JOUR 1 – Voyage matinale
My commute to work this morning went a lot smoother than it did last year at the start of the #TransitChallenge2020 (no broken down buses or Mack-King black holes).
This morning, I invited CBC Ottawa to Orléans to share an east end perspective of the challenges our community has been facing for months now.
I got on the 39 at the Trim Park and Ride and shared a conversation with Sean, an operator who spends most of his day serving our community. Je suis embarqué sur la 39 à 7:30AM depuis la station Trim en direction Blair, et j’ai eu la chance d’avoir une belle conversation avec Sean, un conducteur d’autobus qui travaille souvent dans le secteur Orléans.
The Presto reader on the bus was not working properly and it made getting on quite a bit slower than normal, with my fellow riders doing their best to tap and pay. The double-deckers take a very long time to load and unload as compared to the 60-foot buses, which makes me question their efficiency as a rush hour bus.
À la station Blair, le train arrive à chaque 4min. Mon voyage se passe bien, malgré l’espace restrain. We were already in the fare paid zone, so there was no opportunity to tap to ensure our fares were paid properly. Mon voyage sur le train se termine à l’arrêt uOttawa, pour retrouver le sentier polyvalent du canal Rideau qui me mène à l’hotel de ville.
Just like last year, I will start my commute in a different corner of the ward in order to experience firsthand the issues I have been working to fix on your behalf.
DAY 1: Evening commute
Well, the train is running with 13 doubles this afternoon (so far) with 3 minutes between trains. I skipped the first two that went by at uOttawa station because they were just too full. Transfer at Blair was smooth, but we really need to split the Orléans traffic so that the platforms don’t overcrowd.
C’est frustrant de voir des autobus 39 qui ne s’arrêtent pas prêt de l’arrêt désigné. Pourquoi avoir des arrêts désignés s’ils ne sont pas respectés? De plus, ça parait que les étudiants sont en semaine de relâche. L’autobus aurait pu être beaucoup plus remplis.
Otherwise, a decent commute. Side-note: the sidewalks need some closer attention during freezing rain events. I almost bailed on my way to the train.
JOUR 2 – Voyage matinale
Le trajet est long puisque le 33 couvre plusieurs secteurs, mais c’était très agréable de serpenter au travers de Fallingbrook sans me préoccuper de ma conduite et de mon véhicule. J’ai pu noter quelques problèmes d’entretien des routes. Je vais certainement faire le suivi avec nos équipes d’entretien. J’ai aussi remarqué plusieurs pancartes éléctorale, et ça m’a rappelé que les bureaux de vote par anticipation sont ouvert dès aujourd’hui. Consultez le site Web d’ Elections Ontario pour plus d’informations.
From Place d’Orléans to Blair, a 39 was in front of us the entire time. It was packed, but we were not. The bunching of routes remains an issue, especially when it comes to the 33 and 233. We need to get routes spread more evenly to provide more travel options and prevent overcrowding.
Sur l’autoroute 174, nous filons à bonne allure, dépassant voiture après voiture. J’avais un grand sourire aux lèvres. Lorsque le réseau fonctionne comme il se doit, l’autobus est une option de transport efficace et incroyable. Lorsqu’il y a cancellation ou délai par contre, vous connaissez déjà la fin de l’histoire.
At Blair station, I just missed a train coming up the stairs, but the next one arrived two minutes later. We sat on the platform for two extra minutes and, it is cold on the legs with the doors open.
Luckily, I experienced no delays today and made it to City Hall in under an hour, including wait times and walking. Now, I’m headed into Community and Protective Services Committee where I’ll find out how Jenna Sudds commute from the west went this morning! I’ve been reading the other Councillor’s accounts all week long to compare the issues we face, and to get a better understanding of how we might work together to resolve the common problems.
Until the commute home, stay warm out there!
I get a lot of complaints about the 39, and for good reason. In my opinion, it amalgamated too many important routes and left Springridge, parts of Cardinal Creek and Fallingbrook without a quick, easy route to Blair. While today is a bit of an exception with the Teacher’s Strike and it being reading week, I still wanted to get a feel for the length and the pressures felt by AM 39 users. I started at Millennium Park and Ride (which was nearly empty) and caught up with Kyle, who was driving the 25.
The 39 was on time (again, less pressure on the system today) and the operator was awesome! We chatted all the way to Blair about mental health, the Transportation Master Plan and other city issues. I appreciated the honesty, trust and warmth of this conversation. This route, however, could be more frequent and more reliable in the early hours. I receive numerous complaints from residents in Springridge and Fallingbrook about missed trips, overcrowding and the milk run route. Glad to experience it firsthand. I’ll make an effort to take it earlier on another day to get a better feel for the pressure of a busier morning.
The train was running well this morning. Friday’s have, for some reason, been bad luck charms for the LRT lately, and I fully expected a mess. I met up with Dave, and old pal from high school who moved back to Orléans (as many of us do) and has been using public transit over the past year to and from work. It was good to get his perspective and to have some company between Blair and Hurdman.
Je suis débarqué du train à la station uOttawa car j’ai rendez-vous avec le comité de sélection ce matin. Espérons que j’aurai plus à vous dire sur le sujet dans les jours qui suivent.
La marche de la station allait bien mieux aujourd’hui. Les trottoirs était déneigés et le sel distribué. Le sel peux affecter l’infrastructure et l’environnement, donc j’espére pouvoir explorer des alternatives éfficaces lors de la revue du Plan directeur des transports. Le pont piétonnier Corktown était en bien meilleur état aujourd’hui, bien déneigé. Je me suis arrêter quelques moments pour admirer la beauté de la Patinoire du canal Rideau.
I have meetings in Orléans today, so I’ll be travelling back off-peak. With the continuing issues we’re facing, I’ll be taking OC Transpo more often, as I have found this week to be very enlightening. Besides, I’ve seen more old friends and great conversations that I’ve missing out on in the solitude of the commute in my car. I’ll admit, it’s easy to get into a bit of a bubble as an elected official. I’m all over the city, meeting people at their homes, taking part in consultations and attending meetings and committees. I try my best to pop that bubble by using city programs, taking part in Play Time at the Ottawa Public Library / Bibliothèque publique d’Ottawa and parenting workshops at Orléans-Cumberland CRC that are put on by Ottawa Public Health. I still have a fitness membership that I use far too infrequently, but using the services the city offers is important to me.
J’espère que votre journée va bien! À bientôt!
I can’t wait until they get that fixed. It’s off-peak, so the train wasn’t busy. Someone decided to squeeze in the doors at the last minute. “Oh, here we go,” I thought, but he made it without tripping the safety features. We were on our way.
