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Report to Rapport au:
Transit Commission Commission du transport en commun 17 February 2016 / 17 février 2016
Submitted on February 4, 2016 Soumis le 4 février 2016
Submitted by Soumis par: Kent Kirkpatrick, City Manager / Directeur municipal
Contact Person Personne ressource: John Manconi, General Manager / Directeur général, Transit Services / Service de transport en commun 613-580-2424 ext./poste 52111, John.Manconi@ottawa.ca
Ward: CITY WIDE / À L'ÉCHELLE DE LA File Number: ACS2016-CMR-OCM-0006 VILLE SUBJECT: TRANSIT SERVICE DURING CONFEDERATION LINE CONSTRUCTION – UPDATES FOR 2016
OBJET: SERVICE DE TRANSPORT EN COMMUN DURANT LA CONSTRUCTION DE LA LIGNE DE LA CONFÉDÉRATION – MISES À JOUR POUR 2016
REPORT RECOMMENDATION
That the Transit Commission receive this report for information.
RECOMMANDATION DU RAPPORT
Que la Commission du transport en commun prenne connaissance de ce rapport. 2
BACKGROUND
On December 19, 2012, City Council approved the Ottawa Light Rail Transit project to build the Confederation Line. The construction of the light rail line requires a number of significant service adjustments to the bus system.
To date there have been five changes to Transitway corridor segments requiring service adjustments to accommodate Confederation Line construction:
June 2013 – Laurier / Nicholas realignment;
December 2014 – LeBreton Station relocation;
June 2015 – Transitway closure Hurdman to Blair Stations;
December 2015 – Transitway closure Lees to Hurdman Stations; and,
January 2016 – Transitway closure Merton Street to Empress Avenue.
This report outlines the last service adjustments that will take place in April 2016 and June 2016 to accommodate the remaining closures to the following Transitway corridor segments:
April 2016 – Transitway closure Laurier to Lees Stations; and,
June 2016 – Transitway closure Tunney’s Pasture Station to Merton Street.
DISCUSSION
In April and June 2016, OC Transpo will implement the last service changes to routes affected by Confederation Line construction. Adjustments will include:
Changes to accommodate the closure of the Transitway between Laurier Avenue and Lees Avenue, effective April 24, 2016; and,
Changes to accommodate the closure of the Transitway between Tunney’s Pasture Station and Merton Street, effective June 19, 2016.
Bus route adjustments have been designed to minimize customer and resident inconvenience, continue to serve customers’ destinations, maintain key transfer points, and provide a cost-effective service. The level of service is set to match projected ridership demand and ensure sufficient capacity is provided.
Laurier Station to Lees Station 3
Effective Sunday, April 24, 2016, the Transitway between Laurier and Lees Stations will close, requiring that most bus service be relocated to Nicholas Street and Highway 417, using the bus-only lanes that have been built for this purpose. Campus Station will be closed, and will require all west-end express routes and Route 176 to start at Mackenzie King Bridge in the afternoon. The main campus of the University of Ottawa will continue to be well served by transit as most routes will continue to serve Laurier Station. In addition, Routes 95 and 98, as well as Route 85 (adjusted in December 2015), will provide service along King Edward Avenue to ensure that the entire main campus of uOttawa will be within a 5 minute walking distance to transit. Approximately 6 per cent of the 340,000 network-wide daily customer-trips will have a longer travel time of up to four minutes as a result of the proposed service adjustments.
Tunney’s Pasture Station to Merton Street
From March 2016 until June 2016, Routes 86 and 176 will be detoured to travel along Scott Street in order to complete the construction of a new bus loop at Tunney’s Pasture Station. These routes will continue to serve Tunney’s Pasture Station, which will remain open during construction. The new station platforms will be available for the June 2016 service change.
Effective Sunday, June 19, 2016, the Transitway between Tunney’s Pasture Station and Merton Street will close and bus service along this segment will be adjusted to continue travelling on the bus-only lanes on Scott Street between Merton Street and Holland Avenue. Transit service will be maintained at the upper level of Tunney’s Pasture Station with the opening of the new Transitway ramp and bus loop. Approximately 14 per cent of the 340,000 daily customer-trips will have a longer travel time of up to one minute.
Next Steps – On Track for 2018
With the April 2016 and June 2016 service adjustments, the Transitway between Tunney’s Pasture and Blair Stations will be fully closed to allow for the construction of the Confederation Line. These service adjustments will remain in effect until the opening of the Confederation Line in 2018.
Construction work on the new bus platform at Hurdman Station is currently underway. Once completed, the bus platform will be relocated to its final location adjacent to the future Confederation Line station platforms, and all buses will serve the new bus platform. The new bus platform will be used starting on Sunday, September 4, 2016. 4
RURAL IMPLICATIONS
The Transitway closure from Lees to Laurier Stations will affect the following rural customers:
Customers from Cumberland on Route 221;
Customers on the rural section of Route 263; and,
Customers from Richmond on Route 283. The Transitway closure from Tunney’s Pasture to Merton Street will affect the following rural customers:
Customers on the rural section of Route 263; and,
Customers from Richmond on Route 283. CONSULTATION
Consultation on the need for transit service adjustments during construction was carried out as part of the approval process for the Confederation Line project. The current adjustments are based, in part, on the results of that previous consultation.
The service adjustments have been adapted to address comments and suggestions that have been made by participants in stakeholder consultations. City staff will continue to hold monthly stakeholder meetings with the University of Ottawa to discuss service adjustments and impacts on travel to and from the university, and City staff will continue to meet monthly or as required with Councillor Leiper and Councillor McKenney as well as support monthly Councillor-led community meetings.
All affected Councillors were briefed on specific route changes in their respective wards.
Information regarding the specific details of the transit service plan will be communicated with customers prior to implementation.
ADVISORY COMMITTEE(S) COMMENTS
This report has not been considered by advisory committees.
LEGAL IMPLICATIONS
There are no legal impediments to receiving this report for information. 5
RISK MANAGEMENT IMPLICATIONS
Risks associated with the provision of the infrastructure required to allow for implementation of this service plan are being managed by the Rail Implementation Office. As part of the Project Agreement between the City and Rideau Transit Group (RTG), strong financial incentives have been placed on RTG to minimize construction impacts on transit service.
A multi-agency team has been assembled to manage the operation of the revised service, to respond to any delays or incidents immediately, and to ensure that “lessons learned” are quickly built into the standard operating procedures for the road network, the provincial highway, and the transit system. From the City, this team includes staff from OC Transpo, Public Works (Traffic Services), the Rail Implementation Office, and the Ottawa Police Service. From the Province, this team includes staff from the Ministry of Transportation and the Ontario Provincial Police.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
There are no financial implications associated with this report.
ACCESSIBILITY IMPACTS
All temporary station facilities have been designed according to current accessibility standards. All OC Transpo buses are fully accessible.
TERM OF COUNCIL PRIORITIES
The recommendations in this report support two of the 2015-2018 Term of Council priorities:
Transportation and Mobility – Meet the current and future transportation needs of residents and visitors through Phase 1 and Phase 2 of the Transportation Master Plan, including ensuring the City’s transit services are reliable and financially sustainable. Continued focus on improving mobility during the LRT implementation, and support for alternative transportation methods including cycling and walking, as well as transit.
Service Excellence – Improve client satisfaction with the delivery of municipal services by measurably strengthening the culture of service excellence at the City, by improving the efficiency of City operations, and by creating positive client experiences.
DISPOSITION
Staff will undertake any further direction from the Transit Commission.