Residents of some Old Ottawa East side streets should prepare to have OC Transpo buses rattling the windows of their homes.
At a public open house Nov. 20, the city unveiled possible bus routes to be used during Main Street reconstruction, beginning next spring.
Officials asked for public comments about the proposed routes. While the the three that involve bus Number 16 will skirt the fringes of the OOE community and have little impact on residential streets, those of bus Number 5 could cut through some neighbourhoods.
The first route would see the northbound Number 5 turn left off Main onto Clegg Street, to Colonel By Drive, then go north on Colonel By to the Pretoria Bridge, where it would resume its usual path.
The second proposal would see the bus turn left onto Clegg, right on Glenora Street, left on Hazel Street, right on Graham Avenue and back to Main.
The third possible route would see the bus turn south on Main at Riverdale Avenue, go to Riverside Drive, to the Transitway, Lees Avenue, Greenfield Avenue and then return to Main and go to Hawthorne, where it would resume its regular route.
The fourth option, to be used during the latter phase of construction when Main would be blocked south of Clegg, would see the Number 5 turn south on Main at Riverdale, go to Elliot Street, turn left on Marlowe Avenue and proceed north on Marlowe to Clegg, where it would rejoin a newly completed section of Main.
The city has not confirmed it will use any of the proposed routes. It must obtain the go-ahead from the National Capital Commission for one of the routes that would use Colonel By Drive.
City staff at the open house urged people to e-mail Josee Vallee, the senior engineer in charge of the reconstruction project, with their comments about the proposed routes. Her e-mail was: josee.vallee@ottawa.ca.
Officials also cautioned residents against seeing the proposals as the only options available. The city was seeking public comments, one OC Transpo staffer said, rather than simply asking people to choose the least unpopular of the three routes.
“It’s input, as opposed to a vote,” said Daniel Richardson, a transit planner.
