![]() Having removed Ottawa's rail heritage, the NCC put up a plaqueĪs for the former Ottawa train station, it has languished for decades as an underused Federal conference centre. But instead of a terminus in the heart of downtown Ottawa, the service brings commuters to, ironically, the vacant LeBreton Flats.Ĭitizen: Why it's not safe to cross the road Ĭitizen: Deal near to restart Champlain bridge work Ĭitizen: Boulevard plan divides Quebec neighbours Ĭommunities Before Cars case against the Champlain Bridge Expansion ![]() A pilot project for a rail service from the south of the city runs on one of the few remaining rail lines in the city. Meanwhile, Ottawa is getting interested in commuter rail once again. plans for a $355-million ring-road and bridge proposal.plans to build a vast parking garage beneath Sparks Street, demolishing a square block in the process.plowing a grand boulevard through Hull and Gatineau Park (the McConnell-Laramee freeway).Unwilling to learn from their mistakes, they continued their road-building plans, including: It's no longer 1960, but the NCC continues to plan as though it is: the flow and accommodation of automobile traffic in the city continues to be one of its biggest preoccupations. The Nicholas Expressway: the trains are long gone And with the planned construction of the Alta Vista "Parkway," things look to only get worse. The Nicholas Street expressway is now the main truck route from the Queensway to Hull, an impenetrable barrier between Sandy Hill and the canal, and resulted in a wasteland between Waller and Nicholas that was vacant for decades, while the Nicholas and Laurier intersection is ranked as the most pedestrian unfriendly in the city. ![]() When the trains left, the cars, trucks and buses took their place, eight lanes worth. Ottawa Railway History Circle history of Union StationĬitizen letter: Save our railway heritage Ĭitizen: Putting things back on track for Ottawa's train station We have the Centennial celebrations and the NCC's own embarrassment to thank for the building's survival: ever concerned with appearances, they felt that a demolished building would appear unsightly just as they were getting ready for the 1967 celebrations. Incredibly, the plan called for the former station's demolition, as it would impede traffic flow. So the valuable rail transit corridor through the heart of the city was replaced with the Nicholas Street expressway and Colonel By Drive, and the station moved out to the suburbs against the wishes of the railroads, its future irrelevance guaranteed. The NCC general manager, displaying that trademarked NCC foresight, claimed Ottawa did not need a downtown station as "it was being planned on a decentralized approach and would not have the traffic congestion now experienced by other cities." It was closed for the sake of The NCC's monumental (and monumentally short-sighted) plans - after all, it was the sixties, and who needed trains anymore? One of North America's first monumental railway stations, Grand Trunk Railway Union Station opened in 1912 and served passengers until 1966. The closing of Ottawa's central train station was a blunder that was to have far-reaching consequences.
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