Montreal-Blair Road Transit Priority Corridor

Slide 1 - Title Page
Hello and welcome to this online public consultation for the Montreal Blair Road Transit Priority Corridor Planning and Environmental Assessment Study. The purpose of this video presentation is to guide you through the preliminary preferred design for the project. We are seeking your input on this design before developing a recommended plan for the project.

Slide 2 - Study Area
The study area for this project is divided into two corridors with alternative designs evaluated for both the Montreal Road and Blair Road corridors.

The Montreal Road corridor extends from St. Laurent Boulevard in the west to Shefford Road in the east, a distance of approximately 5.5 km. This corridor serves a diverse range of land uses including employment, commercial, residential and institutional as well as serving an emerging new community at Wateridge Village. At the east end of the study corridor, a connection identification will be made with planned roadway modifications as part of the future Montreal Station on Line 1 of Ottawa’s Light Rail Transit network.

The Blair Road corridor extends from north of Montreal Road to the intersection of Blair Road and the westbound OR 174 off-ramp at the existing Blair Station on Line 1, a distance of approximately 2.8 km. This corridor connects the LRT station at Blair to residential and institutional uses and will form an important link between nearby communities and Ottawa’s light rail transit network.

Slide 3 - Environmental Assessment Process
This study was originally planned to be undertaken in accordance with the Province of Ontario’s Transit Project Assessment Process, however based on the revised project scope and in consultation with the Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks it has been determined that the project is better suited to the Municipal Class Environmental Assessment Process, with the project defined as falling under Schedule C. A Notice of Commencement for this study process has been issued to coincide with this virtual consultation event. An Environmental Study Report will be prepared later in the summer and issued for a 30 day public review period, after the Recommended Plan for the project is approved by City Council .

Slide 4 - Preliminary Preferred Design - Montreal Road
The preliminary preferred designs for this project will be presented separately for each corridor, starting with Montreal Road.

Slide 5 - Preliminary Preferred Design – Montreal Road
The study looked at a number of alternative designs including 4 and 6 lane roadway designs with either curb side or median bus lanes. In the 4 lane alternatives, the existing general purpose traffic lanes would be reallocated to bus lanes, while in the 6 lane alternatives the roadway would be widened to provide new bus lanes. All alternatives assumed complete reconstruction of Montreal Road would be undertaken, including relocation of utilities where needed, with new and improved pedestrian and cycling facilities provided for, following the City’s Complete Street design framework.

The preliminary preferred design for Montreal Road maintains the existing four lanes for general purpose traffic and adds transit priority lanes at key locations along the corridor. These include segments of continuous curbside bus lanes as well as shorter “queue jump” bus lanes at specific intersections. The proposed transit lane segments are as follows:

In the eastbound direction, a new bus lane of 500 m length from Aviation Parkway to Den Haag Drive. A queue jump lane at the Montreal-Codd’s Road intersection, and a new bus lane of 500 m length from west of Shefford Road to the future Montreal Station.

In the westbound direction, a new bus lane of 1.4 km length from Codd’s Road to St. Laurent Boulevard.

In both directions, new queue jump lanes at Bathgate Drive, Blair Road and Ogilvie Road.

New bus lanes will be combined with transit signal priority where feasible to further enhance transit performance? along the corridor. At some locations, where car volumes are lower, the transit priority lane will be shared with right-turning vehicles to reduce the amount of road widening required. At higher volume locations separate lanes for buses and right-turning vehicles have been identified..

Slide 6 - Preliminary Preferred Design – Montreal Road
The preliminary preferred design, which will be in accordance with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act and the City of Ottawa’s Accessibility Design Standards, includes comprehensive modifications and improvements for cyclists and pedestrians, including continuous segregated cycle tracks and wider sidewalks along the corridor and protected intersection designs to provide for safer movement for all modes. Changes to traffic signal timing are proposed, giving priority to pedestrians and cyclists and providing for fully protected left-turn phases for drivers.

The preliminary design has also identified opportunities for public realm and urban design improvements along the corridor.

The implementation of the project will require property acquisition by the City. Some properties will be impacted where the existing Right-of-Way is less than 37.5m. The study team is continuing to meet with property owners to discuss the potential project implications

As part of the project, a new bus loop facility is proposed at the future Montreal Station. This bus loop will help support transit services to and from the LRT station, including routes using Montreal Road.

Slide 7 - Preliminary Preferred Design – Montreal Road
The preliminary preferred design for Montreal Road includes key benefits for all travel modes.

It supports transit by locating transit priority measures where they are most needed based on future 2046 travel demand projections. This will provide a similar level of service as continuous bus lanes and support projected transit ridership in the corridor, which is estimated to be approximately 500 riders per hour in the busiest part. The preliminary preferred design can support potential new or modified bus routes and services which could be introduced in the future to accommodate shifts in travel demand and provide increased connectivity to LRT stations at Blair and Montreal Road. The design will also provide improved bus stop configurations and amenities to enhance the transit customer experience.

As outlined earlier, the preliminary preferred design improves road safety for all corridor users through adoption of a complete street design approach. This includes improved separation of cyclists and pedestrians, cross-rides, smart channels at high-volume intersections, and to driveway accesses.

For motorists, the preliminary preferred design maintains existing roadway capacity, which is needed to meet the forecasted traffic volumes in year 2046. The combination of the projected increase in traffic volumes, changes made to traffic signal phasing and timing to improve roadway safety, will result in a minor increase in travel times in parts of the corridor.

While not proposing continuous transit lanes for the entire corridor, the preliminary preferred design allows for conversion to continuous transit lanes in the future. This would be accommodated via reallocating travel lanes from cars to transit, likely sometime beyond the 2046 horizon year.

Slide 8 - Montreal Station Bus Loop
At the future Montreal Station, a bus loop and layover facility have been included in the project scope to support local bus operations and future bus network changes which could be made as part of the opening of Stage 2 LRT. This could allow for additional services along Montreal Road and nearby communities to improve local bus connections with LRT.

The bus loop facility will include parking spaces for buses, a facility for bus operators, as well as landscaping and storm water management features.

Three potential sites are being evaluated for this facility:

Site 1 is located on the north side of St. Joseph Boulevard, east of the intersection with the OR 174 eastbound on and off-ramps.

Site 2 is located on the south side of St. Joseph Boulevard, east of the intersection with the OR 174 eastbound on and off-ramps.

Site 3 is located further east, on the north side of St. Joseph Boulevard, east of the intersection with Bearbrook Road and the Sir Georges Etienne Cartier Parkway.

A preliminary preferred site will be included as part of the recommended plan to be approved by Transportation Committee and City Council later this year.

Slide 9 - Preliminary Preferred Design Overview – Blair Road
For Blair Road between Montreal Road and Blair Station, the preliminary preferred design incorporates isolated transit priority measures and improvements to active transportation in the corridor. The roadway will remain two lanes (one in each direction), with turn lanes provided at intersections. Some utility relocations will be needed to accommodate the preliminary preferred design.

Transit priority measures will support future transit service in this corridor, including a dedicated northbound left-turn lane for buses at the Montreal-Blair Road intersection, and improved bus stops and amenity spaces.

A new multi-use pathway along the west side and a new northbound cycle track along the east side of Blair Road will connect from Blair Station to Montreal Road. At Claver Street, a new signalized intersection is proposed to help pedestrians access bus stops and the multi-use pathway from the residential community and employment centres. At the Blair-Ogilvie Road intersection, the current design will be substantially improved by provision of a new protected intersection design to better accommodate pedestrians and cyclists and increase roadway safety for all users.

The EA study did not identify a need for road modifications on Blair Road north of Montreal Road.

Slide 10 - Preliminary Preferred Design – Blair Road
To accommodate the new active transportation facilities, the existing Blair Road corridor will need to be widened slightly. This widening will occur primarily along the west side of Blair Road, away from existing houses. Use of Hydro One lands on the west side of Blair Road will be required to accommodate the new multi-use pathway.

This image shows a representative cross-section of the preliminary preferred design for Blair Road between Montreal Road and Ogilvie Road, looking north. The new multi-use pathway is located on the left-hand side, separated from the roadway by a drainage ditch. One lane of vehicle traffic is accommodated in each direction, as at present. A new boulevard and cycle track are proposed along the east side of the roadway, along with upgrades to the existing sidewalk.

Slide 11 - Urban Design and Placemaking Strategy
Along both the Montreal and Blair Road corridors, the preliminary preferred design will provide for new placemaking and public realm opportunities. These spaces will provide for quality places that provide interesting, visually attractive and people-friendly areas along the corridor such as urban nodes and gateways, pathway connections and seating and rest areas. These areas will include tree planting, shade and landscaping.

Slide 12 - Urban Design and Placemaking Toolkit
An urban design and placemaking toolkit will form part of the Recommended Plan for this project and provide opportunities for unique expression and urban design in the corridor.

Slide 13 - Next Steps
After this virtual public consultation event ends, the study team will review feedback received and refine the preliminary preferred design. The design will form part of the Recommended Plan which will be developed and presented to the City’s Transportation Committee for approval in August of 2021. The environmental assessment for this project is expected to be completed sometime in the fall of 2021.

You may contact the City project manager to discuss any issues, comments or questions you may have about the project. Your feedback and ideas are important in developing a final plan for the Montreal-Blair Transit Priority Corridor.

You will have additional opportunities to provide input as part of this study, including at the Transportation Committee meeting and as part of the 30-day public review of the Environmental Study Report.

Slide 14 - Providing Feedback
Please take the time to look at the exhibit material posted as part of this virtual consultation event and complete the short survey to let us know what you think of the preliminary preferred design or other matters related to this study.

For more information, or to provide additional feedback please visit www.ottawa.ca/montrealblairroad