|OT|TAWA's Not Boring - You're Just Lazy

Cake Boss · Sep 17, 2019

Finally took the LRT this morning. Is it just me or do the trains smells like farm animals?

My commute is going to be figuring out which station to get off at. I tried Lyon but its a longer walk to the Gatineau side for the buses. I'll try Rideau or Parliament next time.

Should be interesting for the evening. I wish there was a park n ride at the hurdman station. Half of my commute is actually taking the bus to get to Hurdman as it goes through every neighborhood imaginable, on what would be a 10 min car ride is a 35 min bus ride.

signal · Sep 17, 2019

Silex said:
So the ride on the LRT went really smooth today for me. I can actually get home 20 mins faster in the evening.

Only downside is that the tunnel from Lyon to Rideau smell like sewage and it seeps in the train itself.

Cake Boss said:
Finally took the LRT this morning. Is it just me or do the trains smells like farm animals?

smh ottawa

Kongroo · Sep 17, 2019

So the new O-Train line 1 is awesome so far. I'm absolutely loving it. It's fast, reliable and efficient. It feels like Ottawa is finally getting a an easy an convenient way to travel to downtown.

I live in Orleans and work on Carling so My new commute is to basically take a bus to Blair then take the O-Train line 1 to Bayview and then at Bayview to take the O-Train line 2 to Carling.

Everything about my route is great except for the Line 2. The old train is slow, small and incredibly cramped. I could barely even move due to the amount of people in it. I wonder if there is a spike of people now using the Line 2 because this is definitely not sustainable.

Deleted member 5582 · Sep 17, 2019

Kongroo said:
So the new O-Train line 1 is awesome so far. I'm absolutely loving it. It's fast, reliable and efficient. It feels like Ottawa is finally getting a an easy an convenient way to travel to downtown.

I live in Orleans and work on Carling so My new commute is to basically take a bus to Blair then take the O-Train line 1 to Bayview and then at Bayview to take the O-Train line 2 to Carling.

Everything about my route is great except for the Line 2. The old train is slow, small and incredibly cramped. I could barely even move due to the amount of people in it. I wonder if there is a spike of people now using the Line 2 because this is definitely not sustainable.

Can recommend just walking from Bayview depending on where you work. It would take about as long but you'd get some fresh air and exercise. The Trillium O'Train's delays between trains, the fact that it often sits there at Bayview for a stupidly long time and goes extremely slow from there to Carling, and it's insanely crowded with Carleton students means I really only resort to it when the weather is absolutely awful.

Alternatively, it's pretty OK bringing a longboard or inline skates for the summer along the same route for a much faster result.

And in a few weeks transferring to the 85 at Pimisi should be a lot easier.

Kongroo · Sep 17, 2019

CrystalXBOX said:
Can recommend just walking from Bayview depending on where you work. It would take about as long but you'd get some fresh air and exercise.

Alternatively, it's pretty OK bringing a longboard or inline skates for the summer along the same route for a much faster result.

Yeah that's what one of my co-workers said as well. It's still a 27 minute walk as I work 2-3 minutes from the Carling station. Might do it when it's nice out like today :)

Silex · Sep 17, 2019

Cake Boss said:
Finally took the LRT this morning. Is it just me or do the trains smells like farm animals?

My commute is going to be figuring out which station to get off at. I tried Lyon but its a longer walk to the Gatineau side for the buses. I'll try Rideau or Parliament next time.

Should be interesting for the evening. I wish there was a park n ride at the hurdman station. Half of my commute is actually taking the bus to get to Hurdman as it goes through every neighborhood imaginable, on what would be a 10 min car ride is a 35 min bus ride.

I also got off at Lyon to get to Gatineau and immediately got lost lol

Looks like I'll have to stick with Pimisi even though it is slow as hell to get across that bridge.

Cake Boss · Sep 17, 2019

Silex said:
I also got off at Lyon to get to Gatineau and immediately got lost lol

Looks like I'll have to stick with Pimisi even though it is slow as hell to get across that bridge.

Ewww Pimisi, yeah if you want to get on a bus with 600 other public servants with all their smells and odors.

I'll try the Parliament one then Rideau and see what's best and quickest to get to the Gatineau bus.

#notreadyforrail

killerrin · Sep 17, 2019

killerrin said:
They're doing some twinning of the line in Phase-2, but not the whole line. I don't recall off the top of my head completely, but basically once Phase 2 opens:

- Bayview to Dows Lake will be twinned
- Walkey to Greenboro? (I think, not 100%. Don't trust me on this one)
- South Keys will have another passing loop
- Leitrum to Riverside South will be twinned
- Airport spur line will be single-track, but the plan is to only have a single train moving between the 3 stations from Airport-Uplands-South Keys

So basically, the only portion's not twinned will be Dows Lake to Walkey and South Keys to Leitrum. I personally think they should just rip off the bandaid and just twin the whole line (minus the tunnel-Carleton-tunnel portion) while they have the line shut down, just because it would immediately pump up ridership and bring travel times down massively, but I guess the reason they don't is they don't see the ridership increasing much for the next couple decades. And it'll cost them a shit-ton to expand the existing tunnels under Dows Lake/Rideau RIver to fit another line.

But like, it would have been a a good way for them to salvage the Trillium LIne extension to Riverside by giving Barrhaven a second connection for cheap. Because as it sits right now, everything South Keys to Riverside South is going to be a money loser because it stops in the middle of a farmers field, with its only claim to fame being a developer who says they are going to build Condos/Apartments there.

Alright, so I found the interactive system map I got my information from. If you zoom in on the Trillium Line and follow along, you can see where all the track switches, passing loops, and double track areas are, and its updated with the current plans for Phase 2.

https://www.otrainfans.ca/system-map

Basically, the bullet points I mentioned are mostly correct, with the exception of a passing loop between Uplands & South Keys on the airport spur, as well as a couple other passing loops on the primary line (though I'm not sure what's existing or not)

killerrin · Sep 17, 2019

Cake Boss said:
Ewww Pimisi, yeah if you want to get on a bus with 600 other public servants with all their smells and odors.

I'll try the Parliament one then Rideau and see what's best and quickest to get to the Gatineau bus.

#notreadyforrail

Pimisi isn't that bad, as long as you are during rush hour when the busses come every 10m. And now with the train there is less chances to miss a bus waiting to cross Albert St while trying to break the record for the 150m sprint.

Though in general everything gets better once the bus routes change over in October 6thm Right now it's just awkward because the OC Busses and the STO still have their regular routes going on

GSG · Sep 17, 2019

I really wish they had a stop at Lansdowne, it would've made so many more things accessible from downtown.

Cake Boss said:
Finally took the LRT this morning. Is it just me or do the trains smells like farm animals?

The train I was riding on Saturday smelled like pee. Someone was telling me that it's the solution they use to treat the interior of the trains before opening. I'd like to believe that's true because otherwise... 🤢

SuperBoss · Sep 17, 2019

I have visitors coming from toronto this weekend, and i have no idea where to take them. I would like to do something unique and fun. They've already seen parliament and done the rideau river boat cruise.

Any suggestions guys? Theres a baby to account for as well so cant do anything too crazy. Please halp

signal · Sep 17, 2019

There's no current stop that close to Billings Bridge is there? Visting home soon and kind of want to try it 🤔

Nexus2049 · Sep 17, 2019

signal said:
There's no current stop that close to Billings Bridge is there? Visting home soon and kind of want to try it 🤔

Closest for LRT is Hurdman. I think if you take the O-Train it stops at Mooney's though, which is closer than Hurdman.

signal · Sep 17, 2019

Elitist1945 said:
Closest for LRT is Hurdman. I think if you take the O-Train it stops at Mooney's though, which is closer than Hurdman.

Poo, but thanks.

djkimothy · Sep 17, 2019

Cake Boss said:
Ewww Pimisi, yeah if you want to get on a bus with 600 other public servants with all their smells and odors.

I'll try the Parliament one then Rideau and see what's best and quickest to get to the Gatineau bus.

#notreadyforrail

We've had months to prepare for this! :p

djkimothy · Sep 17, 2019

A profile feature of Lyon Station.

Awaiting the Parliament fishy station shout out.

Major issues apparently today.

Cake Boss · Sep 17, 2019

Anyone know any life hacks on where I could park my car at either Blair, StLaurent or Hurdman stations or nearby neighborhoods?

djkimothy · Sep 17, 2019

There are no park and rides at St Laurent?

Silex · Sep 17, 2019

djkimothy said:
There are no park and rides at St Laurent?

Nope

djkimothy · Sep 17, 2019

Silex said:
Nope

West side still the best side.

Local buses/biking is the only suggestion i have to get to line 1 then. Depending on where you're coming from.

killerrin · Sep 17, 2019

You know, what I don't get about Tunney's Pasture station is why did they put the Kanata and Barrhaven busses in completely opposite sides. They are both going West From Tunney's, and they share the same route to Lincoln Fields (3 stops) which is another major terminus destination and covers a considerable distance out of the downtown area.

In most other cities, they'd move these stops closer together so that way people that can take both busses will, which will serve to clear up the station of foot traffic faster. They would then be able to dedicate that short sidewalk to passenger offloading, with the much longer runway dedicated to onboarding.

It just seems like a no brainer so it's confusing why they did it like that

djkimothy · Sep 17, 2019

killerrin said:
You know, what I don't get about Tunney's Pasture station is why did they put the Kanata and Barrhaven busses in completely opposite sides. They are both going East From Tunney's, and they share the same route to Lincoln Fields (3 stops) coverin, which is another major terminus destination.

In most other cities, they'd move these stops closer together

I could only think over crowding i guess? Or to avoid confusion cause we as a city get confused over the smallest things. Like bus signs.

i think the 3 week roll over may have been a bad decision. They were interviewing a commuter yesterday and they mentioned that people who still take the express buses still take them at the old station on slater/albert. So when the buses arrive at Tunney's they're full and have to bypass the Tunney's station leaving behind the current train dump. Mean while like clockwork another train of 600 commuters gets dumped (every 5 minutes or less) adding to the back log. It apparently causes a buildup on Tunney's.

The city should have just ripped the bandaid off and said, routes cancelled. Get with the 21st century. This just pushes people back to taking the bus for the next 3 weeks.

killerrin · Sep 17, 2019

djkimothy said:
I could only think over crowding i guess? Or to avoid confusion cause we as a city get confused over the smallest things. Like bus signs.

i think the 3 week roll over may have been a bad decision. They were interviewing a commuter yesterday and they mentioned that people who still take the express buses still take them at the old station on slater/albert. So when the buses arrive at Tunney's they're full and have to bypass the Tunney's station leaving behind the current train dump. Mean while like clockwork another train of 600 commuters gets dumped (every 5 minutes or less) adding to the back log. It apparently causes a buildup on Tunney's.

The city should have just ripped the bandaid off and said, routes cancelled. Get with the 21st century. This just pushes people back to taking the bus for the next 3 weeks.

I agree. I understand that they want to make it real easy for people. But at the same time, 3 weeks is too many. It should be 1 week max. And lets be honest here, the city has had all the updated bus stop signs and maps up for months. If people didn't take the time to look at them in the past 12 months since they've been up, why will people suddenly care to do that now?

Anyways, I just hope that when the routes eventually update, they'll move the stops to be closer together. As it stands right now I basically only have to get to Lincoln Fields and I can catch my transfer home or walk, that doesn't change even after the route switch. Which basically means that I can take any of the Kanata or Barrhaven busses to get to Lincoln Fields since they all stop there. So its annoying that they split them up by putting them on completely different sides of the station since I have to make a judgement call on which bus will come first. Which shouldn't be too much time individually, but over time it serves to eat up capacity on busses that could have otherwise been given to someone who was going further as my decision may lead me to a more fuller bus compared to a less full bus, with the more full bus having less capacity to squeeze people on.

djkimothy · Sep 17, 2019

killerrin said:
I agree. I understand that they want to make it real easy for people. But at the same time, 3 weeks is too many. It should be 1 week max. And lets be honest here, the city has had all the updated bus stop signs and maps up for months. If people didn't take the time to look at them in the past 12 months since they've been up, why will people suddenly care to do that now?

Anyways, I just hope that when the routes eventually update, they'll move the stops to be closer together. As it stands right now I basically only have to get to Lincoln Fields and I can catch my transfer home or walk, that doesn't change even after the route switch. Which basically means that I can take any of the Kanata or Barrhaven busses to get to Lincoln Fields since they all stop there. So its annoying that they split them up by putting them on completely different sides of the station since I have to make a judgement call on which bus will come first. Which shouldn't be too much time individually, but over time it serves to eat up capacity on busses that could have otherwise been given to someone who was going further as my decision may lead me to a more fuller bus compared to a less full bus, with the more full bus having less capacity to squeeze people on.

Oh yes right. And you can't just run through the middle the way it's designed. That is a bit of an oversight.

Deleted member 5582 · Sep 18, 2019

Took the train at rush hour for the first time this morning. Standing only is no joke!

I don't really mind standing in a train the same way as a bus but I wonder how the system is going to work in 10 years. If it's extended all the way out, trains from the west are going to be packed before they hit Lincoln's Field, and population is projected to increase quite a lot -- I can see a lot of trains hitting westboro or hintonburg with no space for anyone to get on. It seems like a missed opportunity to just build them with extra capacity the first time, rather than having to do a painful platform expansion in a few years anyway.

Equippedwithtowel · Sep 18, 2019

CrystalXBOX said:
Took the train at rush hour for the first time this morning. Standing only is no joke!

I don't really mind standing in a train the same way as a bus but I wonder how the system is going to work in 10 years. If it's extended all the way out, trains from the west are going to be packed before they hit Lincoln's Field, and population is projected to increase quite a lot -- I can see a lot of trains hitting westboro or hintonburg with no space for anyone to get on. It seems like a missed opportunity to just build them with extra capacity the fist time, rather than having to do a painful platform expansion in a few years anyway.

Most of the platforms are built for easy expansion from my understanding.

djkimothy · Sep 18, 2019

CrystalXBOX said:
Took the train at rush hour for the first time this morning. Standing only is no joke!

I don't really mind standing in a train the same way as a bus but I wonder how the system is going to work in 10 years. If it's extended all the way out, trains from the west are going to be packed before they hit Lincoln's Field, and population is projected to increase quite a lot -- I can see a lot of trains hitting westboro or hintonburg with no space for anyone to get on. It seems like a missed opportunity to just build them with extra capacity the fist time, rather than having to do a painful platform expansion in a few years anyway.

The trains and platforms are already roughed in to increase the number of cars from 4 to 5. That's an extra 2 card per coupled train. A total of 740 people per coupled train in the future.

In addition the system is controlled by a CBTC system that can reduces headway's to 90 seconds.

So there is capacity to move more people in the future.

Someone at Otrain fans did the math and we could potentially move around 36000 people per hour per direction.

EDIT: Correction. I'm not sure if the 36000 estimate is based on current configurations or future expansions.

Kovaelin · Sep 18, 2019

I can't wait for people to act shocked when Tunney's gets overloaded by people coming from and going west in three weeks.

djkimothy · Sep 18, 2019

The problem with our hybrid system is that there's a segment of he line that can reliably transport 600 per 5 minutes. Then another point of the line that pickes up 100-200 people every 10-15 minutes.

It's easy to see the rate limiting step. OC Transpo are going to need to increase frequency of the express busses and transit buses if the bus system is going to keep up.

The LRT system is a victim of its own success.

killerrin · Sep 18, 2019

djkimothy said:
The LRT system is a victim of its own success.

It's not helped by the fact that the city never even wanted Tunney's to be a terminus station to begin with. They were forced into that situation when the NCC couldn't get its shit together in time for Phase 1 to be at Lincoln Fields.

If they could have done that, then we wouldn't have even needed to talk about a "Phase 3", because Phase 2 would have literally just been Lincoln Fields to Barrhaven and Kanata. Instead, because Lincoln was moved to Phase 2, thats a huge chunk of cost which is offloaded to the future phases because of the need to tunnel or elevate between Dominion and Tunneys. And as a result, it limited how far that it could go in the west.

it also created the whole situation where there is no Park and Ride at any of the stations, because in the west thats only a thing once you pass Lincoln Fields..

Cake Boss · Sep 18, 2019

Ok big fucking problem I witnessed this morning during the rush hour.

The train was packed as fuck, mostly all students. In order for them to get off the train at the OttawaU station, some people had to get out of the way completely and get off the train with them as well, and wait until all the kids exited until boarding back on the train. The issue is that those fucking door close after essentially 5 seconds. So you had people get off the train and not allowed back in because the door closed, and you had students not able to get off the bus because the door closed too soon, and there was no way of stopping it.

WTF give us more time to board or get off the train OC.

djkimothy · Sep 18, 2019

killerrin said:
It's not helped by the fact that the city never even wanted Tunney's to be a terminus station to begin with. They were forced into that situaiton when the NCC couldn't get its shit together in time for Phase 1 to be at Lincoln Fields.

If they could have done that, then we wouldn't have even needed to talk about a "Phase 3", because Phase 2 would have literally just been Lincoln Fields to Barrhaven and Kanata. Instead, because Lincoln was moved to Phase 2, thats a huge chunk of cost which is offloaded to the future phases because of the need to tunnel or elevate between Dominion and Tunneys. And as a result, it limited how far that it could go in the west.

it also created the whole situation where there is no Park and Ride at any of the stations, because in the west thats only a thing once you pass Lincoln Fields..

Yah. The NCC is the cause of so many headaches in his town.

Cake Boss said:
Ok big fucking problem I witnessed this morning during the rush hour.

The train was packed as fuck, mostly all students. In order for them to get off the train at the OttawaU station, some people had to get out of the way completely and get off the train with them as well, and wait until all the kids exited until boarding back on the train. The issue is that those fucking door close after essentially 5 seconds. So you had people get off the train and not allowed back in because the door closed, and you had students not able to get off the bus because the door closed too soon, and there was no way of stopping it.

WTF give us more time to board or get off the train OC.

That sounds typical Ottawa. Happens to me on elevators and no one bothers keeping the door open for you.

djkimothy · Sep 18, 2019

This actually has more local implications even though it's an election announcement but there's a buzz with train enthusiast. So I'll post this here.

https://catherinemckenna.liberal.ca/2019/09/18/media-advisory/

=======
Ottawa, Ontario – September 18, 2019 – Media representatives are advised that Catherine McKenna, Liberal candidate for Ottawa Centre, will be making an announcement concerning the Prince of Wales Bridge.

Event: Announcement and Media Availability
Date: Thursday, September 19, 2019
Time: 10 a.m.

Location: Ottawa River Bike path at western edge of Canadian War Museum grounds. (Closest parking is on the north side of the Sir John A. Macdonald Parkway. A campaign representative will be there to provide directions to the site of the announcement.)
=======

It's implied that the feds would commit money to help gatineau link their LRT with our system as McKenna is going to make the announcement on the Prince of Wales bridge.

Or, it could be a nothing burger.

killerrin · Sep 18, 2019

Damn, could be nothing. But hopefully they're either announcing a fix to the bridge to get rail into Gatineau sooner, or funding for Phase 3

djkimothy · Sep 20, 2019

killerrin said:
Damn, could be nothing. But hopefully they're either announcing a fix to the bridge to get rail into Gatineau sooner, or funding for Phase 3

It's nothing. Just a refurbishment to make it pedestrian and cycle friendly.

In other news.

A week 1 summary of the LRT. No ridership numbers but some stats on distance travelled.

Also, this makes my heart swell.

djkimothy · Sep 20, 2019

Tunney's Pasture station at golden hour.

killerrin · Sep 20, 2019

djkimothy said:
It's nothing. Just a refurbishment to make it pedestrian and cycle friendly.

Booooooring. Though I guess it's good for the city since it's less they have to spend fixing the bridge, which is what the bulk of the cost would be for when they're ready to push the Trillium line north.

djkimothy · Sep 20, 2019

killerrin said:
Booooooring. Though I guess it's good for the city since it's less they have to spend fixing the bridge, which is what the bulk of the cost would be for when they're ready to push the Trillium line north.

Agreed.

I guess the timeline makes it too early to push for refurbishment to a rail system. I'm not sure when gatineau starts their project.

killerrin · Sep 20, 2019

djkimothy said:
Agreed.

I guess the timeline makes it too early to push for refurbishment to a rail system. I'm not sure when gatineau starts their project.

Well, Quebec already pulled a power move and committed 60% funding. They're just waiting on the Feds to agree to fund their portion.

Gatineau is currently doing an Environmental Assessment which isn't set to be complete until next year. I think the Feds are waiting for that, or for an opportunity to announce during this election. Though beyond that, when all is agreed and under construction they are planning to have it operational by 2028, mainly because they are doing theirs all in one shot instead of in phases like we did.

So basically, theirs will be ready by the time Phase 3 is finished. Which is also conveniently when we plan to bring our line over to then

GSG · Sep 26, 2019

Took the train from Carleton to Rideau today, it was super quick and took me around 15 mins. Never had an easier time getting to the Rideau Center than I did today.

While the Trillium line is nice, the Confederation line feels like a next gen upgrade.

killerrin · Sep 26, 2019

https://ottawacitizen.com/news/loca...l-never-be-used-as-a-rail-link-mayors-say/amp

Well, there goes that idea. Kind of annoying considering there is this perfectly good price of infrastructure sitting right there, unused and decaying that they could cheaply repair and bring back into service. But alas. It was never meant to be.

Also funny that it basically means that the city bought an expensive foot bridge

djkimothy · Sep 26, 2019

GSG said:
Took the train from Carleton to Rideau today, it was super quick and took me around 15 mins. Never had an easier time getting to the Rideau Center than I did today.

While the Trillium line is nice, the Confederation line feels like a next gen upgrade.

Yah. Line 1 is a proper metro.

djkimothy · Oct 3, 2019

This has been in the news. Some overpasses around the city are going to be replaced. But some old business need to be cleared in order to make room for the work. Such a shame.

This bike shop and the royal oak will be demolished.

killerrin · Oct 3, 2019

Repaired sump pump should fix 'new train smell' in LRT tunnel

It was fun while it lasted... but I think I'm going to enjoy not having the "New Train Smell"

djkimothy said:
This has been in the news. Some overpasses around the city are going to be replaced. But some old business need to be cleared in order to make room for the work. Such a shame.

This bike shop and the royal oak will be demolished.

Thats a shame :(

djkimothy · Oct 3, 2019

Damn, I missed the smell.

killerrin · Oct 3, 2019

djkimothy said:
Damn, I missed the smell.

Imagine the scent of 5000 brand new luxury all-included cars rolling right off the manufacturing plant, then put it into a purfume which is sprayed right in your face. It was fun for the first week. Though after that something was clearly wrong. Especially after the rain when it smelt like they added an extra thousand new cars to the mix.

djkimothy · Oct 6, 2019

killerrin said:
Imagine the scent of 5000 brand new luxury all-included cars rolling right off the manufacturing plant, then put it into a purfume which is sprayed right in your face. It was fun for the first week. Though after that something was clearly wrong. Especially after the rain when it smelt like they added an extra thousand new cars to the mix.

Apparently they re-jigged the platform groupings. Dunno if it helps you.

killerrin · Oct 6, 2019

djkimothy said:
Apparently they re-jigged the platform groupings. Dunno if it helps you.

Oh, that helps a little. At the very least I wont have to swim through the people at D and E to get to F. I still think that the Kanata and Barrhaven sides should be brought closer together just from a logistics standpoint of grouping the directions of the busses together. Though we'll see how it goes.

Tomorrow is the big test. I'm prepared for the whole thing to be chaos as the people who refused to move over to the LRT are now being forced to learn the system. Fingers crossed they've got most of the kinks worked out.

djkimothy · Oct 6, 2019

killerrin said:
Oh, that helps a little. At the very least I wont have to swim through the people at D and E to get to F. I still think that the Kanata and Barrhaven sides should be brought closer together just from a logistics standpoint of grouping the directions of the busses together. Though we'll see how it goes.

Tomorrow is the big test. I'm prepared for the whole thing to be chaos as the people who refused to move over to the LRT are now being forced to learn the system. Fingers crossed they've got most of the kinks worked out.

LOL. good luck, I regret missing the fun.

killerrin · Oct 6, 2019

djkimothy said:
LOL. good luck, I regret missing the fun.

Oh, the fun has just begun :P

|OT|TAWA's Not Boring - You're Just Lazy

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