid transit service across downtown between the two stations with LRT service.
2. Stop all Transitway services at Hurdman and Bayview Stations except for the 90 series routes (presently routes 95, 96 and 97) and supplement the 90-series service with LRT service.
3. Stop all Transitway services at Hurdman and Bayview Stations except for the 90-series routes (same as previous option) and supplement with additional bus service.

In analysing the above-noted options consideration was given to the Official Plan (OP) and Transportation Master Plan (TMP) projection of employment growth in the downtown to reach 120,000 jobs by 2021 and that in order to achieve the City’s overall 30% transit modal split goal, 80% of these people will take public transit to and from work. The Transitways connecting to the downtown from Bayview in the west and Hurdman in the east will continue to carry the largest number of people on transit, with approximately 15,000 leaving the downtown during the afternoon peak hour (6,500 traveling toward Bayview Station and 8,500 traveling toward Hurdman Station). These numbers assume full build-out of the rapid transit network and that as many cross-town trips as possible that do not need to travel through downtown have been diverted to other services.

Option A requires all buses to stop at either Bayview or Hurdman stations. LRT service would connect the two stations through downtown to be provided by an extension of the North-South LRT service supplemented by additional LRT service shuttling between the two stations. This option would require the purchase of an additional 30 LRT vehicles to provide the service between Bayview and Hurdman Station at a cost between $120 to $150 million; and $30 to $35 million for track, power facilities, signalling, cross-overs and other necessary infrastructure. Hurdman and Bayview stations would need to be substantially expanded to accommodate large passenger movements between the LRT and bus services with an estimated cost of $20 to $25 million each.

Advantages of implementing this option include:

• Removal of all buses from Albert and Slater Streets;
• LRT stops on every second block only;
• Passenger waiting time, and platform and sidewalk congestion would be minimized.

Disadvantages of the option include:

• Large and complex stations at Hurdman and Bayview on land that is currently green space and/or has potential for transit friendly development;
• Loss of scheduling efficiency likely means more buses and higher costs;
• Two transfers required to cross downtown;
• Risk of ridership loss;
• Cost of between $190 million to $235 million;
• Extending the LRT to Hurdman is not part of the TMP rapid transit network.

Option B is similar to Option A in that it requires the LRT to be extended from the Mackenzie King Bridge to Hurdman Station. However, because the 90-series Transitway routes are supplementing the LRT service, it is not necessary to provide as many LRT trips. Therefore, only 20 additional LRT vehicles would be required to provide the service between Bayview and Hurdman Station at a cost between $80 to $100 million. The same track, power facilities, signalling, cross-overs and other necessary infrastructure, as well as modifications to Hurdman and Bayview stations would be required as for Option A.

The advantages and disadvantages of this option are similar to those outlined in Option A, but with the following differences:

• Reduced number of buses on Albert and Slater Streets;
• Separate bus and LRT stops required;
• Split between bus and LRT platforms;
• Potential for two transfers to cross downtown is reduced;
• Still a risk of ridership loss, but not likely as high as with Option A;
• Cost of between $150 million and $185 million.

Option C would not involve an extension of LRT service, or any additional LRT facilities. Service between Bayview and Hurdman would be provided by the 90 series routes along with additional supplemental bus services. This is essentially the service design concept that Transit Services has developed in response to Part 1 of Resolution (a).

The analysis of Bayview and Hurdman Stations as transit hubs concludes that Options A and B not feasible solutions for implementation in 2009 for the following reasons:

• There is no funding available (between $150 to $235 million is needed) for the extension to Hurdman Station along with the necessary station facilities, as part of the LRT project budget;
• An individual environmental assessment would need to be completed and approved before design and construction could begin;
• Such an extension is not included in the OP and TMP;
• They carry a significant risk of ridership loss;
• They would result in less efficient, and as a result, more costly operation of the bus service.

Therefore, it is concluded that the service design concept developed in response to Part 1 of Resolution (a) is the best alternative at this time.

Resolution (c) – Tunnel Study Terms of Reference

A draft terms of reference that addresses all of the technical issues associated with examining a potential tunnel is provided in Document 2 – Appendix B. This document describes the necessary tasks to complete a three-step study of a tunnel:

1. A strategic planning study to examine the need and justification for a tunnel, identify what rapid transit services should use a tunnel, identify the technology(s) that should be accommodated in a tunnel, and to identify the triggers that would cause the full planning for a tunnel to be initiated.

2. Determine the preferred alignment and method for implementing a tunnel.

3. Develop a full cost estimate using a work breakdown structure along with a potential planning, design, and construction schedule.

There are a number of considerations that should be taken into account when deciding when one or more of the above steps should be undertaken:

• The City and its partners are currently conducting a comprehensive survey of travel demand throughout the National Capital Region. Initial results from this origin-destination survey will be ready in July 2006.
• The East-West Corridor LRT Project EA is currently underway, and EA studies for the Carling and Rideau/Montreal Corridor LRT projects are scheduled to begin in 2006. All three of these studies are expected to be completed in late 2007 or early 2008.
• An Interprovincial Rapid Transit EA Study is scheduled to get underway in late 2005 or early 2006. This study will address how to move large numbers of people between Ottawa and Gatineau in the future, including an examination of how the service might be accommodated within the downtowns of each City.
• The City will begin background work with a view to completing an update of the City’s OP and TMP by 2008. This review will include an update to population and employment projections, policies, and modal split targets.

Clearly, output from the above-noted studies would provide key input to the planning component of the tunnel study. It is therefore recommended that the timing for this study be such that the above-noted input data is available and the strategic planning component of this study be carried in the context of the upcoming TMP and OP updates.

Resolution (d) – Streetscaping Cost Estimates

The North-South Corridor LRT Project EA estimated the cost for landscaping/streetscaping, platform and sidewalk treatments on Albert and Slater Streets and the Mackenzie King Bridge at $16 to $17 million.

As part of the LRT procurement process, the bidding teams are being asked to propose improvements/enhancements over and above the design proposed during the EA. The estimated operating costs of the planned and potential improvements will not be known until the bidding teams have submitted their proposals.

Resolution (e) – Extension to the University of Ottawa

Four options were developed to extend the LRT corridor to a terminus at the University of Ottawa. These are illustrated in Document 2 – Figure 6.1 and listed as follows:

• Option 1 – Waller Street, north of the Mackenzie King Bridge;
• Option 2 – Stewart Street, east of Waller Street;
• Option 3 – Seraphin Marion/Wilbrod Street, east of the Transitway;
• Option 4 – The Transitway in the vicinity of Laurier Station.

For each of the options it was assumed that the Mackenzie King LRT Station would be maintained to serve the Rideau and Congress Centres and the DND headquarters, and that bus rapid transit services would not be compromised. Since for operational reasons it is desirable to have a rail change of direction cross-over located in the immediate vicinity of a terminus station, it was assumed that the EA recommended rail cross-over would be relocated from west of Mackenzie King LRT Station to a point somewhere between the east end of the Mackenzie King Bridge and the University LRT station. This would negate the need for the cross-over on the bridge, which would prove to be key to the development of viable options to allow general vehicular traffic on the Mackenzie King Bridge as related to Resolution (f).

From the analysis, Option 1 was not carried forward due to space considerations as the available blocks on Waller Street are not long enough to fit the required station length, or the required rail cross-over length. Similarly, Option 4 was not carried forward as there is insufficient space to accommodate both LRT and bus transitway operations within the available rights-of-way either north of or south of Laurier Avenue. Additionally, it is not possible to provide a change of direction cross-over for LRT on the current Transitway alignment without seriously impacting and delaying bus operations.

Despite the fact that an LRT station and rail cross-over could be accommodated on Seraphin Marion (formerly Wilbrod Street) between the Transitway and Cumberland Street, Option 3 was not considered further as connecting this location to the Mackenzie King Bridge would require widening and modifications to the bridge over Nicholas Street and would impact the ability to maintain the truck ramp from Waller onto Nicholas. Additionally the University did not support this location because of the current quiet pedestrian nature of the street and the availability of potentially better alternatives.

Option 2 proved to be the only viable alternative for providing an LRT Station and change of direction cross-over within the scope of the approved environmental assessment. The possibility of using Stewart Street is a variation of this option, although it would result in the complete closure of the street to traffic. Exploration of this alternative could be pursued further during the design process, if appropriate.

The recommended location lies approximately 300 metres east of Mackenzie King Station on University of Ottawa lands immediately south of Stewart Street, north of Hagen Hall and east of Waller Street, currently used as a parking lot. The rail cross-over would be immediately east of Waller in the western portion of the parking area while the station area would be positioned in the east end of the block, close to Cumberland Street. This station location connects directly to the University’s current pedestrian network, and is compatible with a potential future eastern extension of the LRT.

The cost of the additional track and station, as well as required modifications to the Waller Street intersection, to construct this option is approximately $5 million, including engineering and project management costs, but excludes property.

This proposed station location is the only feasible option to provide reasonable direct light rail transit service to the University campus. It is situated on lands that the University intends to redevelop at some point in the future, however it would require the removal of some older office facilities that the University currently maintains adjacent to Cumberland Street.

Preliminary discussions have been held with officials at the University to explore the feasibility of accessing this property. The initial reaction was that if the property were to be made available, it could not be at the expense of preventing development on the site. As a concept it was suggested that the City consider the construction of an underground parking facility with an integrated LRT station at grade and the potential for above grade development.

The City retained an engineering firm to look at the feasibility of building an underground parking facility at that location and the report confirms that the site could support an efficient parking floor template, but only with an underground easement under Stewart Street of approximately six meters. Construction could accommodate future above grade construction through properly sized columns located on a standard grid system.

Parking demand at that location will support a three to four storey parking facility with between 400 and 525 spaces. Preliminary assessments indicate that the revenue generation from the parking facility would likely not be sufficient to break even, but conceptually the revenue gap would represent the value of the ground lease for the LRT station.

A parking facility at that location including an integrated light rail transit station and future above grade development thus represents a real option for further investigation. That site is critical to the University as it supports their vision for expansion of the campus northerly. Its proximity to Arts Court also represents another opportunity for integrated urban development.

The University has indicated its willingness to explore this concept further under a public-private partnership. A successful partnership would allow for some valuable development on that site and would allow for continued use of the Mackenzie King Bridge to car traffic.

Therefore it is recommended that the LRT line be extended approximately 300 metres to the proposed University of Ottawa LRT Station, and that the City enter into discussions with the University to initiate a public-private partnership to develop an underground parking facility, integrated light rail transit station and other uses on the proposed site. Staff will report back to Committee and Council on the results of these discussions.

Resolution (f) – Options to Accommodate Vehicular Traffic on the Mackenzie King Bridge

Three scenarios for accommodating vehicular traffic on the Mackenzie King bridge, along with both LRT and bus services were considered to address this resolution:

1. Allowing general traffic to operate in either the bus or LRT lane;
2. Providing bus lanes against the curb, vehicle lanes next to the bus lanes, and LRT lanes in the centre of the bridge; and
3. Providing bus lanes against the curb, LRT lanes next to the bus lanes, and vehicle lanes in the centre of the bridge.

These scenarios are illustrated in Figures 7.1, 7.2, and 7.3 of Document 2 respectively.

The analysis of scenario 1 indicates that it is not feasible to allow general traffic to operate in the curb bus lane due to the negative impact on bus transit operations, difficult weaving movements and congestion issues. However, allowing vehicles to operate in the LRT lane is a feasible option.

Scenario 2 was not identified as a feasible option due to insufficient space to accommodate the required 6-lane cross section and sufficient rapid transit platform and pedestrian space.

Scenario 3 was identified as a feasible option, however east of the bus stop areas, new cantilever sections would need to be added to the bridge in order to provide sufficient sidewalk space.

Thus two feasible options for accommodating general vehicle traffic on the bridge, along with bus and LRT service, were identified:

• The approved EA plan, but with vehicles sharing the LRT lanes;
• Vehicles using their own lanes with buses and LRT either sharing or in separate lanes, depending on the location on the bridge.

Each of these options would only work if the change of direction rail cross-over is provided off of the bridge, adjacent to the proposed University of Ottawa LRT Station as described above under Resolution (e).

The criteria used to compare these options with the approved EA plan were effects on Pedestrians and Passengers, Cyclists, Transit Operations, Traffic Operations, Property and Business, and Costs. The evaluation of the options was completed using the following steps by a study team consisting of City of Ottawa staff from Traffic and Parking Operations, Transit Services, Infrastructure Planning, and the Light Rail Project Office, as well as staff from McCormick Rankin Corporation:

• Evaluation of each of the options by identifying which option was the best one from the perspective of each of the comparison criteria, and then providing a relative ranking for each of the other options.
• Weighting of the comparison criteria in order to provide perspective on which of the criteria might be more important than others.
• Members of the Albert/Slater business community were asked to provide their weighting of the comparison criteria, in order to provide a sensitivity test to the results of the study team.

The results of this process determined that the option of vehicles sharing the LRT lane was the best overall option. Both the overall study team weighting and the business community weighting confirmed this. Therefore it is recommended that the EA plan incorporate this feature to allow traffic to use the Mackenzie King Bridge by sharing the LRT lane, contingent on the relocation of the rail cross-over to a location adjacent to the proposed Ottawa University LRT Station.

CONSULTATION

A comprehensive and frequent consultation activity with affected downtown business and landowners was vital to successfully address Council’s resolutions. This was initiated on 21 July 2005 with a meeting between invited representatives of the downtown business group and the Mayor.

A draft study work plan was prepared and presented to the business group for comment. The work plan was discussed and confirmed at a subsequent meeting with the business group on 29 July 2005. The work to address Council’s resolutions was undertaken in accordance with this work plan.

Status and update meetings were held between the study team and the business group on 07, 20 and 28 September and 12 October 2005. Working meetings were held with a subset of the business group to discuss specific issues on 01 and 13 September 2005.

Feedback received from the business group during the course of the work was incorporated into the analysis undertaken and into the development of the recommendations presented herein.

In addition, the LRT implementation team met with a group of Albert and Slater Street business and property owners to discuss station location and integration opportunities and issues on 07 July and 22 August 2005.

A meeting with the University of Ottawa was held on 21 October 2005 to discuss the recommendations to extend the LRT onto its campus.

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

Funding required to implement the recommendations has been included in the 2006 budget and will also form part of the Long Range Financial Plan for subsequent years.

SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION

Document 1 – 2009 Route Network Concepts – Evaluation and Recommendation

- Appendix A of Document 1 (distributed previously and held on file with the City Clerk)

Document 2 – Response to Council Resolutions of July 15, 2005 (McCormick Rankin Corporation/Hatch Mott Macdonald) (distributed previously and held on file with the City Clerk)

DISPOSITION

Upon receipt of Council approval staff will enter into discussions with the University of Ottawa to initiate a public-private partnership to develop an underground parking facility, integrated light rail transit station and other proposed uses on the site. Subject to the successful outcome of the discussions with the University for this extension, EA approval for the 300 metre extension of the LRT corridor to the University of Ottawa and permit vehicle traffic on the Mackenzie King Bridge will be obtained.

Staff will continue to refine the approved route network concept and will develop specific proposals for route changes for the Transplan 2006 planning and consultation process. Consultation with customers would take place beginning in February 2006, and the first route changes could be introduced starting in September 2006.

Design work on the Baseline/Heron corridor transit priority measures will be undertaken for construction of the first phase in 2006. Design and engineering work will be started for a new Transitway station at Jeanne d'Arc and improved facilities at Eagleson.

Staff will develop changes to the Long Range Financial Plan to include a bus fleet acquisition plan that follows the approved route network concept.

2009 ROUTE NETWORK CONCEPTS –

EVALUATION RECOMMENDATION Document 1

TABLE OF CONTENTS

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY.. 32

Study Background and Process. 32

Descriptions of Network Concepts. 32

Comparison of Network Concepts. 33

Comparison of Bus Volumes on Albert and Slater 34

Conclusions Based on Evaluation. 34

Recommendations. 35

RÉSUMÉ.. 37

Contexte dans lequel s’inscrivent l’étude et le procédé. 37

Descriptions des concepts de réseau. 37

Comparaison des concepts. 38

Comparaison du nombre d’autobus empruntant les rues Albert et Slater 39

Conclusions tirées de l’évaluation. 40

Recommandations. 42

STUDY BACKGROUND.. 44

Current Service Design. 44

Light Rail and Buses on Albert and Slater Streets. 44

Transit Ridership Projections. 45

STUDY APPROACH.. 45

Consulting Assistance. 47

BUS ROUTE CHANGES PROPOSED FOR LIGHT RAIL IMPLEMENTATION.. 48

Southern Connections to the Light Rail Line (Exhibits 4 and 5) 48

Revised Routes in Greenboro (Exhibit 6) 49

East-West Connections to Light Rail Line (Exhibits 7 and 8) 50

Downtown Connections to Light Rail Line (Exhibit 9) 50

Continued Operation of Current Network Concept.. 51

Network 1 Characteristics. 52

Operational Feasibility. 52

Operating and Capital Costs. 53

Consequences for Transit Customers. 53

Conclusions. 54

Network 2 Characteristics. 55

Crosstown Rapid Transit Bus Routes. 55

New Innes Road Rapid Transit Bus Route (Exhibit 10) 57

Effects on Customers. 58

Operational Feasibility. 58

Operating and Capital Costs. 59

Conclusions. 60

Development of the recommended route network concept.. 61

Network 3 Characteristics. 61

Express Routes (Exhibits 11, 12 and 13) 61

Effects on Customers. 62

Operational Feasibility. 63

Operating and Capital Costs. 63

Compatibility with Future Rapid Transit Plans. 64

Compatibility with Other Major Transit Investments. 64

Operation in the Years Beyond 2009. 65

Conclusions. 65

OUT-OF-SERVICE BUSES. 66

IMPLEMENTING THE RECOMMENDED SERVICE NETWORK.. 68

Infrastructure Requirements. 68

Transit priority measures. 68

New Transitway station. 68

Improvements to Transitway stations. 68

New bus loops. 69

Improved passenger facilities at major transfer points. 69

Road modifications. 70

Bus Fleet Requirements. 70

Technology Improvements. 70

Four-Year Phase-in Plan for Route Changes. 71

EXHIBIT 1 - 2009 NETWORK CONCEPT 1. 73

EXHIBIT 2 - 2009 NETWORK CONCEPT 2. 74

EXHIBIT 3 - 2009 NETWORK CONCEPT 3. 75

EXHIBIT 4 – south nepean.. 76

EXHIBIT 5 - RIVERSIDE SOUTH, LEITRIM AND AIRPORT.. 77

EXHIBIT 6 - GREENBORO.. 78

EXHIBIT 7 - ALTA VISTA-WALKLEY AREA.. 79

EXHIBIT 8 - CENTRAL NEPEAN.. 80

EXHIBIT 9 - DOWNTOWN.. 81

EXHIBIT 10 - INNES ROAD.. 82

EXHIBIT 11 - ORLÉANS. 83

EXHIBIT 12 - KANATA.. 84

EXHIBIT 13 - SOUTH NEPEAN.. 85

APPENDIX A – 2009 TRANSIT NETWORK PLANNING PROJECT – ENTRA CONSULTANTS (distributed previously and held on file with the City Clerk)

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Study Background and Process

In response to council’s direction that OC Transpo ensure that a minimum of 30 percent of bus traffic be removed from Albert and Slater Streets by the end of 2009, a comprehensive transit planning study has been undertaken.

The study has been conducted with the assistance of ENTRA Consultants. The consulting role was to review and advise on network design, assist in the compilation of data and analysis of travel demand, and to determine the likely impact of each service concept on ridership. ENTRA’s technical report is attached to this document as Appendix A.

The initial approach to the study was to develop two route network concepts, one (Network 1 in the table below) with a hub-and-spoke design in the area of the City to be served by the new light rail line and the continued operation of direct-to-downtown express routes from other parts of the City and the second (Network 2) with a complete hub-and-spoke design for all parts of the study. Maps of these network concepts are at Exhibits 1 and 2. The two concepts were compared based on an evaluation of their feasibility, impacts on transit riders, infrastructure requirements, operating costs, and the number of buses per hour that would run on Albert and Slater Streets.

Based on the results of the evaluation and the comparison between the two network design concepts, a hybrid concept (Network 3) was developed as a composite of the best features of the two. This network concept uses a hub-and-spoke design for all parts of the City and also retains a small number of frequent direct-to-downtown express routes from the parts of the City not served by the new light rail line. To meet Council’s direction to reduce the number of buses per hour on Albert and Slater Streets by 30 percent, two bus routes were moved onto Queen and Wellington Streets. A map of this network concept is at Exhibit 3. This concept was compared to the first two using the same evaluation criteria.

Descriptions of Network Concepts

Network 1 – Light rail line and express routes

The first network concept developed includes the implementation of the new light rail line and the basic service design concept for the bus network as is currently applied. Specifically, this full service includes all the express routes in the east and west that currently exist with expansion into the new growth areas. No other enhancements to service were included such as new crosstown routes or additional Transitway service.

Network 2 – Light rail line and hub-and-spoke network

In order to achieve the targets set by Council, a second transit network was developed without express services but with strengthened hub-and-spoke connections.

Three new rapid transit crosstown bus routes would provide direct connection between Orléans and Kanata, Civic and Queensway-Carleton Hospitals, the Booth/Carling employment area, and Algonquin College, eliminating the current transfer and reducing travel time with a more direct travel path. This would also reduce the number of customers travelling through the central area.

The local bus network was made more direct and all local routes were focussed on connections with rapid transit services, at either Transitway or light rail stations. The restructured local network and rapid transit connections replaced the need to provide direct-to-downtown express trips. Customers would transfer to the appropriate service at a rapid transit station.

Service levels on existing Transitway routes were improved and new Transitway routes added. These routes would operate along the existing Transitway from between residential communities to major employment areas, such as Gatineau and Tunney’s Pasture.

Network 3 – Light rail line, hub-and-spoke network, some express routes – two bus routes on Queen Street and Wellington

This network concept was a hybrid of the “business as usual” approach on Network 1 and the full hub-and-spoke approach of Network 2. It retains the attractive crosstown rapid transit 90-series routes but introduces some frequent direct-to-downtown express routes. It includes two routes moved onto Queen and Wellington.

Comparison of Network Concepts

Summary comparisons of the three networks are shown in the Tables below. Network 1 is not operationally feasible; unstable operations would result because of the numbers of buses and crowding at bus stops in the central area. Network 3 has a lower impact on riders than Network 2 and the positive impacts would balance the negative ones. In addition, Network 3 would have lower operating and capital costs than Network 2.

	Network 1	Network 2	Network 3
Service concept	Light rail line and express routes	Light rail line and hub-and-spoke network	Light rail line, hub-and-spoke, some express routes – two routes on Queen and Wellington
Impact on customers	Low	High	Medium
Impact on costs	Low	High	Medium
Operationally feasible?	Not in the longer term	Yes	Yes

Comparison of Bus Volumes on Albert and Slater

The critical movements on Albert and Slater Streets are in the morning peak period on Albert and the afternoon peak period on Slater. Network 3 would reduce bus volumes by approximately 25 percent over current volumes.

	Network 1	Network 2	Network 3
Service concept	Light rail line and express routes	Light rail line and hub-and-spoke network	Light rail line, hub-and-spoke, some express routes – two routes on Queen and Wellington
Slater Eastbound Morning	+18% buses +19% std equiv	-15% buses +5% std equiv	-2% buses +13% std equiv
Albert Westbound Morning	N/C in buses +10% std equiv	-30% buses -14% std equiv	-29% buses -18% std equiv
Slater Eastbound Afternoon	-4% buses +8% std equiv	-28% buses -12% std equiv	-29% buses -17% std equiv
Albert Westbound Afternoon	-3% buses +1% std equiv	-21% buses -3% std equiv	-12% buses +3% std equiv

Notes: Standard equivalent buses are used to take account of the proportion of articulated buses operating. One articulated bus is 1.5 standard equivalent buses. N/C is “no change”.

Conclusions Based on Evaluation

The following are the main conclusions reached in this study, which have guided the development of the recommended network concept for 2009 and the recommendations for its implementation:

• The continued operation of a large number of express routes from residential areas direct to downtown is not sustainable in the longer term because, with continued ridership growth, the number of buses per hour required and the numbers of passengers crowding at bus stops would exceed the capacity of the space available on Albert and Slater Streets.

• The adoption of a full hub-and-spoke type of route network, with frequent local routes in residential and commercial areas connecting with frequent rapid transit services, is feasible and would reduce the number of buses per hour on Albert and Slater Streets by the 30 percent level in line with the direction from Council. However, it would lead to a significant ridership loss and would have a high operating cost and a high capital cost for new infrastructure and an expanded bus fleet.

• The adoption of a hybrid route network, providing a hub-and-spoke type of route network across the City all day long, supplemented by a small number of frequent express routes from residential areas not served by the new light rail line, is operationally feasible and would reduce the number of buses per hour on Albert and Slater Streets by approximately 30 percent, in line with the direction from Council. This network concept would have negligible impact on the overall level of ridership, but would have some capital costs for new infrastructure and would require changes to the plans for bus fleet replacement and growth in the Long Range Financial Plan.

• The introduction of frequent and convenient new crosstown rapid transit 90-series bus routes between Orléans and Kanata via Baseline and Heron Roads, between Orléans and Kanata via the Queensway and Carling Avenue, and between Orléans and Tunney’s Pasture via the Carling and Holland Avenues, would improve service for customers who now travel on bus routes that operate through downtown but who are not themselves travelling to or from points in downtown.

• The adoption of a hub-and-spoke type of route network in the areas of the city that would not be served by the north-south light rail line would require infrastructure investment to allow customers to transfer conveniently between local bus services and rapid-transit 90-series bus routes. Specifically, a new transit station would be required at Jeanne d’Arc and Road 174 and an improved transit station would be required at the Eagleson park and ride lot. In addition, terminal facilities would be required for buses at Millennium Park in Orléans and at Hawthorne and Hunt Club in Greenboro.

• The reduction of the number of bus routes operating on Albert and Slater Streets would greatly reduce waiting times at bus stops and, therefore, reduce the number of passengers waiting at any time.

• The smart card fare system, planned for implementation in 2008 and a real-time bus arrival information system based on the GPS tracking system currently being implemented will speed up boarding times and improve operations on Albert and Slater Streets.

• The service changes to make the transition to the recommended network concept should be phased-in over a four-year period starting in 2006 and should be co-ordinated with the major construction work in the central area. Route changes in the area that would be served by the light rail line should be implemented in 2009 along with the opening of the light rail line.

• The recommended service design results in a dramatic reduction in the number of out-of-service (deadheading) buses on Albert and Slater Streets, from 130 to 160 per day currently to 20-25 per day.

Recommendations

Network 3, the hybrid network with the light rail line in place, a hub-and-spoke system of local and rapid transit bus routes across the City, and a limited number of high-frequency direct-to-downtown express routes during peak periods, is the concept recommended for implementation over the next four years. Network 3 is recommended because it is operationally feasible, does not have a negative impact on ridership overall, and would result in smooth operations on Albert and Slater Streets with shorter waiting times and faster boarding times. The number of buses per hour on Albert and Slater Streets would be reduced by approximately 30 percent.

The following recommendations arising from this study are being made to Transportation Committee in the accompanying report, North-South Corridor Light Rail Transit Project (Rideau Centre To Barrhaven Town Centre) Environmental Assessment Study Recommendations Arising From 15 July 2005 Approved Council Motions.

It is recommended that the Transportation Committee recommend Council:

• Approve the service design concept shown in Exhibit 3 of this document, which will reduce the numbers of buses on Albert and Slater Streets, as the future direction for the transit service plan to be implemented in the coming four years;

• Approve that the Transplan 2006 planning and consultation process include proposals for the initial changes in this direction, specifically:

- The introduction of a new rapid transit 90-series bus route along Innes Road in Orléans and Blackburn Hamlet;

- The extension of rapid transit Route 95 to the Marketplace commercial core of Barrhaven; and,

- Restructuring and improving the transit route network in the Greenboro area.

• Include in the 2006 capital budget funding to:

- Implement transit priority measures on Baseline/Heron corridor to accommodate the new crosstown rapid transit 90-series route;

- Design a new Transitway station at Jeanne d’Arc Boulevard to be built and completed by 2008;

- Design improvements to the Eagleson Transitway Station to be built and completed by 2008;

- Initiate the procurement of a smartcard fare system for both bus and light rail services to be implemented by 2008/2009; and

- Direct staff to incorporate the fleet and infrastructure requirements to support the service design concept (Exhibit 3 of this document) in the next revision of the Long Range Financial Plan;

• Introduce a process to monitor and report to Council on the traffic conditions on Albert and Slater Streets as detailed within this report, initially in 2010 after opening of the new light rail line and thereafter at three-year intervals.

RÉSUMÉ

Contexte dans lequel s’inscrivent l’étude et le procédé

En réponse à la directive du Conseil voulant qu’OC Transpo veille à ce que la circulation d’autobus soit réduite d’au moins 30 pour cent en ce qui a trait aux rues Albert et Slater d’ici la fin de 2009, on a entrepris une vaste étude de planification du transport.

L’étude a été menée avec le concours d’ENTRA Consultants. À l’étape de la consultation, il fallait examiner la conception du réseau et donner des conseils à son sujet, collaborer à la compilation des données et l’analyse de la demande de déplacements et déterminer les répercussions vraisemblables de chaque concept de service sur l’achalandage. Le rapport technique d’ENTRA est joint au présent document à l’annexe A.

L’approche empruntée initialement pour l’étude consistait à développer deux concepts de réseau, le premier (réseau 1 dans le tableau ci‑après) avec un aménagement de type réseau en étoile dans le secteur de la Ville desservi par le nouveau tronçon du train léger et le fonctionnement continu des circuits express directs vers le centre-ville à partir d’autres secteurs de la Ville et le deuxième (réseau 2) avec un aménagement complet de type réseau en étoile pour tous les secteurs à l’étude. Les cartes de ces concepts de réseau sont annexées (annexes 1 et 2). Les deux concepts ont été comparés par rapport à l’évaluation de leur faisabilité, aux répercussions sur les clients, aux exigences de l’infrastructure, aux frais d’exploitation et au nombre d’autobus à l’heure qui circuleraient rues Albert et Slater.

À partir des résultats de l’évaluation et de la comparaison entre les deux concepts de réseau, on a développé un concept hybride (réseau 3), composé des meilleures caractéristiques des deux réseaux. Ce concept repose sur l’aménagement de type réseau en étoile pour tous les secteurs de la Ville et conserve également un petit nombre de circuits express fréquents directs vers le centre-ville de toutes les parties de la Ville qui ne sont pas desservies par le nouveau tronçon du train léger. Afin de satisfaire à la directive du Conseil visant à réduire le nombre d’autobus par heure empruntant les rues Albert et Slater, deux circuits ont été déplacés afin d’emprunter les rues Queen et Wellington. La carte de ce réseau est annexée (annexe 3). Ce concept a été comparé aux deux premiers à l’aide des mêmes critères d’évaluation.

Descriptions des concepts de réseau

Réseau 1 : tronçon du train léger et circuits express

Le premier concept de réseau mis au point comprend la mise en œuvre du projet du nouveau tronçon du train léger et le concept de service de base pour le réseau d’autobus de la façon dont il s’applique actuellement. Plus précisément, ce service intégral comprend tous les circuits express dans les secteurs Est et Ouest qui existent actuellement, prolongés dans les secteurs en croissance. On n’a pas apporté d’autres améliorations au service, ni nouveaux circuits qui traversent la Ville ni de service du Transitway supplémentaire.

Réseau 2 : tronçon du train léger et réseau en étoile

Afin d’atteindre les objectifs fixés par le Conseil, on a mis au point un deuxième réseau de transport sans service express, mais avec des correspondances améliorées de type réseau en étoile.

Trois nouveaux circuits du service de transport en commun en site propre qui traversent la ville relieraient directement Orléans et Kanata, l’hôpital Civic et l’hôpital Queensway-Carleton, le secteur d’emploi de Booth-Carling et le Collège Algonquin, ce qui ferait disparaître la correspondance actuelle et raccourcirait le temps de déplacement grâce à un trajet plus direct. De cette façon, le nombre de clients qui traversent le centre-ville se trouverait également diminué.

Le réseau local d’autobus a été conçu avec des circuits plus directs, et tous les circuits locaux s’articulaient autour de correspondances avec les services de transport en commun en site propre, soit les stations du Transitway ou les stations de train léger. Le réseau local réorganisé et les correspondances de transport en commun en site propre ont remplacé la nécessité d’organiser des circuits express directs le centre-ville. Les clients effectueraient une correspondance avec le service approprié dans une station de transport en commun en site propre.

On a amélioré la qualité du service sur les circuits actuels du Transitway et on en a ajouté d’autres. Ces circuits fonctionneraient le long de l’actuel Transitway entre les secteurs résidentiels et les secteurs d’emploi importants, comme Gatineau et Tunney’s Pasture.

Réseau 3 : tronçon du train léger, réseau en étoile, certains circuits express, deux circuits d’autobus rues Queen et Wellington)

Ce concept de réseau était un compromis entre l’approche de type « faire des affaires comme d’habitude » du réseau 1 et l’approche intégrale de type réseau en étoile du réseau 2. Il conserve les circuits de transport en commun en site propre de la série 90 qui traversent la Ville et sont intéressants, mais on ajoute des circuits express fréquents directs vers le centre-ville. Il comprend deux circuits qui vont jusqu’à Queen et Wellington.

Comparaison des concepts

Les comparaisons sommaires des trois réseaux sont présentées dans les tableaux ci‑après. Le réseau 1 n’est pas réalisable sur le plan opérationnel : les opérations seraient déstabilisées par le nombre d’autobus et de passagers aux arrêts dans l’aire centrale. Le réseau 3 a une incidence plus faible sur les passagers que le réseau 2, et les répercussions positives contrebalanceraient les répercussions négatives. En outre, le réseau 3 obligerait à engager des frais d’exploitation et d’immobilisations inférieurs à ceux du réseau 2.

	Réseau 1	Réseau 2	Réseau 3
Concept de service	Tronçon du train léger et circuits express	Tronçon du train léger et réseau en étoile	Tronçon du train léger, réseau en étoile, certains circuits express (deux circuits rues Queen et Wellington)
Incidence sur les clients	Faible	Élevée	Moyenne
Incidence sur les coûts	Faible	Élevée	Moyenne
Faisabilité sur le plan opérationnel?	Pas à long terme	Oui	Oui

Comparaison du nombre d’autobus empruntant les rues Albert et Slater

Les déplacements critiques rues Albert et Slater se produisent pendant la période de pointe le matin rue Albert et la période de pointe l’après-midi rue Slater. Le réseau 3 réduirait le nombre d’autobus d’environ 25 pour cent par rapport au nombre actuel.

	Réseau 1	Réseau 2	Réseau 3
Concept du service	Tronçon du train léger et circuits express	Tronçon du train léger et réseau en étoile	Tronçon du train léger, réseau en étoile, certains circuits express (deux circuits rues Queen et Wellington)
Rue Slater en direction est le matin	Augmentation de 18 pour cent du nombre d’autobus. Augmentation de 19 pour cent du nombre d’autobus équivalents standard	Diminution de 15 pour cent du nombre d’autobus. Augmentation de 5 pour cent du nombre d’autobus équivalents standard	Diminution de 2 pour cent du nombre d’autobus. Augmentation de 13 pour cent du nombre d’autobus équivalents standard

Rue Albert en direction ouest le matin	Pas de changement dans le nombre d’autobus. Augmentation de 10 pour cent du nombre d’autobus équivalents standard	Diminution de 30 pour cent du nombre d’autobus. Diminution de 14 pour cent du nombre d’autobus équivalents standard	Diminution de 29 pour cent du nombre d’autobus. Diminution de 18 pour cent du nombre d’autobus équivalents standard
Rue Slater en direction est l’après‑midi	Diminution de 4 pour cent du nombre d’autobus. Augmentation de 8 pour cent du nombre d’autobus équivalents standard	Diminution de 28 pour cent du nombre d’autobus. Diminution de 12 pour cent du nombre d’autobus équivalents standard	Diminution de 29 pour cent du nombre d’autobus. Diminution de 17 pour cent du nombre d’autobus équivalents standard
Rue Albert en direction ouest l’après‑midi	Diminution de 3 pour cent du nombre d’autobus. Augmentation de 1 pour cent du nombre d’autobus équivalents standard	Diminution de 21 pour cent du nombre d’autobus. Diminution de 3 pour cent du nombre d’autobus équivalents standard	Diminution de 12 pour cent du nombre d’autobus. Augmentation de 3 pour cent du nombre d’autobus équivalents standard

Remarques : On se sert du concept d’autobus équivalent standard pour tenir compte de la proportion d’autobus articulés qui circulent. Un autobus articulé équivaut à 1,5 autobus équivalent standard.

Conclusions tirées de l’évaluation

Voici les principales conclusions tirées de cette étude, qui a orienté la construction du concept du réseau recommandé pour 2009, et les recommandations quant à sa mise en place :

• Il n’est pas viable de maintenir à long terme un nombre élevé de circuits express dans les secteurs résidentiels directs vers le centre-ville parce qu’en raison de l’augmentation continue d’achalandage, le nombre d’autobus à l’heure requis et le nombre de passagers qui se massent aux arrêts d’autobus dépasseraient la capacité de l’espace dont on dispose rues Albert et Slater.
• L’adoption d’un type de réseau intégral de trajets de type réseau en étoile, comprenant des circuits locaux desservis fréquemment par des autobus dans les secteurs résidentiels et commerciaux avec correspondance avec les services de transport en commun en site propre fréquents, est réalisable et réduirait le nombre d’autobus à l’heure rues Albert et Slater d’environ 30 pour cent ce qui correspond à la directive du Conseil. Cependant, cette ligne de conduite entraînerait une diminution sensible du nombre de clients et obligerait à engager des frais d’exploitation et des frais d’immobilisation élevés pour la nouvelle infrastructure et l’acquisition d’autres autobus.
• L’adoption d’un réseau hybride, de type réseau en étoile partout dans la Ville pendant toute la journée, complété par un petit nombre de circuits express fréquents à partir des secteurs résidentiels qui ne sont pas desservis par le nouveau tronçon du train léger est réalisable sur le plan opérationnel et réduirait le nombre d’autobus à l’heure rues Albert et Slater d’environ 30 pour cent tel que stipulé dans la directive du Conseil. Ce concept de réseau aurait des répercussions négligeables sur l’achalandage global, mais il obligerait à engager des frais d’immobilisation pour la nouvelle infrastructure et à apporter des changements aux prévisions pour le renouvellement du parc d’autobus et sa croissance dans le Plan financier à long terme.
• L’ajout de circuits de transport en commun en site propre de la série 90 qui traversent la Ville, fréquents et pratiques entre Orléans et Kanata par les chemins Baseline et Heron, entre Orléans et Kanata par le Queensway et l’avenue Carling et entre Orléans et Tunney’s Pasture par les avenues Carling et Holland contribuerait à améliorer la qualité du service pour les clients qui se déplacent actuellement en empruntant des trajets qui passent par le centre-ville mais qui ne partent pas du centre-ville ou ne s’y rendent pas.
• L’adoption d’un réseau de type réseau en étoile dans les secteurs de la Ville qui ne seraient pas desservis par le tronçon du train léger nord-sud obligerait à investir dans l’infrastructure pour permettre aux clients de correspondre de façon pratique entre les services d’autobus locaux et les circuits de transport en commun en site propre de la série 90. Plus précisément, il faudrait une nouvelle station rue Jeanne d’Arc et le chemin 174 et restaurer la station au parc‑o‑bus Eagleson. De plus, il faudrait un terminal pour les autobus au parc Millennium à Orléans ainsi qu’au chemins Hawthorne et Hunt Club à Greenboro.
• La réduction du nombre de circuits rues Albert et Slater réduirait sensiblement les temps d’attente aux arrêts d’autobus, donc le nombre de passagers qui attendent en tout temps.
• Le système de perception des tarifs par carte à puce, dont la mise en œuvre est prévue en 2008, et un système d’information en temps réel sur l’arrivée des autobus basé sur un système de localisation GPS qu’on travaille actuellement à mettre en service raccourciront le temps pour monter à bord et amélioreront les opérations rues Albert et Slater.
• Les changements au service pour assurer l’adoption du concept de réseau recommandé doivent être apportés progressivement sur une période de quatre ans commençant en 2006 et doivent être coordonnés avec les grands travaux de construction dans l’aire centrale. Les changements des trajets dans ce secteur qui seraient desservis par le train léger doivent être apportés en 2009 en même temps que le lancement du tronçon du train léger.
• La conception du service recommandé contribuera à réduire sensiblement le nombre d’autobus hors service rues Albert et Slater en les faisant passer leur nombre qui varie de 130 à 160 par jour actuellement à 20 à 25 par jour.

Recommandations

Le concept qu’on recommande de mettre en œuvre au cours des quatre prochaines années, c’est le réseau 3, le réseau hybride complété par le tronçon du train léger en place, composé d’un système de type réseau en étoile fait de trajets d’autobus locaux et de circuits de transport en commun en site propre qui traversent la Ville ainsi que d’un nombre limité de circuits express à fréquence élevée directs vers le centre-ville. Le réseau 3 est recommandé parce qu’il est réalisable sur le plan opérationnel, qu’il n’a pas d’effets néfastes sur l’achalandage global et qu’il contribuerait à assouplir les opérations rues Albert et Slater en diminuant les temps d’attente et en permettant aux gens de monter plus rapidement à bord. Le nombre d’autobus à l’heure rues Albert et Slater serait réduit d’environ 30 pour cent.

Voici les recommandations lors de l’étude présentée au Comité des transports dans le rapport ci-joint intitulé Projet de tronçon nord-sud du transport en commun par train léger (TTL) (du Centre Rideau jusqu’au centre-ville de Barrhaven), Étude d’évaluation environnementale, Recommandations découlant des résolutions du Conseil qui ont été approuvées le 15 juillet 2005.

On recommande au Comité des transports de recommander au Conseil ce qui suit :

• D’approuver le concept d’aménagement du service présenté à l’annexe 3 du présent document, qui permettra de réduire le nombre d’autobus qui circulent rues Albert et Slater, comme orientation future pour le plan lié au service de transport en commun, qui sera mis en œuvre au cours des quatre prochaines années.
• D’approuver que le processus de consultation Transplan 2006 comprenne des propositions relatives aux premiers changements à apporter à cette orientation, plus précisément :

- l’ajout d’un nouveau circuit de transport en commun en site propre de la série 90 le long du chemin Innes à Orléans et à Blackburn Hamlet;

- le prolongement du circuit 95 de transport en commun un site propre jusqu’au noyau commercial de Barrhaven (Marketplace);

- la réorganisation et l’amélioration du réseau de transport en commun dans le secteur Greenboro.

• De prévoir des fonds dans le budget d’immobilisations de 2006 pour faire ce qui suit :

- mettre en œuvre des mesures de priorité au transport en commun qui s’appliqueront au tronçon Baseline-Heron pour le nouveau circuit de transport en commun en site propre de la série 90;

- concevoir une nouvelle station du Transitway sur le boulevard Jeanne-d’Arc, qui sera aménagée et achevée d’ici 2008;

- élaborer des améliorations pour la station Eagleson du Transitway, qui seront apportées et achevées d’ici 2008;

- entamer l’acquisition d’un système de perception des tarifs par carte à puce pour le service d’autobus et le service de train léger, qui sera mis en place d’ici 2008 ou 2009;

- demander au personnel d’intégrer les exigences relatives au parc automobile et à l’infrastructure visant à appuyer le concept d’aménagement du service (annexe 3 de ce document) dans la prochaine révision du Plan financier à long terme.

• D’instaurer une procédure visant à surveiller les conditions de circulation rues Albert et Slater et à présenter un compte rendu au Conseil à cet égard, tel que précisé dans le rapport, d’abord en 2010, soit après la mise en place du service du nouveau tronçon du train léger et, par la suite, tous les trois ans.

STUDY BACKGROUND

During the discussions of the North-South Corridor Light Rail Project Environmental Assessment Study, City Council approved the following as part of a larger motion:

That OC Transpo be directed to ensure that a minimum of 30 percent of bus traffic be removed from Albert and Slater streets by end of 2009.

This report responds to that direction. It has three objectives:

• To respond to Council’s direction to reduce bus traffic from Albert and Slater Streets by at least thirty percent by developing a future concept for the transit network citywide including both bus and light rail networks
• To provide Council with comprehensive information on the impacts on ridership of the recommended network design, as well as the capital and operating costs and
• To recommend a process of change to achieve the desired goals

Current Service Design

Currently all day long a network of local feeder services serves transit hubs, rapid transit 90-series routes operate on the Transitway and the O-Train operates between Bayview and Greenboro. In addition, a number of main line routes operate across town connecting communities, activity centres and other transit focal points. In peak periods, the route network is supplemented by express routes and direct-to-downtown routes, giving direct service from residential areas to downtown.

This arrangement makes efficient use of available vehicles but means that the express routes must be scheduled to accommodate maximum passenger loads some distance from the centre of town, which adds to the bus volumes in the central area. In addition, it means that significant numbers of out-of-service buses run on Albert and Slater Streets in peak periods. It also gives rise to problems at the busy bus stops on Albert and Slater Streets, particularly in the afternoon peak period, when large numbers of passengers wait trying to identify and board their specific buses. The large numbers of buses operating in the afternoon peak on Slater Street in the winter of 2004 led to long delays and it was necessary to take immediate action to reduce the numbers of buses by starting some of the less busy direct-from-downtown routes in the afternoon peak period at Hurdman Station.

Light Rail and Buses on Albert and Slater Streets

The North-South light rail line will operate on Albert and Slater Street in the same lanes as buses. The buses and trains will have separate platforms and it will be essential to ensure that, as passenger volumes increase, it will be possible to sustain smooth bus and light rail operations through the central area.

Transit Ridership Projections

The City’s Official Plan and Transportation Master Plan require transit to play an increasingly strong role in Ottawa’s transportation system. In particular, the overall peak hour modal share for transit will need to increase from 17 percent today to 30 percent by the time the population reaches 1.2 million in the early 2020s if the city’s transportation system is to support the approved development strategy. To achieve the modal share objective, it will be necessary to increase the percentage of downtown commuters who chose transit from about 60 percent to 80 percent when the number of jobs downtown will increase from 90,000 to 120,000.

To ensure that the findings of this project are comparable to previous information presented to City Council, no new forecasts were developed. Population growth forecasts were obtained from the Official Plan, which estimates that by 2009 population will be approximately 966,000. Transit ridership growth was obtained from the Transportation Master Plan, with approximately 116 million annual riders. Light rail ridership was obtained from the previous work conducted by The IBI Group for the North-South Light Rail Environmental Assessment, with approximately 40,000 daily trips.

Estimates of service levels and of fleet requirements are based on ridership estimates for each route, which were based on the population and mode share levels established in the Official Plan and the Transportation Master Plan. Any fluctuation from these targets will affect the estimates developed for this report. Unexpected changes in the pace, location or magnitude of any development would require adjustments to route design, service levels or proposed infrastructure changes. Therefore, the details of the recommendations in this report remain fluid and will require continual monitoring and adjustment.

STUDY APPROACH

Council has directed the development of a service plan that reduces bus volumes on Albert and Slater by 30 percent and this triggered the focussed effort on the work described in this report. However, staff had already recognized the need for this study and some work had already started. Council’s resolution provided direction and a time line that have moved the work ahead faster than would have otherwise been the case.

There are four ways to reduce bus volumes on Albert and Slater Streets:

• To carry customers in different ways – in particular to attract those people who can bypass the central area to do so and to attract as many people to the light rail service as possible
• To carry the remaining people on fewer buses by increased use of higher capacity buses and by designing service with maximum load point closer to the downtown
• To operate some buses through downtown on other streets: Laurier, Queen, or Wellington
• To reduce the number of out-of-service deadheading buses that pass through downtown

Initially two network concepts were developed:

· Network 1 (Exhibit 1)

The first network concept developed includes the light rail implementation and the basic service design concept for the bus network as is currently applied. Specifically, this full service includes all the express routes in the east and west that currently exist with expansion into the new growth areas. No other enhancements to service were included such as new cross-town routes or additional Transitway service.

· Network 2 (Exhibit 2)

In order to achieve the targets set by Council, a second transit network was developed without express services but with strengthened hub and spoke connections. This network includes the light rail implementation and the proposed bus route network is restructured beyond the continuation of current design of the route network. The network includes new and improved east-west cross-town services that would provide transit customers with more alternatives to destinations outside downtown and remove the need to travel through downtown for some people.

New crosstown routes would provide direct connection between Orléans and Kanata, the Civic and Queensway-Carleton Hospitals, the Booth/Carling employment area, the Tunney’s Pasture employment area, and Algonquin College, eliminating the current transfer and reducing travel time with a more direct travel path. Extending crosstown service to begin in Orléans and travel west by either the Carling or Baseline/Heron corridors, would eliminate transfers currently being made at Hurdman Station or in downtown to other westbound routes.

The local bus network was also redesigned. Routes were made more direct as they operate through the local communities and all local routes would connect to rapid transit services, at either Transitway or light rail stations. This redesign would improve travel times and reliability, while providing customers with alternative route options. The restructured local network and rapid transit connections would replace the need to provide direct-to-downtown express trips. Customers would transfer to the appropriate service at a rapid transit station.

Service levels on existing Transitway routes were also improved and new Transitway routes added. These routes operated along the existing Transitway from between residential communities to major employment areas, such as Gatineau and Tunney’s Pasture. As well, the plan added three rapid transit 90-series cross-town routes.

These networks represent the two extreme positions from the “business as usual” approach to a complete “hub-and-spoke” service concept. Both networks were developed in detail and both with the objective of providing service that would be as convenient as possible for customers. This level of detail was needed so that the impact of the service design on customers could be assessed as well as the resource requirements.

For each network, ridership was assigned to individual routes based on the future residential and employment growth as well as the projected growth on existing services. Ridership was then used to calculate service requirements, frequencies and service hours, for each route. Impacts on customers, such as changes in travel time or transfers, were identified and tabulated.

Detailed service schedules were developed for both networks, which made it possible to identify the fleet and infrastructure requirements.

Based on the results of the evaluation and the comparison between the two network design concepts, a hybrid concept (Network 3) was developed as a composite of the best features of the two. This network concept uses a hub-and-spoke design for all parts of the City and also retains a small number of frequent direct-to-downtown express routes from the parts of the City not served by the new light rail line. A map of this network concept is in Exhibit 3.

Consulting Assistance

The study has been conducted with the assistance of ENTRA Consultants. The consulting role was to review and advise on network design, assist in the compilation of data and analysis of travel demand, and to determine the likely impact of each service concept on ridership.

ENTRA Consultants is a transit planning firm with a wide range of experience of projects in the transit industry.

ENTRA’s technical report is attached to this document as Appendix A.

BUS ROUTE CHANGES PROPOSED FOR LIGHT RAIL IMPLEMENTATION

The construction of the new light rail line will reduce travel time and introduce new travel choices for many current customers, and will lead to increased ridership.

The realignment of bus routes to connect with the light rail line will support the light rail line and will also allow for easy connections to Transitway bus routes. In areas served by the light rail line, the replacement of direct-to-downtown express routes with more-frequent local feeder routes will simplify transit travel choices for customers and give a greater choice of travel times for local travellers within each community. Operating cost savings will result from the replacement of buses operating from suburban areas to downtown by higher-capacity light rail trains.

The route changes recommended in this section are common to all three Networks described in more detail and evaluated in the sections which follow.

In addition, expansion into new residential growth areas would be accommodated by either the extension of existing routes or the introduction of new routes. These changes are not detailed in this report, but are shown conceptually on the accompanying maps. The details of service expansion into new areas would be developed through the annual Transplan planning and consultation process.

Southern Connections to the Light Rail Line (Exhibits 4 and 5)

With the opening of the light rail line, bus routes in South Nepean, Riverside South, and Leitrim will be changed to make convenient connections to the light rail service.

· South Nepean – All of the bus routes in Barrhaven, Stonebridge, and other parts of South Nepean would be changed to provide convenient connections to both the light rail line and to the Southwest Transitway. Customers who are travelling to downtown will have the choice of using either rapid transit facility, and will have similar travel times to the centre of downtown using either one. Customers who are travelling to points such as Confederation Heights will choose to use the light rail line, and customers who are travelling to points such as Tunney’s Pasture will choose to use the Transitway service. Rapid transit bus Route 95 will be extended to the developing commercial core of South Nepean at the Chapman Mills Marketplace. In the central and southern parts of South Nepean, located near the light rail terminal at Woodroffe and Strandherd, the direct-to-downtown express bus services would be removed and replaced by frequent feeder bus routes to the “hub” stations. In the northern part of South Nepean, north of the VIA/CN railway line and further from the light rail terminal, two express routes would continue to provide direct service to downtown via the Southwest Transitway (see Exhibit 4).

· Riverside South – The current bus service in Riverside South, and new services that would be in place by 2009 to serve newly-developed areas of Riverside South, would be designed to make convenient connections with the light rail service. The current Route 145 would be changed to make connections with light rail trains at both the Spratt West Station and at the Main Street Station in the commercial core of Riverside South. The current direct-to-downtown service on Route 45 would be removed (see Exhibit 5).

· Leitrim – The current bus service in Leitrim, Route 144, would be extended to connect with the light rail line at Leitrim Station as well as at Greenboro Station. The routing of the service within the Leitrim community will be expanded as development continues (see Exhibit 5).

· Airport – Connections from the light rail line to the airport would be provided by a short shuttle route from Lester Station to the airport terminal, with stops also near the employment areas on the airport grounds. This shuttle route would connect with every light rail train, and it would use specialised small buses that have low floors for easy access and luggage racks for the convenience of airport travellers. At Lester Station, the transfer between train and bus will be very easy, perhaps as simple as just crossing a platform to a bus that is already waiting. The aim will be for the shuttle bus service to be an extension of the light rail experience. This service will replace the current Transitway service to the airport; Route 97 will be cut back to end at Hunt Club Loop at the south end of the Southeast Transitway (see Exhibit 5).

Revised Routes in Greenboro (Exhibit 6)

The reconfiguration of the bus route network in the area of the light rail line provides the opportunity to reconfigure the bus network in the Greenboro area and along St. Laurent Boulevard to address some long-standing issues causing inconvenience for customers and affecting the reliability of service.

The current Route 84, the main route serving Greenboro, would be replaced by two new routes. One would be a rapid transit 90-series bus route starting at a new bus loop at Hunt Club Road and Hawthorne Road, serving the Greenboro area with a routing along Blohm, Lorry Greenberg, Hunt Club, Cahill, and Bank, then joining the Southeast Transitway at Hunt Club Loop and continuing on the Transitway through Hurdman Station and downtown to Tunney’s Pasture. The second replacement route would be a main-line route operating between Hurdman Station and Greenboro Station via the East Transitway, St. Laurent Boulevard, Walkley, Conroy, Lorry Greenberg, Hunt Club, Cahill, Bank, Hunt Club, and the Southeast Transitway. These two routes would combine to provide very frequent service between Lorry Greenberg at Conroy and Greenboro Station. The new rapid transit bus route and the current Route 97 would combine to provide very frequent service on the Southeast Transitway.

The current Route 143, a local route serving the northern part of Greenboro, would be extended further east, would be made more frequent, and would operate seven days a week. Route 143 would provide the local service on Johnston, Esson, and Karsh that is now provided by some trips on Route 84 in the residential area east of Conroy, and would continue to provide service west of Conroy on Johnston, Tapiola, and Albion. When the light rail line opens, the direct-to-downtown bus trips from this area on Route 43 would be replaced by additional service on Route 143 connecting with both the light rail line and Transitway service at Greenboro Station.

The current Route 85 would be shortened so that its east end is at Elmvale Terminal. The section of this route north of Elmvale to St. Laurent Station would be replaced by the new main line route between Hurdman Station and Greenboro Station via St. Laurent Boulevard, as described in the previous paragraph. The current Route 86 would be extended to the new bus loop at Hunt Club and Hawthorne, and new two-way service would be provided on Southvale.

East-West Connections to Light Rail Line (Exhibits 7 and 8)

The bus route network in the Alta Vista-Walkley area and in central Nepean would be reconfigured to provide convenient connections to both the light rail line and to the Southeast Transitway.

· Alta Vista-Walkley – The current Route 111 would operate directly west on Heron Road, bypassing Billings Bridge Station, and making a connection with the Southeast Transitway at Heron Station and with the light rail line at Confederation Station, and would end at Confederation Heights. The current Route 8 would operate directly south on Alta Vista and Bank to Walkley and would make a connection with both the Southeast Transitway and the light rail line at Walkley Station. A new local route would serve Heatherington, Baycrest, and Herongate Mall, and would operate west on Walkley to make a connection with both the Southeast Transitway and the light rail line at Walkley Station (see Exhibit 7).

· Central Nepean – The current Route 111 would be replaced by a new route between Lincoln Fields Station and Billings Bridge Station, via Baseline Station, Meadowlands, Viewmount, Chesterton, Meadowlands, and Hog’s Back. The current Route 117 would be changed to operate seven days a week, all year long, between Lincoln Fields Station and Billings Bridge Station, via Baseline Station, Meadowlands, Prince of Wales, and Heron. Both of these routes would connect with the light rail line at Confederation Station and with the Southeast Transitway at both Heron and Billings Bridge Stations. The current Route 86 would be changed to start at Colonnade, then operate via Merivale and Viewmount and directly north on Fisher and Holland to Tunney’s Pasture Station, and then continue east from there. The current Route 107 would continue to provide a peak-period service from Billings Bridge Station and Confederation Station to the Colonnade employment area. The current Route 3 would be removed west of downtown, replaced by the light rail line and by the revised Route 86 (see Exhibit 8).

Downtown Connections to Light Rail Line (Exhibit 9)

To take advantage of the frequent, convenient service that the light rail line will provide through downtown, some of the routes that now cross downtown will be divided and shortened (see Exhibit 9).

The current Route 2 would be divided into two separate routes, one between Blair Station and downtown via Montreal Road and Rideau Street, and the other between Westboro Station and the Rideau Centre via Richmond and Somerset. The current Route 3 would be shortened to operate only between the Rideau Centre and Hurdman Station via Sussex Drive and the Vanier Parkway. The current Route 16 would be divided into two separate routes, one between the hospital complex on Smyth Road and the Rideau Centre, and the other between Lincoln Fields Station and Bayview Station via Dovercourt and Byron. The current Route 18 would be divided into two separate routes, one between St. Laurent Station and the Rideau Centre through Overbrook and via Rideau Street, and the other between Britannia and Bayview Station via Richmond and Scott.

Main line bus operation on Preston Street, now provided by Route 3, would be removed. Customers travelling to and from this area would use the frequent service provided by the light rail line, with its stations at Carling, Gladstone, and Bayview. East-west service crossing Preston Street would continue to be provided on Somerset, Gladstone, and Carling. The current Route 316 would continue to provided limited local service on Preston Street for who prefer not to walk to the nearest light rail station.

Continued Operation of Current Network Concept

Albert and Slater Streets have experienced operating difficulties due to the volumes of buses during the peak hours. Both streets serve as the main travel routes for Transitway services and many main-line routes traveling through the downtown core. The most sensitive of the peak movements occurs eastbound along Slater Street during the afternoon. Approximately 170 buses carry 6,600 customers during the afternoon peak hour. Transit services on the streets are currently running very close to their capacity both in terms of the numbers of buses and the times it takes to service passengers at the stops.

By 2009, increased passenger demand will occur due to the future population growth from the outlying areas, increased employment growth and transit’s increased mode share. Part of the work of this study is to determine whether continuing to serve transit customers by the offering the choice of express routes directly from all suburban residential areas is operationally feasible.

Currently, travel on Albert and Slater Streets occurs as shown below:

	Morning Peak Hour			Afternoon Peak Hour
	Passengers on buses	Total Buses	Standard Equivalent Buses	Passengers on buses	Total Buses	Standard Equivalent Buses
Eastbound Slater	6,300	160	188	6,600	170	200
Westbound Albert	8,000	222	261	5,300	140	165

Note: Standard equivalent buses are used to take account of the proportion of articulated buses operating. One articulated bus is 1.5 standard equivalent buses.

With the opening of the north-south light rail line, eight new light rail platforms will be added between Bronson and Elgin, four on Slater and four on Albert. These stations will be located on the same side of the street as the existing bus stops. With service every five minutes during the peak hour, twelve trains must also be accommodated in each direction. The Transportation Master Plan projects that transit ridership downtown will increase significantly in the coming years due to population growth and the increased attractiveness of light rail service. However, no changes to the existing street infrastructure, outside the construction of the light rail stations, are planned. Therefore, increased demand must be met within the current street profile.

To evaluate whether an expanded route network of the same configuration as is currently in place would be operationally feasible, and to serve as a base for comparing other types of route networks, a conceptual route network was developed with a hub-and-spoke design in the area that will be served by the new light rail line and with the continued operation of direct-to-downtown express routes in peak periods from other suburban parts of the City (Attachment 1).

Network 1 Characteristics

The route network concept that was developed to evaluate the continued use of the current service design concept would have these characteristics.

• New light rail line in place
• Bus route changes for light rail implementation in place
• Service expanded into new residential areas in Orléans, Leitrim, Riverside South, South Nepean, and Kanata West
• Frequencies of service on rapid transit bus routes 95, 96, and 97 increased in line with expected ridership growth
• Frequent local bus services connecting with the new light rail line
• All direct-to-downtown express routes remain in place from Kanata, central and northern Nepean, and Orléans

Operational Feasibility

With the expanded “business as usual” network, bus operations and ridership on Albert and Slater Streets would be:

Network 1	Morning Peak Hour			Afternoon Peak Hour
	Passenger Volumes	Total Buses	Standard Equivalent Buses	Passenger Volumes	Total Buses	Standard Equivalent Buses
Eastbound Slater	7,100	188 (+18%)	224 (+19%)	7,300	164 (-4%)	216 (+8%)
Westbound Albert	9,600	221 (Same)	287 (+10%)	5,600	136 (-3%)	167 (+1%)

Note: Standard equivalent buses are used to take account of the proportion of articulated buses operating. One articulated bus is 1.5 standard equivalent buses.

In addition to these levels of bus operation, there would be 12 light rail trains per hour operating on Albert and Slater Streets. The light rail trains will stop at separate platforms from the buses, but when they are stopped, they will occupy the lane that buses will also use to move by the light rail platforms. The bus stops will be set in one lane to the right from the light rail tracks so that stopped buses do not block light rail trains, and as a result the platform space at bus stops will be less than it is now.

Because of higher ridership, the greater number of articulated buses in use, and the introduction of the light rail service, with this service design concept, congestion in the transit lanes on Albert and Slater would be greater in 2009 than it is today.

Simulation studies for the Environmental Assessment study for the light rail project have shown that, in theory, it should be possible to accommodate these numbers of buses and passengers on Albert and Slater Streets, providing that the dwell times of buses at the stops on Albert and Slater do not increase. However, the simulation model was very sensitive to passenger boarding times and if these were to increase or if hold-ups to service were to occur because of, for instance, bad weather or delivery trucks illegally stopped in the transit lane, the result is likely to be delays in transit operations through the downtown. Experience in 2003 and 2004 showed that the operation of more than 170 buses per hour eastbound on Slater in the afternoon peak period is not feasible, and that severe delays for customers are caused when there is any interruption to the scheduled flow of buses. Thus, the service levels shown in the above table would not be feasible to operate on a consistent basis, given the many variables that have an impact on real-world operations.

Beyond 2009, growth in population and employment in Ottawa will continue, and transit ridership will grow accordingly. In the years after 2009 until the next phase of the rapid transit network is built and opened, service levels would need to be increased to accommodate the increasing ridership. These increasing service levels would not be feasible to operate.

Outside of the downtown, the current road network, transit station facilities, planned expansions to the road network in new areas, and transit station facilities to be as part of the new light rail line would be sufficient to accommodate all of the bus routes in Network 1, the expanded “business as usual” network.

Operating and Capital Costs

A preliminary schedule was prepared for every route in Network 1 to determine the approximate bus fleet size required and to estimate the total operating cost of the transit system. Network 1 requires a fleet of 1130 buses (825 standard and small buses and 305 articulated buses, for a fleet equivalent to 1283 standard buses). The number of hours of service per year would be approximately 2.87 million. These numbers are used as a base from which to compare the requirements under the different network concepts.

Consequences for Transit Customers

Retaining the current service design concept has the least effect on the travel patterns of current transit customers. Only the customers who are travelling to, from, or through the areas that will be served by the light rail line would be affected by the introduction of the bus route changes to make connections with the light rail line.

Though the travel patterns would not be changed for many current transit customers, their reliability of service would become worse, as a result of the increased congestion and slower operations through downtown. The continued availability of a wide choice of destinations from downtown on express routes would mean increasing crowding and less efficient operations at bus stops.

Transit ridership will continue to grow beyond 2009, and if the current network service design concept were retained, the congestion downtown would increase every year and the reliability of transit service would continue to decline, itself leading to losses in transit ridership. So, this study recommends that a new route network design concept be adopted, so that it is fully in place by the time the new light rail line opens, and so that ridership growth beyond 2009 can be accommodated adequately.

Conclusions

The continued operation of a large number of express routes from residential areas direct to downtown is not sustainable in the longer term because, with continued ridership growth, the number of buses per hour required and the numbers of passengers crowding at bus stops would exceed the capacity of the space available on Albert and Slater Streets.

Network 1 changes travel patterns only in the area to be served by the new light rail line but it is not the recommended approach for the future, because of the congested operation in downtown and the great likelihood of resulting delays for transit customers. Although the service schedules developed for the study indicate that this network would have the lowest operating costs and require the smallest bus fleet, these results could be compromised by unreliable operations in the downtown. Network 1 does not meet the direction from Council to reduce the number of buses per hour on Albert and Slater Streets by 30 percent.

Evaluation of a full hub-and-spoke route network concept

The number of buses per hour on Albert and Slater Streets can only be lowered significantly by adopting a new route network concept for the OC Transpo system. Such a network concept has been developed to evaluate its impact on transit riders and its operating and capital costs.

This full hub-and-spoke network is designated in this report as Network 2, and is shown in Exhibit 2.

Network 2 Characteristics

The route network concept that was developed to demonstrate and evaluate the hub-and-spoke configuration would have these characteristics.

• New light rail line in place
• Bus route changes for light rail implementation in place
• Service expanded into new residential areas in Orléans, Leitrim, Riverside South, South Nepean, and Kanata West
• Increased frequencies of service on rapid transit bus routes 95, 96, and 97
• New downtown-oriented rapid transit bus routes from south Orléans to Tunney’s Pasture and from north Orléans to Gatineau
• New crosstown rapid transit bus routes from Kanata to Orléans via Baseline and Heron Roads, from Kanata to Orléans via Highway 417 and Carling Avenue, and from Orléans to Tunney’s Pasture via Carling and Holland Avenues
• Frequent local bus services connecting with the new light rail line and with rapid transit bus routes at “hub” stations
• No direct-to-downtown express routes

The restructured route network would eliminate the direct-to-downtown express trips. Customers would use their new local route and transfer to either the light rail line or Transitway route at a rapid transit station. This would introduce a new or additional transfer as compared to today’s service.

On Albert and Slater, in the restructured network, customers would experience reduced waiting times. With the elimination of express routes, customers would be using more frequent Transitway routes. There would be fewer customers waiting at any point in time. Increased Transitway route frequency would make wait time shorter for all customers. The time that buses need to be stopped would also be reduced, thereby reducing bus congestion at stops. This in turn would also reduce the time required to pass through downtown and therefore lower customer travel time.

Crosstown Rapid Transit Bus Routes

Analysis of available origin-destination information available from the census, along with current OC Transpo ridership data, shows that there is a large group of transit customers who are travelling between points east of downtown and points west of downtown but who use the bus services that pass through downtown because they are more convenient than the alternative services. The introduction of new and improved crosstown rapid transit bus routes that bypass downtown would allow many of these customers to make a more direct trip, saving themselves travel time, and would reduce ridership on the bus routes that pass through downtown, either making that capacity available for other customers travelling to or from points in downtown or allowing the number of buses operating through downtown to be reduced.

Network 2, the hub-and-spoke network concept, would introduce three major crosstown rapid transit bus routes:

· Orléans to Kanata via Heron/Baseline – This service would extend from Orléans to Hurdman Station along the East Transitway, use the Southeast Transitway from there to Billings Bridge Station, run west on Heron Road and Baseline Road to Baseline Station, where it would make a connection with the Southwest Transitway, continue west on Baseline Road, Richmond Road to Bells Corners, Robertson Road, and Hazeldean Road, then north on Terry Fox Drive to Terry Fox Station in Kanata. Along the way, it would serve major nodes at Blair (Gloucester Centre), St. Laurent, Confederation Heights, Algonquin College, Queensway-Carleton Hospital, and Hazeldean Mall. Baseline and Heron have been designated as a transit priority corridor in the Transportation Master Plan, and work is now underway to design transit priority measures that will reduce travel time for transit customers and make transit service in this corridor more reliable. The new rapid transit route would replace and extend the current Route 118, which now operates between Hurdman Station and Terry Fox Station in Kanata.

· Orléans to Kanata via Carling/Queensway – This service would also extend from Orléans to Hurdman Station along the East Transitway, leave the Transitway and join Highway 417 at Lees Station to cross the Rideau River into the south part of downtown, make local stops across downtown on Catherine and Raymond Streets (Chamberlain and Isabella Streets for eastbound service), run south on Booth Street and west on Carling Avenue, making a connection with the north-south light rail line at Carling Station, just west of Preston Street. From there, buses would continue west on Carling Avenue, join Highway 417 again at Kirkwood Avenue, and make stops just off the highway at Woodroffe Avenue, Queensway Station (connection with the Southwest Transitway), Pinecrest Road, Bayshore Station, and Moodie Drive. Buses would leave the highway at Eagleson Road, where they would make connections with local bus routes in Kanata, and then continue north on March Road to the Kanata North employment area. This route would serve major nodes at Blair (Gloucester Centre), St. Laurent, Booth and Carling, the Civic Hospital, and the Royal Ottawa Hospital. This route would be an extension and improvement of the current Route 99, which now operates between Blair Station and Bayshore Station and is extended to Kanata North during peak periods.

· Orléans to Tunney’s Pasture via Carling – Like the previous two, this route would begin at Orléans and follow the East Transitway to Hurdman Station. From there, buses would follow the same route as Route 99 now does to the Civic Hospital at Carling and Holland. The buses would then turn north on Holland to the Tunney’s Pasture employment area, and make a connection there with the West Transitway. This route would serve major nodes at Blair (Gloucester Centre), St. Laurent, Booth and Carling, and the Civic Hospital. This would be a new route offering a new direct service from the east end to Tunney’s Pasture without passing through downtown.

The attractiveness of these new crosstown rapid transit bus routes would be increased because of their introduction as part of a full hub-and-spoke route network. Currently, almost all residential areas in Orléans and Kanata have direct express routes to downtown, and so transit customers are encouraged to travel downtown and to make transfers there for their continuing trip to non-downtown locations. The relocation of transfer activity to the “hub” stations, for example at Terry Fox Station in Kanata or a new Jeanne d’Arc Station in Orléans, would give customers the opportunity to board from their home community a rapid transit bus route direct to their destination, whether it is downtown or a non-downtown location along one of these new crosstown routes.

The origin-destination and ridership data show that five to ten percent of the customers who now ride on bus routes through downtown would choose to use one of these new crosstown routes in preference to their current travel pattern through downtown.

In addition to being a long-term solution to reduce the number of buses passing through downtown and to make that capacity available for future ridership growth, these new routes will also be a component of the management of the construction of the light rail line. The major construction of the downtown section of the light rail line, planned for 2007 and 2008, will introduce new congestion, as bus routes are changed to avoid the areas where the major construction is underway. By introducing these new and improved crosstown routes before the major construction begins, the non-downtown customers would be able to avoid delays caused by the construction and the number of buses that would need to be accommodated on alternative streets would be less.

The new and improved crosstown bus routes would also serve as a precursor to future rapid transit facilities, building a market and a habit of transit customers travelling between non-downtown locations in the east and west. When the future east-west light rail line is completed, many of the customers of these interim bus routes would switch to the new line, and benefit from further reductions in travel time.

Network 2 also includes an extension of rapid transit Route 97 to a new “hub” transfer location in Bells Corners.

New Innes Road Rapid Transit Bus Route (Exhibit 10)

An integral part of Network 2 is a new east-west rapid transit 90-series bus route on Innes Road, serving the south part of Orléans and Blackburn Hamlet, and connecting those areas with downtown (see Exhibit 10). The route would start at a small bus terminal facility near Millennium Park, off Trim Road south of Innes, and would run west on Innes Road, including the local section of Innes Road through Blackburn Hamlet, north on Blair Road, and west on the East Transitway through Hurdman Station and into downtown. In Network 2, the route would continue through downtown and across the Portage Bridge into the Hull sector of Gatineau, with stops at both Place du Portage and les Terrasses de la Chaudière, the major employment locations. When the proposed Rapibus service is in place in Gatineau, the route could end at the Montcalm Rapibus station, and make convenient connections there with STO routes to all parts of Gatineau.

The Innes Road route will also serve as a precursor to future rapid transit facilities, building a market and a habit of transit customers travelling from southern Orléans and Blackburn Hamlet. When the future east-west light rail line or Cumberland Transitway is completed, most of the customers of this interim bus routes will switch to the new line, and benefit from further reductions in travel time.

Effects on Customers

The hub-and-spoke route network concept would have many benefits for transit customers:

• Direct service to downtown and to other major destinations on the new light rail line
• More direct crosstown service for customers not travelling to or from downtown
• More frequent service on rapid transit bus routes
• More frequent service on almost all local bus routes
• Less crowding and faster boarding times at downtown bus stops

The improvements in service are projected to lead to an increase in ridership of approximately 280,000 customers per year. The inconveniences are projected to lead to a loss of approximately 1.6 million customers per year. The net change in annual ridership is thus projected to be a loss of approximately 1.3 million customers per year. As annual ridership is projected in the Transportation Master Plan to be 116 million by 2009, this represents a projected loss of over one percent, a substantial number.

These projections of ridership change, both positive and negative, are based on experience and observations from Ottawa and from other cities. More information on the methods of projecting ridership change and on the details of these projections is contained in the report from ENTRA Consultants in Appendix A.

Operational Feasibility

With the hub-and-spoke network, operations and ridership on Albert and Slater Streets would be:

Network 2	Morning Peak Hour			Afternoon Peak Hour
	Passenger Volumes	Total Buses	Standard Equivalent Buses	Passenger Volumes	Total Buses	Standard Equivalent Buses
Eastbound Slater	6,900	136 (-15%)	198 (+5%)	6,200	122 (-28%)	175 (-12%)
Westbound Albert	8,100	155 (-30%)	224 (-14%)	5,300	110 (-21%)	160 (-3%)

Note: Standard equivalent buses are used to take account of the proportion of articulated buses operating. One articulated bus is 1.5 standard equivalent buses.

The number of bus routes operating on Albert and Slater would be reduced significantly, from 27 to nine (eastbound on Slater, afternoon peak period). Each of the routes that would remain would operate much more frequently than the routes do now or than they would under the expanded “business as usual” concept.

The smaller number of routes would reduce the time that customers need to wait for buses downtown, as customers would travel out of downtown to “hub” transit stations before making their selection of a local route to their local destination. The waiting times would be further reduced by the increased frequency of the bus routes. The reduced waiting times for all customers would allow the increased ridership by 2009 to be accommodated with a reduced level of crowding at the bus stops on Albert and Slater Streets. This is particularly important because the approved plan for the addition of the light rail line to these streets reduces the amount of standing area available for customers waiting for buses.

Operating and Capital Costs

A preliminary schedule was prepared for every route in Network 2 to determine the approximate bus fleet size required and to estimate the total operating cost of the transit system. Network 2 requires a fleet of 1174 buses (635 standard and small buses and 539 articulated buses, for a fleet equivalent to 1444 standard buses). The number of hours of service per year would be approximately 3.08 million.

Thus, Network 2 requires 161 more standard-equivalent buses in the fleet and has an annual operating cost approximately seven percent higher than Network 1.

These higher fleet requirements and operating costs are predominantly the result of the changes to the network design that reduce the ability of the “interline” scheduling optimisation to link together, for example, trips ending on the east side of downtown with trips beginning in the east part of the City. The current network design concept results in many one-way trips to downtown in the morning peak period and away from downtown in the afternoon peak period, and scheduling procedures and systems have been developed and refined over many years to link these trips together very efficiently into a scheduling solution with as small a fleet size and as small a total cost as possible. A full hub-and-spoke system reduces (but does not eliminate) these types of trips and the ability to optimise the scheduling solution. In Network 2, the pool of buses which operate the local routes in Kanata, for instance, will generally remain within Kanata through the peak period, and the pool of buses which provide supplementary trips on the Transitway routes will be the only ones that cross through downtown and are available to be linked to other trips starting nearby. This effect is an inevitable result of this type of network design, and inevitably results in higher costs. (There are also some benefits which can accrue from these higher costs, such as the ability to add service in the less-busy direction on a route at a lower marginal cost than with the current network design; this can be used to encourage non-downtown-oriented transit travel. This possibility has not been explored in the current study, because it would further increase costs.)

Conclusions

The evaluation of the hub-and-spoke network gives several key conclusions:

• A hub-and-spoke bus route network is operationally feasible and would have benefits for many customers
• A hub-and-spoke network would also require many customers to have an additional transfer, and the ridership loss resulting from this inconvenience would be greater than the ridership increase resulting from the benefits
• A hub-and spoke network would have substantially-higher operating costs than an expanded “business as usual” network
• A hub-and-spoke network would require a number of new or expanded transit facilities and would require significant increases to the bus fleet size

Because of the high impact on customers and ridership levels and the high capital and operating costs, staff continued the study to develop a hybrid solution, aimed at retaining the best characteristics of the hub-and-spoke concept and the best characteristics of the expanded “business as usual” concept.

DEVELOPMENT OF THE RECOMMENDED ROUTE NETWORK CONCEPT

Networks 1 and 2 illustrate the two extremes of service design: a business as usual approach and a complete abandonment of the express network in favour of feeder-line haul services. In light of the evaluation of these two options, it was possible to develop a third, hybrid network combining the best aspects of both.

This hybrid network is designated in this report as Network 3, and is shown in Exhibit 3.

Network 3 Characteristics

The recommended route network concept would have these characteristics.

• New light rail line in place
• Bus route changes for light rail implementation in place
• Service expanded into new residential areas in Orléans, Leitrim, Riverside South, South Nepean, and Kanata West
• Increased frequencies of service on rapid transit bus routes 95, 96, and 97
• New downtown-oriented rapid transit bus routes from south Orléans to Tunney’s Pasture and from north Orléans to Gatineau
• New crosstown rapid transit bus routes from Kanata to Orléans via Baseline and Heron Roads, from Kanata to Orléans via Highway 417 and Carling Avenue, and from Orléans to Tunney’s Pasture via Carling and Holland Avenues
• Frequent local bus services connecting with the new light rail line and with rapid transit bus routes at “hub” stations
• Frequent direct-to-downtown express routes: five from Orléans, four from Kanata, and two from South Nepean
• Two routes operating through downtown on Queen and Wellington Streets rather than on Albert and Slater Streets

Express Routes (Exhibits 11, 12 and 13)

The only significant difference between Network 2 and this hybrid route network is the addition of a limited number of frequent express routes direct from suburban residential areas to downtown. These express routes would be centrally located in the suburban communities, generally on arterial roads and major collector roads.

· Orléans – There would be five express routes from Orléans: one from Chapel Hill, one along Jeanne d’Arc Boulevard south of Road 174, one along Jeanne d’Arc north of the highway, one along Prestwick, and one from south of Innes and along Esprit, Orchardview, and Charlemagne. Each of these routes would operate every six to seven minutes in the morning peak period and every 10 to 12 minutes in the afternoon peak period. These routes would use Road 174 and the East Transitway to reach downtown, and would drop customers off on Albert Street in the morning and pick customers up on Slater Street in the afternoon (see Exhibit 11).

· Kanata – There would be four express routes from Kanata: one from Morgan’s Grant and Beaverbrook, one from Kanata Lakes, one from Glen Cairn, and one from Bridlewood. Each of these routes would operate every five to ten minutes in the morning peak period and every eight to 15 minutes in the afternoon peak period. These routes would use Highway 417 and the West Transitway to reach downtown, and would drop customers off on Slater Street in the morning peak period and pick customers up on Albert Street in the afternoon (see Exhibit 12).

· South Nepean – There would be two express routes from the section of Barrhaven north of the CN/VIA railway line, an area not convenient to the light rail station at Woodroffe and Strandherd. One of the routes would operate from Cedarview and along Larkin and the other would operate from Tartan, along Jockvale, Sherway, and Foxfield. Each of these routes would operate every six to seven minutes in the morning peak period and about every 12 minutes in the afternoon peak period. These routes would use the Southwest Transitway and the West Transitway to reach downtown, and would drop customers off on Slater Street in the morning peak period and pick customers up on Albert Street in the afternoon (see Exhibit 13).

Effects on Customers

The recommended route network concept would have many benefits for transit customers:

• Direct service to downtown and to other major destinations on the new light rail line
• More direct crosstown service for customers not travelling to or from downtown
• More frequent service on rapid transit bus routes
• More frequent service on most local bus routes
• More frequent service on direct-to-downtown express routes
• Less crowding and faster boarding times at downtown bus stops

The improvements in service are projected to lead to an increase in ridership of approximately 105,000 customers per year. The inconveniences are projected to lead to a loss of approximately 625,000 customers per year. The net change in annual ridership is thus projected to be a loss of 520,000 customers per year. As annual ridership is projected in the Transportation Master Plan to be 116 million by 2009, this represents a projected loss of under one-half of one percent, a very small number, and approximately 40 percent of the projected loss under Network 2.

These projections of ridership change, both positive and negative, are based on experience and observations from Ottawa and from other cities. More information on the methods of projecting ridership change and on the details of these projections is contained in the report from ENTRA Consultants in Appendix A.

Operational Feasibility

With the recommended network, operations and ridership on Albert and Slater Streets would be:

Network 3	Morning Peak Hour			Afternoon Peak Hour
	Passenger Volumes	Total Buses	Standard Equivalent Buses	Passenger Volumes	Total Buses	Standard Equivalent Buses
Eastbound Slater	7,400	157 (-2%)	213 (+13%)	6,900	121 (-29%)	166 (-17%)
Westbound Albert	9,200	158 (-29%)	213 (-18%)	5,600	123 (-12%)	170 (+3%)

Note: Standard equivalent buses are used to take account of the proportion of articulated buses operating. One articulated bus is 1.5 standard equivalent buses.

The number of separate bus routes operating on Albert and Slater would be reduced significantly, from 27 to 16 (eastbound on Slater, afternoon peak period). Each of the routes that would remain would operate much more frequently than the routes do now or than they would under the expanded “business as usual” concept. The reduced number of routes would reduce the time that customers need to wait for buses downtown, as customers would travel out of downtown to “hub” transit stations before making their selection of a local route to their local destination. The waiting times would be further reduced by the increased frequency of the bus routes. The reduced waiting times for all customers would allow the increased ridership by 2009 to be accommodated with a reduced level of crowding at the bus stops on Albert and Slater Streets. This is particularly important because the approved plan for the addition of the light rail line to these streets reduces the amount of standing area available for customers waiting for buses.

When compared to the full hub-and-spoke network that was evaluated, the average waiting time and the level of crowding at the downtown bus stops would be marginally higher under this hybrid concept but still very much better than for the business as usual concept.

Staff in the City’s Traffic and Parking Operations Branch have concluded that there is road and intersection capacity available for the operation of the two bus routes on Queen Street as proposed in this concept. As part of the work toward implementing these routes, staff will examine possibilities for local transit priority solutions and any changes to bus stop locations that would be necessary to allow the buses to operate along Queen Street with as few delays as possible resulting from other traffic on the road.

Operating and Capital Costs

Estimates have been developed for Network 3 to determine the approximate bus fleet size required and to estimate the total operating cost of the transit system. Network 3 requires a fleet of 1152 buses (730 standard and small buses and 422 articulated buses, for a fleet equivalent to 1363 standard buses). The number of hours of service per year would be approximately 2.98 million.

Thus, Network 3 requires 80 more standard-equivalent buses in the fleet and has an annual operating cost approximately four percent higher than Network 1.

These numbers are both lower than the requirements for Network 2. The operation of a limited number of direct-to-downtown express routes allows the schedule to be more fully optimised than in a full hub-and-spoke network.

Compatibility with Future Rapid Transit Plans

The recommended route network concept is compatible with the City’s long-term plans as an interim step toward the completion of the rapid transit plan approved as part of the Transportation Master Plan.

The new rapid transit bus routes between Orléans and Kanata and on Innes Road would be precursors of the future east-west light rail line and the future bus rapid transit facility on Baseline and Heron Roads. The bus routes would allow transit customers to become accustomed to the travel patterns that the rapid transit network will provide and would build ridership in these corridors in advance of the completion of the future rapid transit facilities. The future facilities would be a further improvement for customers beyond the quality of service that can be provided by the interim services operating in mixed traffic.

Compatibility with Other Major Transit Investments

In addition to the reductions in waiting time resulting from the new route network configuration, there are three other ways that bus operation will be made faster and more fluid through downtown:

· The development of the smartcard fare collection system, required for the operation of the light rail line and planned to be implemented across the entire transit network, will reduce travel time for all customers by reducing the time for customers to pay their fares.

· The roll-out of the SmartBus GPS tracking system, already under way, will allow for the installation of electronic information screens at downtown bus stops, to advise customers in real-time of the next arrival times for all routes, and also to advise customers of the order in which the buses will be stopping at the platform, so that they can begin to move toward the spot where their bus will be boarding even before it arrives.

· The use of more high-capacity articulated buses on the frequent routes that will operate through downtown will allow for customers to board through all three doors, again for reduced boarding times.

Operation in the Years Beyond 2009

The recommended route network concept, Network 3, is based on the ridership level projected for the Transportation Master Plan, 116 million customer-trips per year. At this level of ridership, Network 3 accommodates all of the transit customers to and from downtown and also meets the Council direction to reduce the number of buses per hour on Albert and Slater Streets by 30 percent from the 2005 levels.

Ridership growth will continue beyond 2009 and as more of the City’s approved rapid transit network is built. Continuing ridership growth will require continuing increases in service levels.

It is recommended that a process be introduced to monitor and report to Council on the traffic conditions on Albert and Slater Streets, initially in 2010 after the new light rail line opens, and thereafter at three-year intervals. This review would examine the transit ridership levels, transit service levels, automobile traffic levels, quality of service provided to transit customers, and the number of buses operating on Albert and Slater Streets, and would make projections of those characteristics for the next three year period, and any recommendations for route changes or infrastructure improvements to manage the increasing service levels.

There remains the possibility that additional bus service beyond the two routes in Network 3 could be changed to operate on Queen Street through downtown. The feasibility of such a change, and the effects that it would have on the reliability of transit service, the convenience of bus stop locations for transit customers, and the ability of the road network to accommodate automobile traffic, would be examined in each of the three-year reviews.

Conclusions

The evaluation of this hybrid network design, made up mostly of a hub-and-spoke network overlaid with a limited number of frequent direct-to-downtown express routes gives these conclusions:

• The addition of a limited number of direct-to-downtown express routes to a hub-and-spoke bus route network allows for customers from the suburban areas with the highest transit ridership to retain their single-seat ride to downtown
• A hub-and-spoke design remains the most appropriate network for the system overall
• The hybrid network would have higher operating costs than an expanded “business as usual” network
• The hybrid network would require a number of new or expanded transit facilities and would require changes to the mixture of bus types in the fleet

Because Network 3 as described and evaluated in this section has the advantage over Networks 1 of being operationally feasible in 2009 and over the longer term and because it has the advantages over Network 2 of having less of a negative effect on transit customers, having higher system-wide ridership, requiring a smaller bus fleet, and having a lower operating cost, it is the recommended network design for the future.

OUT-OF-SERVICE BUSES

Currently, approximately 290 buses each day move through downtown on Albert and Slater Streets without carrying customers. These buses are either en route between the bus garages and the starting or finishing point of their trips or en route between the finishing point of one trip and the start of the next. These out-of-service buses are currently routed via Albert and Slater Streets because every alternative route would be slower and thus more expensive. Albert and Slater Streets are connected directly to the Transitway east and west of downtown, and most of the downtown-oriented bus service begins, ends, or passes through the stations on the Transitway and the bus stops on Albert and Slater Streets.

This table shows the current number of out-of-service buses by time of day:

Time Period	Albert	Slater
Morning (Start-9:00)	14	148
Midday (9:00-15:00)	4	0
Afternoon (15:00-19:00)	111	6
Evening (19:00-End)	1	6
Total, all day	130	160

Notes: These numbers show the total number of buses in each period of the day, not the number per hour that are shown in other tables in this report. Most of the out-of-service buses operate in the less-busy direction, east through downtown in the morning and west in the afternoon. During the peak periods, most of the out-of-service buses operate outside of the busiest hour for in-service buses.

With any of the three networks evaluated in this report, the number of out-of service buses which will need to pass through downtown is reduced. In all of Networks 1, 2, and 3, there would be a closer balance between the level of service east of and west of downtown because of the number of customers who would choose to use the new light rail line rather than bus routes which enter downtown from the east. This closer match will result in the need for fewer buses to cross from one side of downtown to the other to move to or from the garage or to start their next trip. In Networks 2 and 3, the reduced number of express routes and the increased use of higher-capacity articulated buses would reduce the total number of buses operating in downtown, which would result in further reductions in the number of out-of-service buses.

This table shows the estimated number of out-of-service buses for Network 3:

Time Period	Albert	Slater
Morning (Start-9:00)	2	12
Midday (9:00-15:00)	0	0
Afternoon (15:00-19:00)	20	2
Evening (19:00-End)	2	10
Total, all day	24	24

Notes: These numbers show the total number of buses in each period of the day, not the number per hour that are shown in other tables in this report. During the peak periods, most of the out-of-service buses operate outside of the busiest hour for in-service buses.

There are few alternative routes that exist to move buses between the garages and their starting and finishing points. Those that do exist would be slower than operating via Albert and Slater and would thus increase operating costs. In addition, some of the alternative routes would be via other busy streets or through residential areas, where the out-of-service buses could be considered intrusive.

Some examples of alternative routes for out-of service buses would be:

· From the garage to Gatineau via King Edward

· From the garage to the bus staging area near Bayview Station via Bronson

· From the garage to Tunney’s Pasture Station via Parkdale

Because the recommended route network concept would result in a great reduction in the number of out-of-service buses which pass through downtown and because the alternatives are generally slower and intrusive, none of the alternative routings is recommended.

IMPLEMENTING THE RECOMMENDED SERVICE NETWORK

Infrastructure Requirements

The success of the recommended service structure will depend on ensuring that the new services are fast and reliable and that transfers can be made in comfortable environments. To this end, the following infrastructure requirements have been identified:

Transit priority measures

· Heron/Baseline – Transit priority measures are required to reduce travel times and to improve the reliability of service between Heron Station, Baseline Station, and Queensway-Carleton Hospital. These improvements will increase the attractiveness of the new crosstown east-west rapid transit 90-series bus routes that will bypass downtown. A transit priority study is underway by consultants to the Traffic and Parking Operations Branch; this study will define the feasible options (in two phases – short-term and longer-term) and make estimates of costs for each element. The first, short-term, phase of these measures will be required by early 2007, so that the crosstown rapid transit bus routes can be in place to encourage customers to bypass the heavy construction in downtown for the light rail line. Possible transit priority measures include:

- Signal priority;

- Signal pre-emption;

- Bus lanes;

- Removal of bus bays and installing bus bulbs;

- Traffic management measures such as queue relocation and traffic metering;

- Turn and operation restrictions to non-transit vehicles;

- Corridor-wide traffic management and public information systems favourable to transit users.

New Transitway station

· Jeanne d’Arc – A new Transitway type of station is required at the intersection of Jeanne d’Arc Boulevard and Road 174. This station would allow customers to transfer comfortably and easily between local feeder bus routes on Jeanne d’Arc Boulevard and rapid transit bus routes, both those passing through and bypassing downtown, on Road 174.

Improvements to Transitway stations

· Eagleson – Improvements are required to the passenger facilities and to the bus operating facilities at the Eagleson park and ride lot. Currently, the station is configured only for customers waiting for buses toward downtown and for buses operating through the lot from Kanata and toward downtown. To this will be added the operating requirements for buses to stop, discharge passengers, turn around and wait for their scheduled departure time, and pick up passengers. More platform space and more waiting area for customers will be needed, as will a small washroom for bus operators.

· Heron – A new pedestrian connection will be needed from the southbound platform on the Southeast Transitway to the south side of Heron Road. With the change to Route 111 to make its main connection with the Transitway at Heron Station rather than at Billings Bridge Station, new bus stops will be added on Heron Road at Heron Station. There is now a pedestrian walkway to the station suitable for a westbound bus stop on the north side of Heron Road. A new pedestrian connection is required to establish an eastbound bus stop for Route 111 on the south side of Heron Road, to accommodate customers travelling towards the east. This connection could be a walkway over Heron Road constructed as a modification of the Transitway overpass or could be a new pedestrian traffic signal across Heron Road at the walkway from the station.

New bus loops

· Hunt Club/Hawthorne – A new off-street bus loop is required at or near the intersection of Hunt Club and Hawthorne, to serve as the terminal for the new rapid transit bus route from the Greenboro area to downtown and the extended Route 86. The loop will need to have room for buses to turn around and to wait for their scheduled departure time, and will also need a small washroom for bus operators. Land is available at this intersection for the future extension of Hunt Club Road east to Highway 417, and it may be possible to build the loop on this land and integrate it with the future road extension.

· Millennium Park – A new off-street bus loop is required in southeastern Orléans, to serve as the terminal for the new rapid transit bus route on Innes Road and for local bus routes in the area. The loop will need to have room for buses to turn around and to wait for their scheduled departure time, and will also need a small washroom for bus operators. Millennium Park is designed to be compatible with the future construction of the east-west light rail line or the Cumberland Transitway, and land may be available for the construction of a bus loop that is either temporary or a pre-build of one of these future rapid transit facilities. It may also be possible to share the use of some of the park roadways as an interim step.

Improved passenger facilities at major transfer points

· Bells Corners – Bells Corners will become a major transfer point between local bus routes and rapid transit bus routes. The local feeder bus routes from Bells Corners would connect to the surrounding residential and employment areas and also with southern Kanata, Nortel, and the Natural Resources facility in the greenbelt. Rapid transit bus routes will connect Bells Corners to the west with Kanata, to the northeast with downtown (via Bayshore), and to the east with Baseline Station, Algonquin College, Confederation Heights, Billings Bridge, Hurdman Station, and Orléans. The passenger facilities at Bells Corners could be an improved on-street waiting area with shelters or could be a small off-street bus terminal such as the one at Kanata Town Centre.

· Rideau Centre/Mackenzie King – With the construction of the station for the light rail line on the Mackenzie King Bridge and the possible extension of the line east to the University of Ottawa, there is an opportunity to integrate into this work improved passenger and operating facilities for the bus routes that will connect with the light rail line and that will end at the Rideau Centre. Currently, buses which finish their trips at the Rideau Centre wait for their next scheduled departure time on the south side of Daly Street. This lay-up location is planned to be moved to Nicholas Street as part of the implementation of the recommendations of the Rideau Street taxi study. A permanent terminal facility, integrated with a light rail station, could offer improved connections for customers and also a bus staging area that is less intrusive and that interferes less with other downtown activities.

Road modifications

· Elgin at Mackenzie King Bridge – One of the ways that the number of buses per hour operating on Slater Street would be reduced is for two bus routes to pick up customers downtown on Wellington Street, and then use Elgin Street to reach the Mackenzie King Bridge, from where they would continue on the East Transitway. The current left-turn lane from Elgin to the Mackenzie King Bridge is not long enough for a bus, and so any buses which use the lane block auto traffic in the adjacent lane until the way is clear to make the left turn. A reconfiguration of this intersection would be required in order for this operation to be feasible.

Bus Fleet Requirements

The fleet requirements for each of the three network concepts were estimated for comparison purposes. These were based on preliminary schedules and assumptions that the TMP transit ridership growth projections will be met.

Further detailed study will be required to define the fleet requirements that should be included in the Long Range Financial Plan (LRFP), but based on this work it is possible to conclude that:

· A higher proportion of articulated buses will be required in the fleet by 2009 to implement Network 3;

· The size of the overall fleet will depend on actual transit ridership growth. However, based on this preliminary work and recent experience of transit ridership growth, the numbers of buses required are likely to be similar to those in the LRFP but there will be a need to purchase 140 60-foot buses instead of 140 40-foot buses in 2008 and 2009.

Technology Improvements

Two important technology investments will help to ensure smooth transit operations through the central area. The investments already included in the LRFP of $12 million for a Smartcard Fare system and $5.5 million for the GPS vehicle tracking system will help to reduce boarding times at stops on Albert and Slater.

Contactless smartcards with off-bus purchase will allow passengers to pay their fares rapidly on boarding. The GPS system will enable customers to be given information on the order of approaching buses, which will make boarding at downtown stops more orderly and faster.

Four-Year Phase-in Plan for Route Changes

The recommended new route network should be phased-in over the four years from 2006 to 2009. Some of the route changes need to be in place by 2007, to allow for customers to bypass the major construction for the light rail line downtown. Other changes should not be made until the light rail line opens in 2009, so that customers are not inconvenienced unnecessarily by two major route changes in just a few years.

Also, it is unwise to make too many transit route changes all at one time. The ability of City staff to sufficiently communicate and administer a change is reduced if the changes are too many and too wide-spread. Information for customers becomes difficult to disseminate and the system becomes too confusing.

A staged introduction also allows the required infrastructure work and bus fleet acquisition to be spread out over several years.

Some of the recommended route changes can be carried out independently from the opening of the light rail line, and so should be made before 2009, so that the number of route changes in 2009 is not impractically high.

A preliminary timetable to implement the changes that is consistent with the above noted constraints is outlined below:

February 2006

· Transplan 2006 consultation on service changes for September 2006 and Spring of 2007

May 2006

· Approval of final service changes resulting from public consultation

September 2006

· New rapid transit bus route between Orléans and Tunney’s Pasture via Innes Road and Blair Station

· New rapid transit bus route between Hawthorne/Hunt Club and Tunney’s Pasture

· New main line route between Hurdman Station and Greenboro Station via St. Laurent and Lorry Greenberg

· Extension of Route 86 to Hawthorne/Hunt Club

· Extension of Route 143 to Blohm

· Reduction of Route 85 to end at Elmvale

· Extension of Route 95 to Chapman Mills Marketplace

February 2007

· Transplan 2007 consultation on service changes for September 2007 and Spring of 2008

· Financial performance review of express routes with mid-level ridership

April 2007

· Year 1 of major downtown construction begins

· Services on Albert and Slater modified to follow final construction management plan

· New east-west crosstown rapid transit bus route between Kanata and Orléans via Heron/Baseline, replacing the current Route 118

· Improved east-west crosstown rapid transit bus route between Kanata and Orléans via Carling and Highway 417, improving on the current Route 99

· New east-west crosstown rapid transit bus route between Orléans and Tunney’s Pasture via Carling

· Change of Route 86 to operate via Wellington through LeBreton Flats and via Queen westbound and Wellington eastbound through downtown

February 2008

· Transplan 2008 consultation on service changes for September 2008

April 2008

· Year 2 of major downtown construction begins

· Services on Albert and Slater modified to follow final construction management plan

September 2008

· Extension of rapid transit bus Route 97 to Bells Corners

· New express routes in Kanata and Orléans in place

February 2009

· Transplan 2009 consultation on service changes for September 2009

September 2009

· Light rail line opens

· Connecting bus routes in South Nepean, Riverside South, Leitrim

· New airport connector shuttle, replacing Route 97 service to the airport

· Connecting bus routes in central Nepean and Alta Vista-Walkley area

· Connecting bus routes downtown

· Direct-to-downtown routes from Riverside South, Greenboro, and part of South Nepean removed

It should be noted that this plan will be developed to incorporate information on the financial performance of services, consistent with the approved Transit System Demand Policies.

S:\PDAdmin\Corporate\Committees\Transportation Cttee\Transit Cttee 2005\2009 Transit Network Planning Project.doc

EXHIBIT 1 - 2009 NETWORK CONCEPT 1

EXHIBIT 2 - 2009 NETWORK CONCEPT 2

EXHIBIT 3 - 2009 NETWORK CONCEPT 3

EXHIBIT 4 – SOUTH NEPEAN

RECOMMENDED ROUTE NETWORK CONCEPT

EXHIBIT 5 - RIVERSIDE SOUTH, LEITRIM AND AIRPORT

RECOMMENDED ROUTE NETWORK CONCEPT

EXHIBIT 6 - GREENBORO

RECOMMENDED ROUTE NETWORK CONCEPT

EXHIBIT 7 - ALTA VISTA-WALKLEY AREA

RECOMMENDED ROUTE NETWORK CONCEPT

EXHIBIT 8 - CENTRAL NEPEAN

RECOMMENDED ROUTE NETWORK CONCEPT

EXHIBIT 9 - DOWNTOWN

RECOMMENDED ROUTE NETWORK CONCEPT

EXHIBIT 10 - INNES ROAD

RECOMMENDED NEW RAPID TRANSIT BUS ROUTE

EXHIBIT 11 - ORLÉANS

RECOMMENDED ROUTE NETWORK CONCEPT

EXHIBIT 12 - KANATA

RECOMMENDED ROUTE NETWORK CONCEPT

EXHIBIT 13 - SOUTH NEPEAN

RECOMMENDED EXPRESS ROUTES