I did my first bike commute of the year (further thoughts in the cycling thread) and it's really got me scratching my head regarding Block Line.
It's a shame they didn't bury the hydro cut all the way to Schneider Creek and then use that right of way to get ION under the bridge at Block Line. The existing rail yard looks like it could have been compressed to allow that with no loss of track footage. Yeah, we'd have one pricey Ottawa LRT style station with elevators and escalators at Block Line, but it would have avoided two slow turns, a ton of extra signalling infrastructure, that weird traffic situation at Block Line, and given us room for decent pedestrian and cycling accommodations along Courtland. Also, burying more of the hydro cut at the Fairway end so it popped up at the transformer station on the opposite side of the street would have made getting Phase 2 out of there much simpler and left the mall in a better position for future redevelopment.
I know our system was built on the cheap so we could get the votes passed and I often defend it for that, but in this case I really think the juice would have been worth the squeeze.
It's a shame they didn't bury the hydro cut all the way to Schneider Creek and then use that right of way to get ION under the bridge at Block Line. The existing rail yard looks like it could have been compressed to allow that with no loss of track footage. Yeah, we'd have one pricey Ottawa LRT style station with elevators and escalators at Block Line, but it would have avoided two slow turns, a ton of extra signalling infrastructure, that weird traffic situation at Block Line, and given us room for decent pedestrian and cycling accommodations along Courtland. Also, burying more of the hydro cut at the Fairway end so it popped up at the transformer station on the opposite side of the street would have made getting Phase 2 out of there much simpler and left the mall in a better position for future redevelopment.
I know our system was built on the cheap so we could get the votes passed and I often defend it for that, but in this case I really think the juice would have been worth the squeeze.
...K