Ottawa’s new Light Rail Transit System will span the downtown from Tunney’s Pasture in the West to Blair Station in the East. The system will include a 2.5 kilometre tunnel, the Downtown Ottawa Transit Tunnel, beneath the core. The western tunnel entrance will be between LeBreton Station and Bronson Avenue and the eastern entrance between Laurier Avenue and Campus Station.
The existing bus transitway is near capacity, particularly through downtown, where buses compete with other surface traffic. The downtown tunnel will enable the removal of more than half of the busses currently moving through our busy streets. This will improve traffic conditions while also achieving substantial and lasting reductions in emissions of greenhouse gases and harmful pollutants. Some portions of the existing Bus Transitway will be reclaimed for green space, cycling routes or traffic lanes. When each element is combined, it will lead to a city that is healthier, more livable and more accessible.
Conversion of the downtown transit way is the first step in the City’s long-term transit vision, the Transportation Master Plan. Ultimately, this plan includes the construction of 40 kilometres of new Light Rail, coupled with expanded bus rapid transit service to outlying areas. Once completed, every Ottawa community will be connected by a convenient and affordable public transit system.
For many, Ottawa’s Light Rail Transit system will be the transportation option of choice. Not only will the system get us to work or school each day, it will connect us to our friends, our cultural events and all the great services and features this city has to offer.
