Info on Alternatives
The Queensway Environmental Assessment is recommending a list of road modifications from Anderson Road in the east to the 416 interchange in the west. This project is really a collection of many proposals for widening and changing ramp configurations. See the brief summary of road proposal.
We have already had some success in getting some of the most awful proposals dropped which include much of what is shown in the animated banner at the top of this page. See Properties Spared page for details.
Quick Comparison
| Congestion | More congestion overall (See note 1 below). | Slightly higher congestion than current levels. | Slightly higher congestion but smoother flow. | |
| Safety | Increased risk of accidents (See note 2 below). | Fewer injuries, fatalities and property damage per person-trip. | Reduced severity of accidents. Improved ramp operation. | |
| Noise | More cars = more noise. | Light rail systems require fewer sound barriers than highways. | Less noise per vehicle = less noise overall. | |
| Pollution | More cars + more congestion = more smog and greenhouse gases. | Less smog and less green house gases. | Slightly less smog and less green house gases overall. | |
| Health | More smog = more asthma, respiratory problems and deaths. | Stop the trend of increasing asthma and respiratory illnesses. | Slightly less pollution which is good. | |
| Aesthetics | More asphalt and concrete. | Preserves existing neighbourhoods. | Preserves existing neighbourhoods. | |
| Costs | Many times more than what it cost to put the existing O-train line in service. | One light rail line can carry the equivalent of 7 seven lanes of highway. | Orders of magnitude cheaper than anything else. | |
| Official Plan | Not part of Ottawa's Smart Growth plan for the year 2021. Not complementary to either walking or cycling. | Consistent with Ottawa's 20/20 Smart Growth plan. Complementary to walking and cycling. | Could be combined with Rapid Transit and Smart Growth. | |
Notes:
- Arterial roads to and from the Queensway will have more congestion. If we are lucky we will get a bit of short term relief on the 417 itself but in the long run there will be worst congestion on the 417. The consultant's own traffic forecasting shows a fully congested Queensway in downtown in all scenarios (with or without widening). With widening there will be more cars on the road and less money for transit.
- Currently, the most severe accidents happen on the Queensway outside the core where the road is widest and fastest. If the Queensway expansion results in higher speeds and similar driver behaviour as what is currently in outlying areas, the risk is for more accidents involving personal injury and death closer to the core.
The bottom line is simple: the money that would be spent widening the Queensway would move more people with fewer negative consequences if it were spent on rapid transit.
For more details on the alternatives see the following:
Road Widening has more details on the impact of potential expansion plans with emphasis on the downtown area where costs and impacts would be highest and includes links to the MTO's site for the study.
Rapid Transit has more on how parts of City of Ottawa's Official Plan would represent a better investment of the funds to the spent on Queensway widening.
Lowering the speed limit from 100 km/hr is an example of a simple low cost alternative which could be considered. The merits of a reduced speed limit within the Greenbelt can be summed up as follows:
- Accident severity goes up with speed. Less harm results for accidents at lower speed. At the May 2003 PAC (Public Advisory Committee) meeting, the consultant said the number one priority in the Queensway study is safety.
- The older Queensway ramps are substandard in length and don't provide enough acceleration or deceleration space for a high speed highway. At lower speeds these ramps would work better.
- Reducing speed reduces fuel consumption and hence pollution (so long as the traffic moves smoothly).
- Reducing speed also reduces noise levels.
- The optimal speed to maximize the number of cars per hour a roadway can carry is in the range of 60 to 70 km/hr. At higher speed the greater space between the cars reduces the road's throughput and at lower speeds even though the cars are closer together their lower speed begins to reduce the throughput.
The downside of reducing the speed limit inside the Greenbelt boils down to:
- Increased travel time of about one and half minutes on average to get to or out of downtown and just under 3 minutes going between Kanata and Orleans (assuming for example that a lower speed limit of 80 km/hr is in effect between St. Laurent and Richmond Road).
Updated January 31, 2007
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