Barrhaven Light Rail Transit (Baseline Station to Barrhaven Town Centre) and Rail Grade-Separations Planning and Environmental Assessment Study

Recommended Plan Overview Presentation Script
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Welcome to this online consultation event for the Barrhaven Light Rail Transit and Rail Grade-Separations Environmental Assessment Study.

This video provides an overview of the Preliminary Recommended Plan to extend the City’s O-Train Line from Baseline Station to Barrhaven Town Centre.

Further information on this plan can be found in the additional videos, presentation boards and roll plan drawings accessible on this web site.

The Preliminary Recommended Plan incorporates:

10 kilometres of twin-track, fully segregated electric LRT, which includes 2.4 kilometres of elevated guideway west of Woodroffe Avenue between Baseline Station and the Nepean Sportsplex, and conversion of the existing 7.6 kilometre Southwest Transitway from bus to LRT
7 stations – including 3 new
A train storage and servicing facility near the Via Rail overpass on Greenbank Road
Three new bridges over the VIA Rail line at Woodroffe Avenue, the Southwest Transitway and Fallowfield Road, and
A bus-to-rail transfer terminal and 250-spot park-and-ride at the Barrhaven Town Centre
The study evaluated below-grade, at-grade and elevated alternatives – both within and to the west of the Woodroffe Avenue right-of-way between Knoxdale Station and the Nepean Sportsplex.

Below grade alternatives expose the City to more risk and liability related to geotechnical conditions and conflicts with underground utilities, and are more expensive and take longer to build.

An at-grade alternative does not meet the design standards and the operational and safety requirements established for the City’s O-Train network.

An elevated facility west of Woodroffe is the preferred alternative. Here’s why:

It avoids geotechnical risks and minimizes conflicts with all underground utilities. It is less technically complicated to build.

The elevated alternative does not create a barrier between communities. It provides opportunities to animate, program or landscape the space underneath.

West of Woodroffe Avenue is the shortest and straightest alignment and avoids impacts to Woodroffe Avenue both during and after construction. Any visual and noise impacts associated can be mitigated.

It eliminates curves that increase wheel noise and passenger discomfort and results in higher vehicle and track maintenance costs. This alignment optimizes station locations, reduces impact on traffic, and improves sight lines at intersections. A continuous multi-use pathway can be built along the full length of the corridor.

This option will impact 120 of the existing 205 residential units between Knoxdale and West Hunt Club.

The portions of these properties not impacted by LRT could be redeveloped to replace the units displaced by LRT construction.

Three new elevated stations will be built. The station platforms will be accessed by stairs, escalators and/or elevators from ground level. A plaza at the main station entrance will provide seating, landscaping, public art and bicycle parking.

Tallwood Station will be located at the southwest corner of the Woodroffe/Tallwood/ Meadowlands intersection.
Knoxdale Station would be built at the northwest corner of the Woodroffe/Knoxdale/Medhurst intersection. This station will provide access to surrounding communities such as Tanglewood and Manordale.
Nepean Sportsplex Station would be built on the west side of Woodroffe Avenue, across from the Nepean Sportsplex facility. It includes a pedestrian bridge over Woodroffe Avenue.
Four existing stations will become LRT stations.

Fallowfield Station will be elevated similar to Hurdman station, allowing pedestrian and vehicular access beneath to the VIA Rail station situated to the north.
Longfields Station will remain in its current location and serve the local community via walking and cycling connections.
Strandherd Station will remain in its current location but will be located below-grade to accommodate a new overpass at Berrigan Drive. The LRT platforms will be accessed via a pedestrian and cycling bridge which will be extended to the existing Park and Ride and retail plaza to the west of the station.
As the final station on the line, Barrhaven Centre Station will serve as a multi-modal bus and rail passenger transfer terminal linking the LRT with both the future Southwest and Chapman Mills bus Transitways. The station will include a new 250-spot Park-and-Ride Lot.
A Train Storage and Servicing Facility for storing and performing light service on 8 trains will be built adjacent to the line near the existing Greenbank Road VIA Rail crossing.

Three new Rail Grade-Separations will be built where Woodroffe Avenue, the Southwest Transitway and Fallowfield Road cross the existing VIA Rail tracks to improve the safety of users by segregating the roadway, pedestrian and cycling facilities from the tracks below.

The Woodroffe Avenue and Southwest Transitway overpasses will be built as separate structures.
The Woodroffe Avenue overpass will have two traffic lanes in each direction and a multi-use pathway on the east side.
The Transitway overpass will be designed to accommodate both BRT, and LRT.
The Fallowfield Road overpass will cross over the VIA Rail and City LRT tracks approximately 40m north of the current crossing. It will have two traffic lanes in each direction and a multi-use pathway on the south side.
The City’s current Transportation Master Plan has LRT to Barrhaven built after 2031. However, the future master plan updates may change this timeline. Construction also depends on funding from senior levels of government.

Depending on funding, the project may be built in two phases. The first phase would extend LRT from Baseline Station to Fallowfield Station. The three VIA Rail grade-separations would be included in this phase. The second phase would extend the LRT from Fallowfield Station to Barrhaven Centre station and would include construction of the Train Storage and Service Facility.

The recommended plan also includes interim transit priority measures at several locations in Woodroffe corridor to reduce bus delays.

The City could elect to proceed with the three VIA Rail grade-separated crossings, independent of the Barrhaven LRT project.

For more information and to provide feedback by Wednesday, September 23, 2020, please visit (www.ottawa.ca/barrhavenlrt).

Baseline Station to Nepean Sportsplex Presentation Script
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Welcome to this on-line consultation event for the Barrhaven Light Rail Transit and Rail Grade-Separations Environmental Assessment Study.

This video provides an overview of how and why the preferred alternative for the Baseline Station to Nepean Sportsplex portion of the study corridor was chosen.

Let’s begin…

Planning and design issues that needed to be considered when developing and evaluating design alternatives included reviewing the 1997 EA plan in light of the change to LRT along with new information on background geotechnical conditions, addressing all modes of transportation during and after construction, community and underground infrastructure impacts, and capital and operating costs.

This analysis led to three key design considerations. Grade-separation; Geotechnical conditions of concern; and the limited right-of-way through a “Pinch Point” between Knoxdale and West Hunt Club Roads.

As an extension of the City’s O-Train this project must use the same design standards as the rest of the network. This means the LRT system needs to be grade-separated at all transportation corridors.

Early in the study it was determined that the close spacing between the streets and the CN Rail line crossing the corridor, combined with the design grade for the LRT doesn’t allow combining underpasses and overpasses along the line. Therefore, the preferred alternative (either below-grade or elevated) must be used for the entire 2.4 km length from Baseline Station to the Nepean Sportsplex.

We know from other City projects that beneath a thin layer of topsoil and fill are layers of sensitive marine clay and permeable materials including sand, silts and glacial till of varying thicknesses that extend down to the underlying bedrock up to 25 metres below the ground surface. The existing water table is very high throughout the study area, in some places extending up into the clay layer.

Construction of any below-grade LRT facility would extend into the permeable sands lying beneath the sensitive marine clay layer. The bottom would be several metres below the existing groundwater, so the facility needs to be designed to prevent any lowering of the surrounding groundwater level outside of the trench.

If not, this could result in the settlement of homes or buildings up to 250 meters either side of the LRT alignment. A GIS-based analysis demonstrates that over 640 homes and over 40 commercial, institutional or business buildings could be impacted.

A focused evaluation through the “Pinch Point” would determine the preferred alternative for the Baseline Station to Nepean Sportsplex section.

Two alternatives were screened out early in the study:

The first was locating the LRT in a bored tunnel. Both shallow and deep tunnels were considered and screened out due to geotechnical and cost considerations.
The second was to locate the LRT on the east side of Woodroffe Avenue. It was screened out as not being compatible with the corridor to the north and south; limits space for active transportation; conflicts with existing utility infrastructure; and significantly disrupts transit and traffic operations during construction.
On this basis six alternatives were identified – four within the Woodroffe Avenue right-of-way; and two to the west of the right-of-way.

Alternatives 1 and 2 are below-grade within the Woodroffe Avenue right-of-way.

Alternative 1 is a cut-and-cover tunnel running under the southbound lanes of Woodroffe Avenue. Being fully buried, all of the right-of-way is available to renew Woodroffe Avenue as a ‘Complete Street. Alternative 2 is in an open-trench on the west side of the Woodroffe Avenue. The space needed for the trench permanently reduces roadway capacity and is insufficient to renew Woodroffe Avenue as a ‘Complete Street’.
Both alternatives are expensive and complex to build and introduce geotechnical condition related risks. The space required for their construction – which will likely take three years - will significantly disrupt roadway capacity for all modes leaving no space for separate cycling facilities.
Alternatives 3 and 4 are elevated within the Woodroffe Avenue right-of-way. Both provide the opportunity to shift the alignment south of West Hunt Club so the station is on the same side as the Nepean Sportsplex Alternative 3 locates the elevated alignment within the median of Woodroffe Avenue while Alternative 4 locates it on the west side of the Woodroffe Avenue right-of-way.
Both alternatives are less expensive and complicated to build, and don’t entail the geotechnical risks that below-grade alternatives do. Less space is required for their construction – which will likely take two years. Reduction in roadway capacity for all modes is less than for Alternatives 1 and 2. Separate cycling facilities can be accommodated for the full duration of construction and utility relocations are avoided.
Alternatives 5 and 6 maintain a continuous, straight track geometry throughout the entire corridor, consistent with the approved plan to the north and south. Situated west of the Woodroffe Avenue right-of-way, they directly impact some existing residential properties. Alternative 5 is a below-grade trench while Alternative 6 is an elevated guideway.
Both alternatives require property and displace existing residences, however they virtually eliminating all disruption to mobility during their construction. The existing sidewalks, bicycle lanes, bus-only transit lanes and travel lanes on Woodroffe Avenue are maintained .
The alternative evaluation process considered a broad list of criteria responding to all aspects of the environmental sustainability, including: Transportation System, NCC Greenbelt, Ecological and Physical, Land Use and Community and Economic. A total of 14 categories and 37 indicators were used.

In general, the below-grade alternatives expose the City to more risk & liability associated with the geotechnical conditions and are more expensive and take longer to construct. While they have less noise and visual impact, they may be perceived as a barrier that reduces connectivity between the community and Woodroffe Avenue.

The elevated alternatives are cost-effective with straight track geometry but may introduce concerns about noise and privacy. They avoid the risks associated with the geotechnical conditions and impacts to underground services and utilities. They also have potential for using the space below them for mobility or other uses.

This chart summarizes the evaluation results.

Alternative 6 – Elevated West of Woodroffe was selected as the preferred alternative.

Let’s examine why…

Any lowering of the surrounding groundwater table by building a below-grade facility would impact the clay layer above, and potentially result in settlement of surrounding structures and underground utilities. To prevent permanently lowering the groundwater, water-tight construction methods are required which are both complex and expensive. Maintaining the integrity of a continuous 2.4 kilometre long water-tight structure over the life of the facility would be a significant challenge. Any leaks would be very difficult and costly to repair. Even small leaks in the permanent structure can result in groundwater lowering that may take place over many years, resulting in damage claims years after construction.

To understand why it’s both complex and expensive let’s see how you build a below-grade trench LRT.

Interlocking piles will be used to create a parallel set of water-tight walls along the entire 2.4 kilometre length of the trench. A steel liner is driven through the ground until it is at least of 3 metres into the bedrock. Then reinforced concrete is poured into the liner before it is removed. This operation is completed for the entire length of one wall…

…and then the other…

…followed by excavating the area in between the walls.

A permanent concrete base slab is then anchored to both walls forming a watertight unit to support the LRT rail tracks. Precast panels will cover the tunnel walls and the LRT tracks will then be installed. Construction would likely take a minimum of 3 years.

In contrast, building an elevated guideway is more straight forward.

The guideway will be supported on structural piers spaced every 30 to 40 metres along the 2.4 kilometre corridor. The pier foundations are built by driving a single steel liner until it reaches bedrock.

A socket is drilled into bedrock, then a reinforcing steel cage is lowered into the hole and filled with concrete.

The reinforced concrete pier is extended above ground and topped with a pier-cap. Precast concrete girders that span between the piers are then erected using cranes.

A reinforced concrete deck is installed on the girders to support the LRT rail tracks. It would likely take two years to construct this alternative.

The continuous water-tight walls of a below-grade trench effectively cut-off several utilities that cross the LRT corridor, including large storm and sanitary sewers. Each will require a unique solution. Some of the smaller ones may be punched through the trench walls passing through a water-tight sleeve. However, some will require significant and costly relocations to connect elsewhere.

The elevated alternative avoids conflicts with the underground utilities and thus does not require complicated solutions to maintain existing or provide new crossings.

To summarize, the elevated alternative avoids geotechnical risks and all underground utilities crossing the corridor. It is less technically complicated to build. Completely covering a below-grade trench to avoid creating a community barrier is not a viable option as it has additional costs such as the need for ventilation systems and emergency exits. Any potential visual and noise impacts can be mitigated using best practices.

The elevated alternative provides opportunities to animate, program or landscape the space underneath including a new multi-use pathway.

West of Woodroffe Avenue is the shortest and straightest alignment that avoids impacts to Woodroffe Avenue both during and after construction.

It eliminates curves that increase wheel noise and passenger discomfort that also result in higher vehicle and track maintenance costs. It reduces impact on traffic, improves sight lines at intersections and provides the opportunity to build a continuous multi-use pathway the full length of the corridor.

This option will impact 120 of the existing 205 residential units between Knoxdale and West Hunt Club on three property parcels.

The portions of these properties not impacted by LRT could be redeveloped to replace the units displaced by LRT construction.

Three new elevated stations will be built. The station platforms will be accessed by stairs, escalators and/or elevators from ground level. A plaza at the station entrance will provide seating, landscaping, public art and bicycle parking.

Tallwood Station will be built in the southwest quadrant of the Woodroffe/Tallwood/Meadowlands intersection, adjacent to the City of Ottawa Archives building providing access to the surrounding communities. A parallel multi-use pathway along the west side of Woodroffe Avenue provides pedestrian and cycling connections to the station.

Knoxdale Station will be built at the northwest corner of the Woodroffe/Knoxdale/Medhurst intersection. This station will provide access to surrounding communities such as Tanglewood and Manordale.

Nepean Sportsplex Station will be built on the west side of Woodroffe Avenue across from the Nepean Sportsplex facility. A pedestrian bridge will be built over Woodroffe Avenue provides access to and from the east side. The new parallel multi-use pathway on the west side of Woodroffe Avenue will cross to the east side to connect with the existing pathway that extends south to Barrhaven.

A preliminary impact assessment was completed to identify where additional mitigation may be required, and to make recommendations for the EA Report. Some of the findings and recommendations include:

A noise and vibration study indicated that no mitigation is required along the elevated guideway.
Redevelopment concepts can protect privacy by optimizing design and orienting residences appropriately
Lessons learned from the current Confederation Line will be employed to manage snow on the elevated facility
A corridor landscaping and space programming opportunities strategy will be developed
Further information can be found in the additional videos, presentation boards and roll plan drawings accessible on this web site.

For more information and to provide feedback by Wednesday September 23rd 2020, please visit (www.ottawa.ca/barrhavenlrt).

Nepean Sportsplex to Barrhaven Centre Presentation Script
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Welcome to this on-line consultation event for the Barrhaven Light Rail Transit and Rail Grade-Separations Environmental Assessment Study.

This video provides an overview of the Preliminary Recommended Plan to convert the existing Southwest Transitway to LRT between the Nepean Sportsplex and Barrhaven Centre Station.

Let’s begin…

South of the Nepean Sportsplex the existing 7.6 kilometre Transitway will be converted from a two-lane roadway to a twin-track electrically-powered fully segregated light rail line, including modifying Fallowfield, Longfields and Strandherd Stations. The line will end at a new Barrhaven Centre station that includes a 250-spot park-and-ride lot. A train storage and servicing facility will be built on City-owned lands near the VIA Rail overpass on Greenbank Road and new bridges provided where Woodroffe Avenue, the Southwest Transitway and Fallowfield Road currently cross the existing VIA Rail tracks at-grade.

Immediately south of Nepean Sportsplex station the elevated light rail line will transition back down to grade and follow the existing Southwest Transitway alignment west of Woodroffe Avenue as it passes through the NCC Greenbelt. Safety fencing will be provided on either side of the LRT corridor.

During construction buses will operate within mixed traffic on Woodroffe Avenue, with northbound and southbound bus queue-jumps at key locations to minimize delays.

Minimizing impact on NCC Greenbelt lands was an important study consideration. Reducing temporary and permanent NCC land requirements was addressed by designing the LRT and rail grade-separations to minimize their overall footprint. Existing property accesses and multi-use pathway networks were maintained or enhanced. Separated bridge structures are used to allow light penetration and new views across the Greenbelt. Nearby Wetlands were considered, and two new eco-crossings are included to permit the passage of fish, small mammals, larger terrestrial wildlife and birds.

Fallowfield will be an elevated station allowing pedestrian and vehicular access to the VIA Rail station to the north. Passengers will access a central platform by elevators or stairs from ground level similar to Hurdman Station, and a new bus loop will provide transfers between buses and the LRT, and the VIA Rail station.

A new signalized intersection on Woodroffe Avenue and new pathway connections will be built. The existing Memorial Garden will remain in its current location. This station has been designed with integration with a future VIA Rail station in mind.

South of Fallowfield station new bridges over the LRT line will be built at Berrigan Drive, Marketplace Avenue and Chapman Mills Drive. The existing trench near Strandherd Drive will be extended to both the north and south and the line will end at a new multi-modal Light Rail and Bus Rapid Transit Transfer Terminal Station and Park-and-Ride at Barrhaven Town Centre.

Longfields Station will remain in its current location and serve the local community via walking and cycling connections. The station will retain the same general layout, with the lower level expanded to accommodate fare gates and ticket vending machines. The existing below-grade pathway crossing remains in place.

Strandherd Station will remain in its current location but will be below-grade to accommodate the new Berrigan Drive bridge. A centre-island platform will be accessed via a pedestrian and cycling bridge which extends between the existing Park and Ride and retail plaza to the west of the station. The existing Park and Ride will remain with minor changes to accommodate revised circulation and pedestrian and cycling links.

Barrhaven Centre Station will serve as a bus and rail passenger transfer terminal linking the LRT with the future Southwest and Chapman Mills bus Transitways. Passengers will access a below-grade platform by stairs, escalators and/or elevators at ground level with links to an at-grade bus loop to provide transfers between buses and the LRT. The station will include a bus lay-up area and facilities for operators. LRT tail tracks will extend 200 metres south of the station platform within a trench crossing under Chapman Mills Drive.

A new 250-spot surface Park-and-Ride Lot west of the proposed bus loop will be built, configured to be compatible with the existing Barrhaven Centre Transitway station. In the future this facility could also be incorporated into the Civic Complex as a permanent shared-use underground facility.

The City’s Stage 1 and 2 LRT projects built Maintenance and Storage Facilities at Belfast Road and Moodie Drive respectively.

Due to the long distance between Barrhaven Centre and either of these two sites, this study determined that an additional storage facility is required to enable more efficient LRT operations by:

Reducing non-revenue train movements;
Allowing a longer time at night to do daily inspection and maintenance activities along the line; and
Providing the ability to scale service to match demand
The facility needs to accommodate 16 light rail vehicles with six covered storage tracks, two tracks for inspection, servicing and minor component repairs, and an administration building for LRT staff including parking. Located directly adjacent to the LRT corridor near the end of the line is preferred.

Six alternative sites were considered. These were:

Baseline Station
Woodroffe Open Space
Slack Road
Fallowfield
Greenbank
Barrhaven Town Centre
The evaluation considered a broad list of criteria responding to all aspects of the environmental sustainability, including: Transportation System, NCC Greenbelt, Ecological and Physical, Land Use and Community and Economic.

The Greenbank site was chosen as the preferred alternative. It is large enough to accommodate all requirements, is situated on City-owned land, and is close to the end of the line. It is bounded by the VIA Rail line to the north, Greenbank Road to the west, and the Southwest transitway corridor to the east. Access will be from Highbury Park Drive.

Walls and/or landscaped berms will be built as needed to reduce visual and noise impacts. All vehicle servicing will occur inside closed buildings, and the external lighting will be designed to ensure no spill-over effects. The site will be protected by security fencing installed around its periphery. Further noise analysis will be required during implementation to determine if mitigation is required.

Three new Rail Grade-Separations will be built where Woodroffe Avenue, the Southwest Transitway and Fallowfield Road cross the existing VIA Rail tracks.

The 2017 Barrhaven and Merivale Road Rail Crossing Grade-Separation Feasibility Study recommended building bridges to carry the transitway and roads over the rail line as the preferred option. These were deemed the most cost-effective solution that minimized geotechnical risk; impacts on the transportation network and NCC Greenbelt land; and maintained accesses to adjacent properties and developments.

This study reconfirmed the preferred option and carried out design refinements based on feedback received during both the Feasibility study and this EA.

The Woodroffe Avenue and Southwest Transitway overpasses will be separate bridge structures. The Woodroffe Avenue bridge will have two traffic lanes in each direction and will relocate the existing NCC multi-use pathway on the east side. .

The local soils cannot support heavy embankment loads so each overpass will be a long multi-span structure with lower approach embankments that reduce project footprint and allow spaces for recreational pathways and ecological connectivity underneath.

The Transitway overpass will be designed to accommodate both bus and light rail transit modes.

The open median on the Woodroffe structure will allow light to penetrate below to the multi-use pathway. In this view it is shown on the east side. The LRT overpass is to the west.

As shown in this view looking southeast, the NCC multi-use pathway provides a continuous connection and considers the future NCC Black Rapid’s Creek recreational path.

A new signalized intersection provides access to the integrated Fallowfield Station as can be seen in this view looking north-west, with the relocated Royale Equestrian Centre entrance in the foreground.

Both the Woodroffe Avenue and Southwest Transitway bridges will be built at the same time. A temporary detour will be built west of the future structures with a new signalized at-grade crossing of the VIA Rail line accommodating transitway buses, general traffic and the NCC multi-use pathway. Buses will operate in exclusive transit lanes through this crossing and transition into general traffic north of the crossing.

Northbound and southbound bus queue-jumps will be built at the Slack Road intersection, and between Vaan Drive and the Nepean Sportsplex where they will tie into the existing dedicated bus-only lanes to the north to minimize transit delays.

The Fallowfield Road overpass will cross over the VIA Rail and City LRT tracks approximately 40m north of the current crossing. This creates greater separation from the existing neighborhood reducing noise, vibration and air quality impacts and avoids building a costly temporary detour. It will have two traffic lanes in each direction and include a relocated existing multi-use pathway on the south side. The existing intersections providing access to Fallowfield Station and the adjacent shopping plazas on the south side will be reconfigured.

This view looking north-east shows the long multi-span bridge with lower approach embankments that reduce the project footprint and associated impact on NCC lands. The abandoned roadbed will be rehabilitated and provide space for landscaping, stormwater management and for potential community use. The existing multi-use pathway will be incorporated on the south side, and a new pathway connection linking to Fallowfield Station from the south will run under the overpass.

While the Transitway is being converted through Barrhaven, bus detours will replace the services normally using the Transitway. The exact routing will be determined during project implementation. One alternative includes using the Chapman Mills bus Transitway connecting to Nepean Woods Station. From there passengers could access routes travelling north on Woodroffe Avenue to Fallowfield Station, or east along Strandherd Drive and across the Vimy Bridge to the Trillium Line at Limebank Road.

Further information can be found in the additional videos, presentation boards and roll plan drawings accessible on this web site.

For more information and to provide feedback by Wednesday September 23rd 2020, please visit (www.ottawa.ca/barrhavenlrt).