Weekly newsletter: October 22, 2024
Hi everyone!
How about them fall colours?
I recently bit the inside of my lip, which made it swollen and therefore easier to bite again and again…and again. Cruel.
The police station construction on Prince of Wales south of Strandherd continues to progress on schedule. As part of that work, crews will be connecting the facility to city water mains under Prince of Wales the night of Thursday, October 24, 10:00 pm to 4:00 am.
As the water at Carleton Lodge will need to be shut off during that time, the overnight hours were chosen to minimize impact on the home. No service disruptions are expected for the community on the west side of Prince of Wales.
Foot Guards Park barbecue
The Governor General’s Foot Guards are coming back to Barrhaven East.
Join them and me at Foot Guards Park (226 Leamington Way, behind Chapman Mills Public School), this Saturday, October 26 from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm, for a free barbecue, face painting, a tug of war, equipment display, and music by the Regimental Band!
Parking is available at the two nearby schools and on neighbourhood streets. Please be respectful towards residents and their homes, if you are parking on a nearby street.
See you there!
Foot Guards Park was dedicated in 2014 by the City in honour of the Governor General’s Foot Guards, a regiment formed in Ottawa in 1872, currently headquartered at the Cartier Square Drill Hall, beside City Hall, since 1879.
The regiment has been deployed in different missions throughout its history, including both World Wars, the Balkan Wars, and Afghanistan. Locally, the regiment provided support following the 1998 ice storm, the 2017 and 2019 floods, and the early days of the pandemic.
Trillium Line trial running
Phase one of trial running successfully completed with an average score of 99.5 per cent across 14 consecutive days. Phase two began as of Monday, October 21 and lasts seven days.
The first phase of Trillium Line (O-Train lines 2 and 4) trial running was successfully completed as end-of-day Sunday. TransitNext, the construction consortium, achieved a rolling average score of 99.5 per cent across 14 consecutive days.
Over the 14 consecutive days, TransitNext was required to meet or exceed a rolling average of 98.5 per cent of trains departing within 30 seconds of their scheduled time.
Issues impacting performance or causing delays were validated by an independent certifier, who assigned issues either as caused by the City or caused by TransitNext. That means some issues (eg. staffing) did not count against TransitNext’s score.
The daily scores across the 14 days and issues impacting performance were:
Oct. 7 – 98.3 per cent, vehicle
Oct. 8 – 99.4 per cent, vehicle
Oct. 9 – 100 per cent
Oct. 10 – 100 per cent
Oct. 11 – 99.4 per cent, vehicle
Oct. 12 – 100 per cent
Oct. 13 – 100 per cent
Oct. 14 – 99.4 per cent, vehicle
Oct. 15 – 100 per cent
Oct. 16 – 98.6 per cent, vehicle and track
Oct. 17 – 99.4 per cent, vehicle
Oct. 18 – 100 per cent
Oct. 19 – 99.4 per cent, vehicle and track
Oct. 20 – 98.4 per cent, signal
Vehicle issues include climate control, on-board security cameras, traction issues, and a range of other error codes. Track issues include switches and the rail profile. Signal issues include train detection equipment, and timetable management.
Although the rolling average indicated a successful first phase of trial running, the issues that were encountered will be valuable as lessons to improve disruption workflows or to identify any remaining bugs in the system.
With the successful completion of simulated passenger service, the second phase of trial running can begin.
Lasting seven days, the aim of the second phase is for operations and maintenance staff to work through various scenarios that could occur when lines 2 and 4 are in service. Possible scenarios range from simple issues, like door faults, to major issues, like evacuations between stations.
Though there is no scoring component, the scenarios will allow staff time to further assess and finesse operating procedures and workflow, identify gaps, and validate technical systems.
Following the successful completion of both phases of trial running, Council will receive a full report and briefing on the results. The project will then move towards substantial completion, final readiness work, and regulatory approvals from federal bodies, a process which will take a minimum of three weeks.
Upon completion of those contractual and regulatory requirements, the Trillium Line will move towards service launch for transit customers. At that point, an opening date will be shared publicly.
As of October 21, 2024, the earliest possible opening date for service is the week of November 18, 2024, assuming there are no delays in the contractual and regulatory approval process.
The new bus network launches in April 2025, but routes 74 and 99 will be modified to service Limebank Station once the line opens. The 600-space park and ride at Bowesville Station also opens when the line opens.
Further reading at OCTranspo.com↗.
As shared in last week’s newsletter, students at Carleton University have access to the parking closer to campus at “Lot 64” at the northwest corner of Heron and Riverside at a daily rate of $7.50.
O-Train Line 1 service disruptions
Continued implementation of sustainable solution for the Confederation Line.
Moving over to the troubled Confederation Line, rail service on Line 1 will be partly or fully suspended on select days and times between now and Sunday, November 3.
Today (Tuesday, October 22) and tomorrow (Wednesday, October 23), rail service will operate as usual from start of service at 5:00 am until 11:00 pm. From 11:00 pm to 1:00 am, trains will operate between Tunney’s Pasture and uOttawa only, while R1 bus service will operate between Rideau and Blair.
Rail service will operate as usual all day Thursday, October 24, and Friday, October 25.
Then on the weekend, Saturday, October 26 and Sunday, October 27, rail service will be fully suspended and replaced with R1 bus service between Tunney’s Pasture and Blair. Rail service will then operate as usual all day Monday, October 28.
Next Tuesday, October 29, and Wednesday, October 30, will see a repeat of today and tomorrow’s arrangement. Regular rail service from 5:00 am to 11:00 pm, with rail service between Tunney’s Pasture and uOttawa only and R1 between Rideau and Blair from 11:00 pm to 1:00 am.
Regular rail service will operate all day Thursday, October 31, and Friday, November 1, before another weekend full closure on Saturday, November 2, and Sunday, November 3.
(The graphic above is probably easier to understand than the text version.)
During the closures, crews will perform rail ballast (the rocks under the tracks) work to improve overall track stability between Hurdman and Tremblay stations. Rail grinding across the entire line will also be done to maximise the effectiveness of top-of-rail lubricators installed at the curves throughout 2024.
The work is intended to contribute to the line’s overall reliability as part of its sustainable solution, which also includes a redesign of the train’s axle assemblies. That work is undertaken at RTG’s expense.
Additionally, city staff will perform routine inspections of the tunnel structure at St-Laurent Station.
Sprung structure shelter
No major updates to share this week, though a few residents have noted utility locate flags and markings were added to the area yesterday. I have reached out to staff to see if it’s related and will share the information via next week’s newsletter as well as social media before that.
I want to express my gratitude for your continued engagement in this item, from emails to conversations at the door. Your care and concern for your community and the project, is extremely valuable in helping me continue to fight the proposal at both sites in our community.
Previous updates can be found here, under the sprung structure shelters tab.
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Thanks for reading! I hope to see some of you at the barbecue at Foot Guards Park on Saturday.
-Wilson