As buses, bicycles and cars jostle for space during rush hour in Centretown, the National Capital Commission has developed a plan that could ease the commute for some residents by better integrating the transit systems of Ottawa and Gatineau.
In a report, the NCC proposes a “downtown circulator” connecting the central cores of the two cities, creating more compatibility between OC Transpo and STO bus routes running across the Ottawa River.
Also recommended in the report are extensions of the O-Train to make a stop or two in Gatineau, as well as some reserved transit lanes in the downtown core and across the Champlain Bridge.
Currently, there are limited transportation options in the national capital region due to urban rights-of-way which favour private automobiles,” says the report.
Each city is working towards constructing rapid transit systems –the Rapibus in Gatineau and Confederation Line in Ottawa, the first portion of the light rail train system.
These projects were included in the study and having these systems work well interprovincially is one of the goals. Improving efficiency, reducing congestion and protecting the environment are the stated goals of the transit report.
“The rapid transit systems in both cities are in the state of significant change,” says Vivi Chi, the City of Ottawa’s manager of transportation planning. “Integrating the two different technologies requires continuous co-operation between the two cities.”
Peter Raaymakers, executive director of advocacy group Transit Ottawa, writes a blog about public transit in the city. He’s skeptical about whether the study offers any viable solutions.
“Bringing OC Transpo and STO together into one regional transit utility, in theory, sounds like a no-brainer; implementing that idea would be hugely problematic, though,” he says.
“Finding some way to equalize the finances from taxpayers under different municipal as well as provincial tax systems would be a huge administrative burden . . . It’s not impossible, but I’m cynical about how realistic it is despite the fact that it’s a sensible recommendation.”
The final goals of the study include an eventual merging of the two companies under one name, set of routes and trip-planning system. Raaymakers points out, it’s the administration and funding of such a project between several government bodies that makes this a challenge.
Geoff McDillon, a Gatineau resident who works in Ottawa’s westend, says that due to deficiencies in the transit system he prefers to take his truck or bike.
“Gatineau has the worst transit system I’ve ever seen and Ottawa isn’t too far behind,” he says. “I would never trade the one hour it takes me to commute to work in my own truck for the almost three hours it would take me on a bus. In the summer, I commute to work by bike and it only takes 40 to 45 minutes each way.”
New transit infrastructure should attract high-value, high-density and mixed-use development, according to the NCC’s report, in addition to shortening the trip for someone like McDillon. Attracting a new transit user and getting his truck off the roads, in theory, should make the city’s downtown more livable.
According to the report, the O-Train extension, Gatineau’s Rapibus, light-rail train services, the downtown circulator and reserved transit lanes “should be implemented” by 2021.