Urban experts from Montreal and Toronto are offering insights into Ottawa’s plans for underground development in the downtown core – part of the proposed vision for a transit tunnel in Centretown.
Michel Boisvert and James Parakh discussed the successes and pitfalls of their extensive underground pedestrian networks at city hall on April 8 in a lecture Going Underground.
The presentation was part of Urban Forum, an Ottawa-based lecture series aimed at creating a dialogue on community issues of interest.
Although the idea of an underground network is appealing, it is not a reality for the nation’s capital at this time, says Dennis Gratton, City of Ottawa’s senior project manager for the Downtown Ottawa Transit Tunnel Study.
“Ottawa doesn’t have the population or the base to support that kind of system,” says Gratton. “We haven’t heard from anybody in the downtown core that wants to promote that.”
The transportation master plan predicts that the project would cost about $830 million, with the tunnel portion in the downtown estimating $600 million.
Gratton says the responsibility of the city is to give transit users and residents value for the money that is being put into the project.
“Right now we are not concerned so much on a pedestrian and sub-terrainian city,” he says.
Boisvert, an expert in urban underground planning, says that underground transit plans should consider pedestrians systems and underground environments.
In Montreal, the RÉSO system connects transportation, apartments, office buildings, shops, entertainment venues and museums through a variety of pedestrian walkways.
It is important to keep in mind that these environments are not always underground, but three dimensional, he says. This means, the systems are comprised of underground elements, ground level elements and aerial elements providing different perspectives on the city.
“You can look at those public spaces – most are outdoor, some are indoor – from all different angles,” he says. “It offers a different environment for the people that come into the centre of the city.”
Gratton says that once there is less traffic congestion, the DOTT committee will look at streetscape improvements on Albert and Slater Streets. He says this will reinforce plans to make downtown a more pedestrian-friendly place.
The city needs businesses and pedestrians to create a healthy street atmosphere, he adds.
“If we dilute that by building an underground city we won’t achieve an implementation of city policies,” says Gratton. “It’s almost as simple as that.”
Parakh, a senior urban designer in Toronto, says that depending on population demands cities could have both, an underground network and vibrant streets. For example, in Toronto the PATH system has 27 kilometers of underground shopping arcades and provides links to major tourist and entertainment attractions such as: the Hockey Hall of Fame and the CN Tower. It provides a haven for commuters and tourists from the harsh winter cold and blistering summer heat.
The idea of underground pedestrian networks in Ottawa has been debated over the years. Over a decade ago, the Linkages Project was considered. The plan included the construction of tunnels or other pedestrian walkways that would connect major tourist and business facilities downtown.
“It may come someday, but not right now,” says Gratton. “It all comes down to a healthy street environment, and just because we are punching through a tunnel doesn’t mean we have to build an extensive underground city.”