Project Spotlight: O-Train Extension Connectivity Enhancements

We’ve got good news for walkers, runners, cyclists, Carleton students and pedestrian bridge enthusiasts all across Ottawa.

The Rideau River Pedestrian bridge is open!

On June 15, we opened the new Rideau River Pedestrian Bridge, as part of the O-Train South Extension Project. The bridge is located beside O-Train Line 2 and provides pedestrians and cyclists an easy connection between Carleton University and Vincent Massey Park that will provide further access to the RA Centre, Hog’s Back Falls, Billings Bridge Shopping Centre and more.

The new Rideau River pedestrian bridge, with a LINT vehicle on the rail bridge.

We share everyone’s excitement in opening the Rideau River Pedestrian Bridge and are even more excited for the many more connectivity improvements that the O-Train Extension project will deliver in the coming years.

To refresh your memory, the Stage 2 O-Train Extension project will add 44 kilometres of rail and 24 new O-Train stations to our rail network bringing 77 per cent of Ottawa residents within five kilometres of rail . Generally, that is a 10-minute bus ride, a 20-minute bike ride, or a shorter trip if dropped off by car.

Ensuring that key local pedestrian and cyclist networks are integrated into the O-Train Extension Project is very important to us. Through this project, we’re adding approximately $20 million in infrastructure to the City of Ottawa’s pedestrian and cycling network, providing critical connections and full accessible pathways to our new O-Train stations. This means more multi-use pathways (MUPs), cycle-tracks, pedestrian bridges and bike parking for communities all across Ottawa.

The Next Stop Blog team is here to give you a preview of future connectivity enhancements that will be delivered as part of the O-Train Extension project. Let’s find out more about how we are stepping up our active transportation networks in the south, east, and west.

O-Train South Extension

For the O-Train South Extension (Lines 2 and 4), the project will add the following new cycling and pedestrian facilities:

• A 60-metre pedestrian and cycling bridge across the Rideau River
• A raised 80-metre pedestrian and cycling bridge over Hunt Club Road connecting to the existing north-south MUP system with new cross-rides at Hunt Club Road and Airport Parkway
• A 7-kilometre stone dust pathway between South Keys Station and Bowesville Station including new pedestrian crossings at Lester, Leitrim, and Earl Armstrong
• A MUP and wildlife grade separated crossing at the intersection of High Road and the railway, to connect the natural areas that would be otherwise divided by the guideway
• A new MUP connecting Limebank Station to Earl Armstrong Road

High Road Wildlife Bridge, over O-Train Line 2.

O-Train East Extension

The O-Train East Extension Project (Line 1) will see the creation of the following cycling and pedestrian facilities:

• A 4-kilometre MUP between Blair Station and Sir George Etienne Cartier Parkway including a new pedestrian bridge over Green’s Creek. This MUP includes connections into the community at Blair Place, Trillium Park, Arrowsmith Drive, Pine Gove Bible Church, and East Acres Road
• Improved pedestrian and cyclist connectivity at Jeanne d’Arc Station, including widened sidewalks, cross-rides and a MUP on the east side of the overpass
• New and renewed MUPs around Place d’Orléans Station, including a new 800-metre MUP between Place d’Orléans Park and Ride and Bilberry Drive, the addition of lighting along the renewed MUP from Champlain Street to Alpine Street, and new MUPs from Champlain Street to Centrum Boulevard
• New MUPs and sidewalks around Trim Station, including along the newly realigned Trim Road and leading to Jeanne d’Arc Boulevard
• Trim Station has also been futureproofed for a new pedestrian bridge over the westbound lanes on Highway 174.

Greens Creek Pedestrian Bridge.

O-Train West Extension

The O-Train West Extension Project (Lines 1 and 3) will construct new cycling and pedestrian facilities, including:

• Improved cyclist and pedestrian connectivity along Scott Street from Churchill Ave to Caroline Avenue
• A renewed MUP with lighting from Churchill Avenue to Kichi Zìbì Station
• A renewed pedestrian bridge from Roosevelt Avenue to Workman Avenue
• Two new pedestrian underpasses under the Kichi Zìbì Mìkan; one connecting north of Churchill Avenue and one adjacent to Cleary Avenue
• Two new signalized pedestrian crossings of the Kichi Zìbì Mìkan; one near Westboro Beach and one at the Rochester Field
• Enhanced active mobility features through the Byron-Richmond Corridor, from Cleary Avenue to Edgeworth Avenue including:
  • Integration of soft and hardscaping through the corridor for community use
  • New cycle tracks and sidewalks along Richmond Road

• New MUPs leading to Lincoln Fields Station and through Connaught Park
• Renewal of the Woodroffe High School pedestrian and cycling bridge
• New and renewed MUPs between the Highway 417 and Woodroffe Avenue, via Iris and Algonquin Stations
• Renewed MUPs and enhanced landscaping through the Pinecrest Stormwater Pond area
• A new pedestrian and cycling overpass across Highway 417 – connecting residents from Baxter Road to the new Queensview Station
• A new MUP connection from Severn Avenue to Queensview Drive, connecting residents to Queensview Station
• A new pedestrian connection from Richmond Road to Bayshore Station

Queensview pedestrian bridge connecting to Line 3.

Let us know!

With Ottawa’s population continuing to grow, the O-Train extension project will help ensure the nation’s capital continues to be one of the best places to live, work and play.

For more information and maps of the connectivity enhancements, please visit the connectivity enhancement study.

Did you find this information helpful? Which connectivity feature are you looking forward to most? Let us know by emailing thenextstopblog@ottawa.ca.