Agreed it's still on the table as a secondary connection for one service or another.
As for a tunnel (or why not a low level bridge) between Portage and the parking lot below the end of Bank Street, the NCC kind of asked why this was ruled out so quickly, when bridge capacity is going to be stretched. To me a (pretty) bridge and short tunnel under Bank to Queen solves a lot of problems.
A bridge has been my preferred option for a while now. There's the opportunity to do something really spectacular with the design of that bridge, especially considering the backdrop when looking at it from the west.
Parliament Station is a natural hub for the downtown core too. Most Gatineau commuters wouldn't even transfer to Line 1, since Parliament is within walking distance of so many commuter destinations (for government workers, Tunney's is the obvious exception).
A new N-S platform could be built underneath the existing E-W platforms. I'd personally like to see the station box built to be double the length of the typical station box, in order to future-proof for a potential N-S line under Bank. It should be double length so that Gatineau and Ottawa vehicles can pull in on the same track facing each other, and use opposite ends of the platform. This would allow for same-platform transfers for those wishing to continue north or south on the other service (something similar was proposed for Don Mills Station for the SELRT). Should the service eventually be integrated between the two systems, the configuration can be modified to permit a through service. Such a long station box would allow for entrances as far north as Wellington and as a far south as Laurier. I'm sure the multiple entrances covering a large swath of downtown would be much appreciated on a cold or snowy winter day.
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