THE WAIT IS OVER
‘Ten years of effort and a titanic amount of money’
Ottawa’s $2.1-billion LRT system opened to gushing reviews on the weekend, a rose-petal honeymoon that will be tested with Monday’s first gritty commute, October’s abandoning of the parallel bus system and the weather chaos we call winter.
But, Saturday and Sunday, it was all sweetness and light as thousands turned out for leisurely
rides — often to nowhere in particular — on brand new trains stopping at sparkling stations, 13 in all, stretching from Blair Road to Tunney’s Pasture.
Many, of course, wanted to see the four underground stations on the 12.5-kilometre route, the most profound change in how the city collectively moves in 160 years.
“Finally, I feel like Ottawa has moved one level higher,” said Nona Nalley, who took the bus-train from Orléans with husband David, 70, emerging in the ByWard Market end of the Rideau Station at about noon.
“We finally have class. It’s like we’ve upgraded ourselves.”
David said the exchange from
an OC Transpo bus to the train at Blair was seamless.
“Even though it was our first time, it was pretty idiot-proof,” he said.
“The ride was nice and smooth, but not as smooth as Montreal, with its rubber wheels. But I’m impressed.”
Up and down the system, especially on Sunday, the trains were full of young families on an outing or retired people on reconnaissance, or everyday people curious about what 10 years of effort (and a titanic amount of money) had produced, a milestone in the city’s transit history.
Many were awed by the shockingly deep station at Rideau, which both gives way to the shopping centre and ByWard Market.
But there were, too, necks craning at the impressive canoe paddle installation at Pimisi, the ironwork motif at Parliament and applause for the intelligent way the stations were laid out.
Shelley Ann Morris, 57, visually impaired since birth, was making her way out of Tunney’s at about 1 p.m., guided by her reduced vision and a white cane.
“This is just great. I’m really excited about this,” she said. A regular commuter from her home in Bayshore to an office on Bank Street, she said she was keen to know whether she could detect on which side of the train the doors would open and close. She said the “sound cue” about doors about to open/close came from the correct side of the train.
“I feel very, very confident. That was one of the things that I really wanted to know that I could do.”
She’s already growing accustomed to other sounds that guide someone visually impaired: the swooshing of the “saloon-style” doors, the beeping of the Presto touch; and she finds the rumble strips on the floor a useful warning about staircases.
“The best way to find your way around is simply to get lost in the space,” Morris said. “It’s fun.” So it was.
“Wow,” said Charlie Arcaro, as he boarded at Bayview with his son Markus, 11, looking around at the pristine train, high above Scott Street.
“The real test, you know, will come tomorrow.”
Indeed, many riders wondered whether there will be a Tunney’s bottleneck, as LRT at peak can drop off 600 passengers every five minutes — riders who likely need to get onto westbound buses in the evening. Doing the math, this means six or seven double-deckers would be needed to take on one trainload of passengers. Luckily, OC Transpo will run the existing bus system until
Oct. 6, taking some volume pressure off the train.
All in all, the system worked well on the weekend. Ticket machines produced tickets easily, wayfinding was pretty simple and, despite a wonky escalator at Rideau, all the right moving parts were moving.
(One evident problem — and it’s unclear if this will last — but side streets around Tunney’s, like Huron and Caroline, were chock-a-block with cars Sunday, probably from LRT gawkers.)
The trains, too, seem quite capable of taking on bicycles and wheelchairs, though no doubt there will be space issues over time.
Fraser MacKinnon Blair, 32, who lives in Old Ottawa South, bicycled to Bayview and took his two-year-old boy for a ride. They were impressed, and not just with the Suzy Q doughnuts they snagged.
“It seems to be running very smoothly. The trains are clean, the stations are clean. Everybody here helping out is doing an excellent job. We didn’t experience any other glitches. It’s pretty intuitive. All in all, very positive.”
No weekend ridership numbers were available Sunday but the city was to give an update on first-run operations on Monday.
Saturday was the day for official festivities.
Ontario Transportation Minister Caroline Mulroney was present, as were mayors — past and present — virtually all of city council, artists and musicians, bureaucrats and builders.
It was a particularly gratifying moment for Mayor Jim Watson, who has had to grit his teeth through roughly 18 months of delays.
“A lot of us have put in a lot of hours and got bruised along the way, but these are the challenges when you’re putting together such a complex project.”
One that begins, in earnest, at 5 a.m. Monday.
To contact Kelly Egan, please call 613-726-5896 or email kegan@ postmedia.com.