City council passed a motion Wednesday afternoon to shut down O-Train service north of Carleton University on weekends to accommodate construction of the university’s new parking garage.
In a unanimous vote, councillors approved the temporary suspension, which would replace weekend O-Train service running at Bayview and Carling stations with buses between October 12 and December 29 this year.
In a September report submitted to the Transit Commission, the city warned that commuters at these stops would see travel time increased by approximately 10 minutes. In addition, those wishing to travel to either of the affected stops will need to transfer at Carleton station.
“The inconvenience would be much greater (approximately double) if the entire O-Train line were replaced by bus service, as was done in the summer,” the report says. It referred to efforts to upgrade and increase frequency of the service, which shut down the train between late April to early September this year.
The report estimates that 1,800 and 1,100 customer trips would be affected on Saturdays and Sundays respectively.
Construction for Carleton’s new $22.5 million three-storey parking facility on the north end of campus started in May and is expected to wrap up within one year.
According to media reports, despite working around the clock this summer while the O-Train was shut down, the foundation, support columns, and protective walls of the garage overhanging a portion of the tracks were not completed before the train resumed service in September.