A Subway Below Bank Street? Will Densification Continue?

The last 5 years Ottawa Gatineau has experienced unprecedented population growth. At the end of December 2022 the community had 1,557,650 people. The city had 70,000 new residents in 12 months; and the population continues to accelerate.

We are seeing significant densification in the city core. Despite all of the good news, housing demand continues to outstrip supply.

The city now experiences tremendous gridlock & congestion in the core.

Getting people in and out of downtown is increasingly becoming difficult; unless you are lucky enough to live near the O-Train Confederation Line 1 or Trillium Line 2.

Map provided by @BankStOTrain

The community advocacy group “Friends of Bank Street O-Train” would like to see a Bank Street O-Train Subway operating between Parliament Station and Billings Bridge Shopping Centre in order to reduce congestion & gridlock and battle climate changing emissions. The friends of a Bank Street O-Train have been turning out to various city planning and local political events making their voices heard. In order for the Bank Street O-Train to happen, you need to have densification in the city. The good news, developers are stepping up. But will the city allow construction of housing to happen?

Lansdowne 2.0 would provide an additional 1200 housing units for a city desperately in need of housing. Loud voices want the status quo of a housing shortage to continue and rail against housing at the site. Local developer Brigil wants to build a multi tower development at the old abandoned Greyhound Bus Terminal at the corner of Bank and Catherine. The development would provide an additional 1000 new housing units.The business community in the city core according to the Bank Street BIA want development stopped. These projects, and many others approved for construction or getting through the approvals process, are increasing the likelihood the Bank Street O-Train Subway will get from concept to reality.

Brigil has filed plans with the city of Ottawa to build three high rise buildings at the site of the former Greyhound bus station on Catherine Street. (Brigil/application)

NIMBY voices want projects like Brigil, Lansdowne 2.0 and the Bank Street O-Train Subway blocked. They want the status quo of a housing shortage and traffic gridlock to continue in combination with vast amounts of suburban sprawl.

The upside is we have people like Dean Tester from “Make Housing Affordable Ottawa” speaking up. Dean says, “as a supporter of my local BIA, I was really disappointed by the comments from the Bank Street BIA president.” The BIA seems to think having more people shopping and living in the Bank Street Communities is somehow bad for local entrepreneurs.

Dean goes on to say the “redevelopment of the old Greyhound terminal would be hugely beneficial to local businesses. It's providing needed commercial space. It's adding more customers for local businesses to the neighbourhood.”

I could tell by the cadence in Dean Tester’s voice that he was just warming up - “Why wouldn't the Bank Street BIA want more than 1000 new local residents shopping daily at local businesses?” asks Tester.

He goes on to say, “infill development has a huge net positive impact on existing neighbourhoods — a development with 1000 units will generate a minimum of $15 million in development charges, plus millions of dollars yearly in property taxes” and as Dean points out this “is money that gets reinvested in local transit” and much more.

A spokesperson from another community advocacy group “A Better Ottawa” states in response to the pushback towards the redevelopment of the Greyhound Bus Terminal “Ottawa desperately needs new housing developments in the city’s core. Services and amenities are more easily accessible in the core via a walk, cycle, or short transit ride. Meaning more people have easy access to their daily needs in shorter trips. Embracing densification and increasing housing options is crucial for creating vibrant, inclusive, and sustainable cities”

And “A Better Ottawa” is also not happy with the pushback on a Bank Street O-Train -

“Bank street is a great street with its range of shops, restaurants, and experiences. However, the loud and polluting congestion caused by private vehicles diminishes its full potential. Traffic is made even worse when events are held at Lansdowne” according to the organization.

The spokesperson from “A Better Ottawa” went on to say - “the Bank Street O-Train would significantly benefit Ottawa's core by enabling densification, walkability, and transit-friendliness. The Bank Street O-Train would enhance transit accessibility, reduce reliance on private vehicles, and encourage more people to walk and bike, creating a vibrant streetscape. It would act as a catalyst for densification, accommodating population growth and providing more affordable housing options. Additionally, the O-Train would drive economic growth, support local businesses, and contribute to a more sustainable city by reducing emissions and minimizing urban sprawl. Overall, the Bank Street O-Train aligns with the principles of making Ottawa's core more livable, sustainable, and economically vibrant.”

A recent report compiled by Ottawa City Councillor Shawn Menard made up primarily of people who vehemently oppose Lansdowne 2.0 moving forward indicates his report’s voter subset has a majority who want the Bank Street O-Train to proceed.

Councillor Shawn Menard Report on Lansdowne 2.0 shows support for Bank Street O-Train across city at 51.49%

Meanwhile the Friends of Bank Street have done their own research excluding discussions about Landowne 2.0, and focussing only on transit itself. The trends are a lot of people support the idea of a Bank Street O-Train. Many supporters believe the concept will actually drive up ridership numbers on Confederation Line 1. The theory I’m told is if we provide residents access to the Bank Street communities they will be more inclined to use public rail transit from the east and west end of the city and that means less gridlock, congestion, pollution, and climate changing emissions.

Ottawa Gatineau is on pace to exceed 1.9 million people by 2028 if current growth continues. The city council is going to have to start approving much more tower development in the core if it wants to help resolve the housing crisis. Can the Bank Street O-Train Subway from Parliament Station to Billings Bridge Shopping Centre go from concept to reality? The first steps are supporting projects like Lansdowne 2.0 and the redevelopment of the Greyhound Bus Terminal.