Deanne Pittman, Centretown News
Rerouted buses line up along Scott Street as light rail construction continues on the Transitway.Amid concerns from residents in the northwest corner of Centretown, the Transitway running from Empress Avenue to Merton Street closed on Jan. 17, rerouting hundreds of buses along Albert and Scott streets instead.
The change means that about 2,100 buses per day now pass homes and other addresses — including the Good Companions seniors centre — on Albert Street.
The shift is one step of many as the city continues to work to implement its Light Rail Transit plan, to be completed in 2018.
Because of residents’ concerns, the City of Ottawa has been working to mitigate the impact of this detour for months – installing new pedestrian crossings, multi-use pathways and additional lanes, which divide buses from other vehicles along the corridor.
New bus shelters were installed along the route, as well, temporarily replacing the LeBreton and Bayview stations.
The traffic lights on the new corridor will mean a slight delay for daily commutes. OC Transpo estimates the increase to the duration of the bus routes at no more than three minutes, less during peak times.
Mike Nellis, a Carleton University student who says taking a bus along the Transitway was one of two options he had for getting to school, says recent changes to the routes, including the Jan. 17 closure of the Transitway, have caused him to change the way he gets to school.
“It just became too long,” he says, citing a few minutes of added time wouldn’t make much of a difference if he was only taking one bus.
Nellis’ route, however, involves multiple bus routes, some of which have changed in recent months.
“It will be worth it, I think,” Nellis says, when asked if the benefits of a completed LRT system will outweigh the added time and trouble now. “In 2018, it will be great.”
He adds: “These problems now are inconvenient, but in the end, you can’t really avoid them to build this.”
Some residents, however, do not agree with Nellis.
When the plan was announced, many signs including ones reading “2,500 buses a day, no way!” and “when did the City stop caring,” were posted throughout the street. Some still remain.
These complaints, including feedback from residents at public consultations, led to the City to agree to move all out-of-service buses onto the Sir John A. Macdonald Parkway, instead of down Albert Street as previously planned.
The detour, however, still concerns some residents.
Somerset Coun. Catherine McKenney, who lives in the area, said in a press release that she is “concerned about the impact the detour will have on local residents and especially those who live near Albert Street.”
According to resident Brian Humphries, who lives on Albert Street alongside the new bus route, the increase in buses in the early days after the shift has been noticeable, but not distracting.
“There is a bit more noise,” he says, adding that the construction on Albert Street was much more of a disturbance than the buses going through now.
Humphries also says that the noise early Monday morning was not a problem for him.
“I can’t hear anything when my window is closed, really, but in the summer my window has to be open because there’s no AC,” says Humphries.“Cars don’t wake me up, but cars and that many buses will be a bit different.”
Humphries says he thinks the shift in the route is a good idea because it makes way for Ottawa’s LRT, which will be beneficial to commuters. He adds that the extra few minutes to his daily commute for now would not affect him.
McKenney said she would have a “daily view of how the detour is functioning.”
“I have requested additional enforcement along Albert to ensure the safety of pedestrians, residents with mobility issues, cyclists, transit riders and motorists,” she said.
The City of Ottawa also urged the public to “exercise extra caution and to only cross the street at signalized intersections.”