CBLCA TTIC REPORT: LRT Stage 2 Design Revisions from Bayshore Station to Moodie Drive
On February 22, 2019, the city released a detailed report on the proposed Stage 2 LRT construction. This document includes planning for the Bayshore Station to Moodie Drive conversion of the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) to Light Rail Transit (LRT). Prior to the release of the report, the CBLCA Transportation, Transit and Infrastructure Committee (TTIC) also met with Chris Swail, head of the LRT2 project, and members of his team.
There are a number of planned changes for the Bayshore Station to Moodie Drive portion of the Confederation Line. This summary is intended to give you an overview of those changes. You will note links to the full report should you wish to examine it in more detail, and to a brief survey on one important aspect of the changes. We request that you fill in the survey and provide your opinion so as to assist us in better serving the community Transit and Transportation Changes Impact of LRT2 on roads in Crystal Beach Lakeview area.
Holly Acres Road
The building of the LRT bridge over Holly Acres Road will NOT result in any long-term closures of Holly Acres Road. There may be short closures (overnight or on weekends) to accommodate the bridge construction. There will also be built a temporary 417 east bound on-ramp from Holly Acres Road opposite the current 417/416 exit ramp. We believe that the temporary ramp is for buses only, in order to speed up bus travel along the 417. The MTO widening from Maitland to the 416 (which would have built the 417 eastbound on ramp from Holly Acres and closed the 417 eastbound on ramp from Richmond Road) is on hold until the LRT construction is completed and will be re-evaluated at that time.
Corkstown Road (eastbound closure)
Corkstown Road eastbound from Moodie Drive to Abbott Lab entrance will be closed permanently to through traffic to facilitate the construction and operation the Moodie LRT station and the bus traffic meeting the train. There will be east bound access to the station. Corkstown Road will be only one lane westbound from Abbott Lab entrance to the station. The closure of Corkstown Road eastbound will happen in conjunction with the building of the LRT Station and bus layby areas. Consideration will be given to re-opening the eastbound lane when the LRT system is extended out to Kanata and the bus layby facility is no longer needed at Moodie Station.
The westbound 417 on ramps from Moodie Drive will be closed for a construction season to allow construction of underpasses for the train to get to the new Light Maintenance and Storage Facility (LMSF) located between the 417 and Corkstown Road west of Moodie Drive.
OC Transpo Bus Service changes
The existing BRT from Pinecrest to Bayshore and on to Moodie Drive will be shut down during the construction of LRT2. With the closure of the BRT, the buses will temporarily go back to using the 417 as was done before the BRT opened. This will result in there being no bus service at the Moodie station.
1 | P a g e
Environmental Impacts Wildlife Corridor alongside Stillwater Creek at Corkstown Road
Our submission to the LRT2 team as well as to the provincial Ministry for the Environment and Climate Change called for a 30-metre buffer of land west of Stillwater Creek where no construction would take place. This was to protect a corridor for wildlife movement along this greenbelt Natural Link Area. The original plan did not provide for this, but the revised plan now does protect this corridor.
Lighting of the Multi-use Pathway north of Corkstown Road
The original plan called for lighting of the current multi-use path for pedestrian safety in walking to the LRT station from Moodie Drive. The association believed that this would negatively impact on wildlife in the area and instead called for the extension of the sidewalk along Corkstown Rd. north side with lighting all the way to Moodie Drive. to benefit both pedestrians and wildlife. This is now being done in the revised plan.
Storm Water Management
The original plan called for a “cut and fill” process where soil would be removed from the soccer pitch areas north of Corkstown Rd. equal to the fill and impervious surface to be created for the bus layby area. This was to create a space for storm water settling during significant storms. The CBLCA instead called for a more holistic approach to storm water management with remediation of the wetlands on the west side of Moodie Drive more upstream in the Stillwater Creek watershed. The city has now signed a Memorandum of Understanding whereby the wetlands on the west side of Moodie Drive adjacent to the DND site will be deepened along with further revisions so as to replace the cut and fill plan. Further, this past fall, the NCC undertook to replace culverts under the multi-use path adjacent to Wesley Clover Park and creating channels for restoration of damaged wetlands north of the path
Wildlife Corridor Under Moodie Drive
The association sought to use the opportunity of the construction to have installed a wildlife passageway under Moodie Drive for small mammals and amphibians, thereby connecting the greenbelt Core Natural Area with the Natural Link Area on the east side of Moodie Drive. We sought a similar passageway under Corkstown Rd. We have held discussion with both the city and the NCC under the leadership of the Ottawa Carleton Wildlife Centre to explore this opportunity. It has regrettably been made very clear to us that there are no funds available to consider this idea. The city also believes that such a corridor is unwarranted and questions the purported numbers and types of mammalian and amphibian species reported as being present. They have committed to relook at available information and have agreed to maintain contact on this file.
Gold Level Parking at Abbott Labs
The original plan proposed a paid parking lot to be established on the Abbott Labs property. This parking would have been contrary to NCC policy on parking inside of the greenbelt for people travelling through the greenbelt. We also opposed the added volumes of traffic and pollution to be created by this parking. The city is no longer proceeding with this plan.
2 | P a g e
We request that you fill in the accompanying survey on the closure of eastbound Corkstown Rd. and provide your opinions on it. It is also our intention to request of the LRT2 team that they hold a public meeting on the closure both to share more details on the closure and hear our opinions as well as possible alternatives.
Doug Wasson, Committee Lead Ian McConnachie, Chair CBLCA Transportation, Transit and CBLCA Transportation, Transit and Infrastructure Committee Infrastructure Committee
3 | P a g e