Orleans residents concerned about road plan around future LRT station

Residents in Orléans and the local councillor are raising concerns about the updated road design near the new Convent Glen LRT station.

Residents in Orléans and the local councillor are raising concerns about the updated road design near the new Convent Glen LRT station.

The boulevard has been reduced from four lanes to two, and OC Transpo buses, making station stops, will block traffic from passing.

Michael O'Donnell's home is a two minute walk from the new LRT station along the overpass on Orléans Boulevard, and he worries that the new design will lead to gridlock on an already busy roadway.

"It's just going to create traffic chaos and it's going to create us having to go all the way through that traffic jam and wait," he says. "The old design, to me, was the one to go for. Now you're going to have a conflict of bicycles, pedestrians, buses and vehicles all in that one small area."

O'Donnell refers to the initial road design plan, which also saw the four-lanes of traffic reduced in half, but allowed room for vehicles to pass by buses.

But earlier this year, the City of Ottawa provided a Stage 2 O-Train East Extension update, which included a new design of Orléans Boulevard, and determined that the bus stops about 50 meters from the LRT station were of an 'unfavourable distance'.

Now, the bus will stop in front of the LRT station on both sides, but vehicles will not be able to pass. There will also be cycling lanes on both sides of the street that run between bus stops and pedestrian walkways. The city says the design is aligned with its transportation master plan and plans for future cycling connectivity in the area.