The following questions were submitted by residents of Bay Ward to the Stage 2 Team.
Q1: When will the LRT Trenching start and Cover be completed between Cleary and New Orchard?
- Segments between Cleary Station and New Orchard Station’s Cut and Cover tunneling is currently expected to begin early 2020.
Q2: What is the intersection design at Woodroffe -Richmond that will allow traffic from Woodroffe North to enter and exit the Community and the new Apartment now being built at Woodroffe and Richmond ?
- Please see the image below that represents the future Woodroffe/Richmond intersection. However it is important to note that the apartment building’s entrance and egress is not associated with the Stage 2 project.
Q3: When will the Richmond Complete Street between Cleary and New Orchard be completed?
- The Richmond Road complete street project will likely begin when tunneling of the west extension has been completed however at this time those works have yet to be scheduled.
Q4: When will the proposed high rise construction start near the New Orchard Station?
- Stage 2 does not have any condo or apartment buildings at New Orchard Station as part of the project.
Q5: When will the NCC SJAM Park between Dominion and Woodroffe be completed; in particular the pedestrian Underpass near Cleary be completed?
- The Cleary Pedestrian Bridge is currently scheduled to begin construction Fall 2022
- The
SJAM area between Dominion and Clearly Pedestrian Bridge will likely not
be completed/open until the commissioning of the west alignment
- They have to construct all the cut and cover tunneling and re-build the SJAM to its final alignment
- Final road work in the area is shown as July 2024 on the current schedule
Q6: When will NCC SJAM Park between Woodroffe and Lincoln Fields be started , in particular the proposed new intersection at Woodroffe and the SJAM?
- The SJAM Park is an NCC project and not Stage 2
- Please contact the NCC for details on the Park
NCC response to question #6:
Several elements envisioned in the Ottawa River South Shore Riverfront Plan will be constructed by the LRT contractor including:
- New curvilinear parkway alignment between Woodroffe and the Westboro Beach underpass
- Four new pedestrian crossings (two at grade, two underpasses) and repairs to two existing underpasses.
- Servicing for the NCC’s Westboro Beach project
- Pathway construction and landscape reinstatements on lands affected by LRT construction
- Sustainable drainage improvements along the affected segment of the parkway (Low-impact development design)
The NCC will be completing required design work for both the Westboro Beach and the Rochester Field Park projects as well as other landscape improvement works that form part of the Parkland Improvements scope. Further public updates will be available as project timelines are better defined.
Although some NCC construction to implement the envisioned improvements will take place during LRT work, much of the work to be undertaken by the NCC will have to follow the completion of LRT-related works along the SJAM given that the LRT contractor will be occupying much of the land for construction.
And again, as you know the length of the construction schedule along SJAM and the required traffic detours are determined by the length of time required to construct the cut-and-cover tunnel along the Parkway.
Re: the Woodroffe intersection: The design plans for the parkland improvement do not include revisions to the Woodroffe intersection, although the pathway improvements on the south side of the parkway start at Woodroffe and extend to the Westboro Beach underpass.
Q7: Is the decision final on the design for the pedestrian bridge to Woodroffe High School or are other options still being considered?
The project manager design for the east/west extensions has confirmed that the plan that KEV bid on is what was costed, funded and is planned. She noted that tunnels/underpasses are generally shied away from as they have conflicts with CPTED principles. In this instance there are 3 tracks that the tunnel/underpass would have to cross below making it a pretty long tunnel.
The four main principles of CPTED are:
- Natural surveillance.
- Natural access control.
- Territorial reinforcement.
- Maintenance.
Q8: What is the alignment of the LRT underneath Byron?
The alignment will travel in the tunnel westwards underneath Byron Linear Park, it crosses Richmond Road approximately 200 metres west to allow it to make a gradual turn south where it crosses Richmond Road, approximately 40 metres west of Edgeworth. The Tunnel ends approximately 30 metres south of Richmond Road. Noting that the Tunnel ending means that the roof ends but the train is still below grade, it will gradually raise to street level at a grade lower than 5%. Please see screen shot from GeoOttawa below that demonstrates what I have described above.
Q9: What is the plan for re-greening and replacing those lost trees? Will all the lilacs, oaks, maples, larches, pines etc. all replanted? Were you able to relocate some of the trees along Byron?
The tree removals associated with the Confederation Line west extension are visibly impactful. The City and the consortium building the extension have worked to make adjustments to the land requirements wherever possible to identify trees that could be saved, and only remove trees that will be directly in the route of the new structures or the alignment or would be severely impacted by the construction activities. In addition, the City has put in place a comprehensive tree replacement program that will see an overall average replacement ratio of 2:1 (two trees for every one removed) will be replanted which will be directed by landscape plans for areas along the alignment, including boulevards, parks and other greenspaces, that have been outlined early on and finalized during the latter years of construction as part of restoration and finishing work.
- Byron
Linear Park
- The west extension travels under Byron Linear Park from Cleary in the east to approximately Edgeworth in the west. The methodology to construct the tunnel will be cut and cover which requires excavation from the surface.
- Lilacs
on the Pinecrest overpass
- This is where the west extension will cross Pinecrest. A new bridge has to be built to allow the train to pass under the road.
- The
Parkway
- The alignment between Dominion and Cleary stations mostly passes below the existing eastbound lane, in order to excavate the tunnel the Sir John A Macdonald Parkway has to be realigned, as such trees had to be removed to allow for these works.
- There is a pedestrian connection north of Churchill that requires trees removed for its construction.
- The
oaks on Richmond just before the Keg Manor
- The oaks were slated to be removed, but a recent change in design has resulted in saving a majority of the trees.
- The
crabapple groves around Lincoln Fields.
- The alignment south of Richmond towards Lincoln Fields passes through the crab-apple grove. The consortium believes that they can construct the alignment and still save approximately 1/3 of the grove. Additional plans are in discussion regarding the replacement of this grove.
Lastly, the City of Ottawa has relocated 50 transplantable trees along the future alignment nearby Byron Linear Park to suitable areas within the local community in advance of the cut and cover excavation and construction next year.