Bank street has long been a congested street through the centre of urban Ottawa. Bus routes 6 and 7 on Bank street see 5,000 daily riders, and yet the buses are packed, highly cancelled, and stuck in traffic behind cars. As the Transportation Chair of the Centretown Community Association, one of the issues I hear complaints about the most is how unreliable the 6 and 7 bus routes are.
It’s clear we need a solution for fixing traffic on one of Ottawa’s densest streets. With Bank St currently undergoing an active transportation and transit priority study, I’m using this as an opportunity to share my solution for traffic and transit on Bank.
Short Term: More bus Frequency
OC Transpo describes frequent service as every 15 minutes, which just isn’t frequent enough in very dense urban areas of Ottawa. The 7 runs about every 15 minutes, and the 6 runs about every 10-15 minutes during peak time. That’s not frequent enough to meet demand, especially when you account for both routes being among the top 10 most cancelled in the city. Full buses are a common sight on Bank Street.
It’s also not frequent enough to encourage even more people to bus. There are huge convenience and ease of mind benefits to going to a bus stop and knowing the buses come so often that you don’t need to check a schedule. More frequent buses would induce more transit ridership on Bank, thus removing the number of cars causing traffic.
I’m very disappointed that OC Transpo’s upcoming bus network changes don’t make any significant changes to the buses on Bank Street. Alongside more frequency, which the changes don’t mention, express routes would also be useful. Having to stop every couple blocks makes connecting between downtown and South Ottawa take much longer than it should. Transit riders need options.
Medium Term: Dedicated Bus Lanes
The City of Ottawa is currently running an active transportation and transit priority feasibility study for part of Bank Street. The study is currently considering four options for Bank from the canal to the Highway:
A. Keeping Bank Street as is, with 4 vehicle/bus lanes.
B. 2 bus lanes at peak, used as vehicle parking off/peak. 2 vehicle/bus lanes each way during Lansdowne events.
C. 1 Northbound bus lane, 2 vehicle/bus lanes, and 1 parking lane
D. 2 vehicle/bus lanes, 1 parking lane and 2 bike lanes
I’ll be discussing option B in more detail, as I think it’s the closest to the best option, with some major improvements needed.
In my opinion Bank Street should be used for bus lanes. It’s a major bus route from downtown to the South, and the 6 and 7 are two of the most used buses in Ottawa. Cycling improvements are badly needed in and near downtown, but nearby streets like O’Connor, Percy, and Queen Elizabeth Drive are better suited for bikes in my opinion, and they’re what I stick to when I bike to the south.
Option B is good because it provides peak time bus lanes in both directions, significantly reducing the time buses wait in traffic. The issue is that when buses are needed most, during busy events at Lansdowne, the road goes back to 2 vehicle/bus lanes in each direction.
If we want to minimize traffic and ensure as many people as possible can get to Lansdowne, we need to keep bus lanes during events at Lansdowne.
Long Term: Dedicated Transit Infrastructure
The ultimate long term dream is a subway, but due to costs that’s likely not realistic.
A surface level tram could be a good solution, although it’d have to be reasonably fast and not be stuck behind traffic.
An LRT could be reasonable as well, but I don’t see it happening due to the cost and the fact that line 2 already runs North/South. I see the value in redundancy, especially considering Bank and nearby areas are densely populated, but Ottawa may not feel the same.
Thanks for reading and please consider sharing your thoughts on Bank Street with the city here.
I feel these studies and projects need a full-time historian. Oh my how the world doth endeth should we reduce the number of lanes available to vehicular traffic. Those upset at reduction of lanes bring up all the same arguments and concerns that were loudly expressed when the idea of a complete street was proposed for Main Street in Old Ottawa East.
Bank Street was closed entirely pre-covid for construction and during the few spring weekends when it was pedestrian only (as the finishing touches were being done and before it was reopenned) it was glorious and thriving. By then traffic & transit patterns had adapted and the fact we could safely walk and bike around the heart of the Glebe had folks flocking there from miles around. I shed a tear when the Mayor proudly cut a ribbon to open it back up "for business".
Bank is again down to one lane at Billings bridge as the next leg of bank street's renewal occurs. By 2027 when that project is anticipated to be completed I am certain that transit and traffic patterns will have once again adapted to avoid that area completely for pass-through commuting while also figuring out how to get to the people and businesses you want/need to visit in the construction zones. We will then cut the ribbon to open it all back up to traffic and wish that we had done something better, asking staff to write us up 4 options.
Please contact Free Transit Ottawa. The group is advocating for dedicated bus lanes on bank street...
Thanks for the article.
Karim,
🤲🙏🌻