Barrhaven LRT extension pegged at $3B

The City of Ottawa has a plan to extend light rail to Barrhavenand finally separate Via Rail tracks from transit and traffic, but it pegsthe cost at $3 billion and doesn't yet know where thatmoney willcome from.

The designwould also require tearing down 120 privately owned affordable rental unitsto make way for an elevated track between Algonquin College and the Nepean Sportsplex,something that concerns those residents and their Knoxdale-Merivale councillor.

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An environmental assessment headed to transportation committee on Nov.2lays out the route for 10 kilometres of twin tracks and seven stations southtoBarrhaven.

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Astudy in 2018 already laidthe groundwork for the other part of Stage 3: an11-kilometre extensionto Kanataand Stittsvilleestimated to cost $1.85 billion.

Bridges over Via tracks

Much of the Barrhaven line would use existing Transitway, convert four existing transit stations,and would end ata future downtown Barrhaven.

The plan also includesthree newbridges over the Via Rail line at a cost of $400 million. That would eliminate thelevel crossings atWoodroffe Avenue, Fallowfield Road, and at the Southwest Transitway,the site of a tragic collision between a double-deckerOC Transpo bus and Viatrain that killed six people in2013.

"Safety upgrades at our Via crossings as part of this investment cannot be measured," wrote Barrhaven Coun. Jan Harder in her comments on the staff report.

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She called the environmental study for Stage 3 a "key piece" for takingLRT to fast-growing Barrhaven.

It also includes a garage for eight double-vehicletrains at Highbury Park and Greenbank Road, at a site previously considered for future affordable housing.

120 rental homes lost

But the first segment that could somedaybe built, from Baseline Station to Nepean Sportplex, involves building elevated tracks and three new stations at Tallwood, Knoxdale and the busy recreation centre.

Staff saytaking the train below ground level would be too risky, expensive and take longer to build.

Not only would water and sewage lines need to be moved, but the water table is high in that location and construction carries therisk of settlement issues for up to 640 nearby housesand commercial buildings, staff say.

But elevated tracks would require private property and affect 120 rental units. Advocates for the residents in Manor Village, which is now owned by Smart Living Properties, have been petitioning against losing affordable rental homes.

"There's an extremely long runway before the shovels are going to hit the ground," said Coun. Keith Egli, who has been told any construction would be at least seven or eight years away.

He knows that's nocomfort to those now living with uncertainty, but says city staff are sympathetic and want to work with housing and private partners togive those residents places to move.

"There's a will to find a way to come up with options and we have some time to do that," said Egli. He's also not entirely convinced the below-grade options in the Woodroffe corridor need to be off the table.

Timelines and COVID

The Baseline to Nepean Sportsplex section, along with the rail bridges,has been estimated to cost $2 billion, while the southern section to Barrhaven would cost another billion dollars.

Ottawa officials have stated in the past their hope to have the provincial and federal governments each cover half the cost of Stage 3. For now, there's no promise of funding.

And even if COVID-19 shifts travel patterns as people work from home, Egli said the Barrhaven line would still help thousands of people get to Centrepointe Theatre, Algonquin College and other places using methods other than their private vehicles.

"It's not all about going downtown, necessarily," said Egli, who pointed out councillors this week endorsed a strategy for dramatically cutting greenhouse gas emissions.

"LRT and the train ... are an important part of making us a greener city overall."