The new Moodie bus rapid transitway have changed how our - - PDF document

The new Moodie bus rapid transitway have changed how our neighbourhood looks and how we get around. Specifically, more people are walking on Corkstown Road, major intersections have new designs (such as Holly Acres Rd and the Transitway), and more cyclists will soon be riding through and around the Moodie station. We will highlight the City’s plans for pedestrian and cycling infrastructure as part of the new

• BRT. We will also discuss your concerns and ideas to improve the pedestrian and

cycling infrastructure in our neighbourhood so we can get to where we are going safely, easily and efficiently. 1

We interface with our sidewalk, roads and bike paths on a daily basis. It is essential we get it right. 2

We will highlight 4 priority areas along the BRT for cycling and pedestrian safety and

• connectivity. After the brief presentation we will break into small groups to further

address your questions and discuss your concerns and potential ideas for

• improvements. For those joining on Facebook Live, the recording will stop and we

will facilitate a concurrent online discussion. 3

The changes can impact everyone in our neighbourhood, regardless of whether or not you use transit. As Kate highlighted, any changes associated with the LRT will not be until 2023, so we need to ensure the current design will promote safety and that we can get in, out and around our neighbourhood for the next 5-6 years. 4

BRT and LRT routing along 417 highway, south side of our neighbourhood. Highlight intersections, currently at grade: Holly Acres and Moodie Dr. A bridge over Holly Acres for buses was originally planned but scrapped; thus new safety concerns have resulted which we will discuss later. Mention that Corkstown Road was moved to cut into some of the land by the soccer

• fields. Also a significant amount of land is covered in asphalt, so the function of the

flood plain has been changed. The details about the stormwater management and flooding risk is not the focus of tonight’s meeting and will be discussed at our next meetings. 5

Identify the 4 priority areas we will discuss. We will focus on safety at each of these areas – safety for pedestrians, cyclists, vehicles, and buses. We will highlight the current situation in each of these 4 priority areas along the BRT for cycling and pedestrian safety and connectivity. After the brief presentation we will break into small groups to further address your questions and discuss your concerns and potential ideas for improvements. 6

Moodie Station Not to go into details. But rather to introduce and highlight how:

• cars pass the station and/or enter PPUDO
• Buses enter and exit
• Pedestrians and cyclists access the station
• Pedestrians and cyclists travelling east-west can bypass the station
• Also mention that this is a wildlife corridor moving along Stillwater Creek, and

tracks were seen on the Transitway in the winter (show on map). We advocated for a gap in the fence (show location on map) to be closed which the City agreed. This change does mean pedestrians accessing the station via the Watts Creek MUP need to walk an extra 100m or so, but it ensures wildlife does not get injured or stop all Transitway traffic. Watts Creek MUP maintained Bike parking will be available at Moodie Station but will not be covered like it is at Bayshore station. PPUDO at Moodie Station. 7

Moodie Drive bridge – 2012 EPR (environmental project report) stated a requirement for a Multi-use path (MUP) on this bridge to improve pedestrian and cycling safety and connectivity to Bells Corners, the City is not taking any action on this

• requirement. Furthermore, since the construction of the BRT and the new bus access

to the station from Moodie, the overpass has become more complex and dangerous for pedetsrians and cyclists. What we have done:

• CBLCA transportation ctte chair meetings with our City Councillor Mark Taylor and

both BRT and LRT teams

• No commitments for action from these meetings, so we filed a complain with the

Ministry of Environment and Climate Change (the ones responsible for ensuring the EPRs are followed). Additional community members also submitted complaints on non-compliance regarding this issue. Through this process we learned the City has 10 years to comply. Around the same time, the MOECC approved the EPR for the LRT extension to Moodie, which omitted any mention of this bridge.

• Since then, additional meetings with Bike Ottawa, Mark Taylor’s office and Rick

Chiarelli (councillor for Bells Corners) to find allies to advocate and to continue to 8

apply pressure for this work to be considered and expedited. During these meetings with Councillor Taylor, we have received notice that he will work with the LRT team and City to look at our suggestions of pulling the Moodie overpass out of the LRT project and complete it earlier as a separate project. The design of the final cycling infrastructure for this bridge is still to be determined.

• Conclusion: This is a major connection between our community and Bells Corners.

We anticipate this corridor will become busier with increased employees at DND and people from both Bells Corners and Kanata trying to access the BRT. We are seeking your ideas and potential support for improved safety in this area. 8

You will have all likely noticed the increase pedstrian traffic along Corkstown Road between Crystal Beach Drive and Moodie Drive to access the new transit station. This active transportation is great; however we need to ensure that all pedestrians, cyclists, and vehicle passengers are safe at all times of day. We also anticipate increased volume of traffic dropping people off at the BRT and more cyclists and pedestrians as the weather improves. 9

A sidewalk on the north side of Corkstown Rd originally planned to fall of 2018 is now being accelerated to be completed by end of July 2018 in response to complaints and concerns expressed by community membrs to the city and Councillor Taylor. However, no lighting is planned for this route at this time. We may have an

• pportunity now to influence the City to install light standards or wire lighting to

existing poles; we hope to discuss this more in our small groups. We have asked for, but not seen, drawings for this proposed sidewalk; specifically we want to know about location, how it will go over the bridge just west of Abbott driveway on Corkstown Rd (in middle picture), and plans for stormwater management (e.g. slope

• f road, ditches, drainage, etc)

Watts Creek MUP maintained A new cross ride at Moodie Station across Corkstown Rd to connect with MUP on north side through soccer field (and flood plain) has been built, but the signals are not yet functional (assuming spring 2018?) What we have done:

• Ongoing meetings with Mark Taylor and BRT and LRT teams to advocate that a

sidewalk is essential. We were successful in getting this plan moved earlier as part 10

• f BRT plans (is this correct? Was it only part of LRT plans before?)
• Active discussion on neighbourhood Facebook page (our committee was not

involved, but followed the discussion between community members and Mark Taylor) Conclusion:

• This section of Corkstown Road is a major artery for our community. Until a

sidewalk is installed, please share the road - drive slowly, move over for pedestrians and cyclists, and wear reflective clothing and/or lights to be better seen if you are biking or walking.

• We may have an opportunity to advocate to light this stretch of Corkstown, we

want to hear your opinions and support for or against in our small groups. 10

Moodie Dr and Corkstown Rd intersection Two concerns: 1) Volume of cars, buses and cyclists; 2) poor visibility of cyclists Despite what these photographs show, this is a high volume intersection and its current design is predicted by the City to fail or in other words not function as it should with any increase in volume. There are changes planned to include additional turning lanes, but we unfortunately do not have detailed drawings of what is planned. Volume: Vehicles – approx 1900 per hour through intersection, all directions, at peak period. Buses – approx 100 per hour at peak am and pm on transitway Cyclists – City states 15-20 per hour. CBLCA study Aug-Sept 2017, peak am and pm, avg 134 cyclists per hour Since the BRT has been installed, there is now a fork in the MUP approaching Moodie Drive from the east. Cyclists are encouraged to divert onto Corkstown Road here vs. proceeding to the light at the top of the intersection. Also there is limited visibility of cyclists on MUP; so for cars and buses turning right onto Moodie North bound this 11

has the potential for collisions with cyclists. There is some discussion with the BRT team at the City of raising the cycling bed from the hollow to increase their visibility and reduce the flooding on the path in this area; but we currently do not have further details. 11

Many of you would have noticed that this intersection was in a constant state of construction and change last year. As previously mentioned, the BRT now crosses at grade and not on a bridge over Holly Acres Rd. A bridge was originally planned with the BRT but this was deferred as a cost savings until the LRT. We continued to have significant concerns about the Holly Acres Rd intersection with BRT

• First concern was +++ cars turning onto the Transitway (vs onto the 417

westbound on ramp, since the BRT is to the right of the median). We tracked the numbers, and strongly advocated with the City until some signage was in place. They also had police cars, then OC transpo cars monitoring the situation for the first few weeks.

• Light posts in middle of sidewalk and MUP. We have learned this design in in

compliance with AODA (Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act)

• Cross-ride for north-south bound cyclist not being considered. Walk your bike is

the current solution. Cycling measurements indicate a 100:1 ratio of cyclists traveling north-south on this stretch vs east-west. CBLCA study late Sept 2017 avg 48 cyclists per hour. 12

• MUP on Holly Acres Rd ends at Transitway and not yet extended to Aero Drive,

thus limiting access for our community

• Signage blocking signal, plus interferes with visibility
• Multiple surfaces, with no painted lines makes navigating complicated and unclear

(flip to next slide for additional pictures)

• However there are a number of improvements coming to this intersection:
• Improved location and visibility of signage
• Some improvements in roadbed paint
• Improvement to the MUP from Holly Acres to Bayshore station so as to comply

with MUP design requirements What we have done:

• Engaged with Bike Ottawa as allies for advocacy
• Many meetings with city councillor’s office, BRT and LRT teams to better

understand the designs and advocate for changes to improve the safety of pedestrians, cyclists, buses and vehicle passengers.

• Encouraged painted lines, cross rides, moving the posts or at least putting

reflective coatings.

• In conversation with Councillor Taylor, we understand that the north-south

cross rides will not be considered until the LRT contruction. However he has requested that the BRT team look at what can be done to improve the functionality and safety of cycling travel along Holly Acres. Community suggestions to our committee and to Councillor Taylor would also help.

• Conclusion: we are seeking your ideas and potential support to increase

safety in this area 12

13

Questions for in-room and Facebook discussion: The new Moodie bus rapid transitway have changed how our neighbourhood looks and how we get around. Specifically, more people are walking on Corkstown Road, major intersections have new designs (such as Holly Acres Rd and the Transitway), and more cyclists will soon be riding through and around the Moodie station. Four priority safety areas have been identified: Moodie Dr bridge over 417; Corkstown Rd and Moodie Dr intersection; Corkstown Road between Crystal Beach Drive and Moodie station; and Holly Acres Rd at the BRT.

• 1. What are your concerns about the changes resulting from the BRT?
• 2. What are your suggestions to improve safety and infrastructure in these

four priority areas?

• 3. What do you still need to know?

14

Corkstown Rd sidewalk lighting email campaign to Councillor Taylor Moodie bridge email campaign Holly Acres email campaign? 15

16