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Ottawa Transit Developments

There are a lot of articles coming out as a result of the threshold matter. I found this one to be helpful at explaining what happened.

 
It's clear that some councillors see an easy and cost free opportunity for political grandstanding.

It's a non-scandal. But convenient because these politicians get to rail about a known corrupt company and do the usual anti-government whining about the bureaucracy. It's disgusting because this is how faith in government is undermined.
 
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You get what you pay for ... time and time again we've seen that the low bidder manages to force and implement change order after change order to create healthy profit
I'm not sure if this was noted earlier but this contract is a DFBM contact.

I'm no expert on contract law but I think the design part gives the city the right to go tell SNC to eat dirt if they come back with a request to change the design that they came up with.

With that said, I've heard the city is considering changing the design of South Keys station to better facilitate transfers between the mainline and the airport, though this has apparently been in discussions since even before the contracts were awarded.
 
I'm not sure if this was noted earlier but this contract is a DFBM contact.

I'm no expert on contract law but I think the design part gives the city the right to go tell SNC to eat dirt if they come back with a request to change the design that they came up with.
You'd think so, wouldn't you. But isn't Eglinton DFBM, and when they started challenging it, saying they couldn't achieve it on time with the $, they suddenly got more money?

Which is surely partly bad contracting by Metrolinx - but that's all part of the game.
 
Insiders are saying that a train failure yesterday was not a planned scenario. It is looking unlikely that the August 16th deadline will be met.
 
Insiders are saying that a train failure yesterday was not a planned scenario. It is looking unlikely that the August 16th deadline will be met.

Probably not but who knows. The city guards information like they are the CIA. Is this an Ottawa thing? It seems Toronto isn't nearly as tight lipped.
 
'Like a CF-18 fighter jet': LRT noise disturbing condo dwellers

"It sounds like a CF-18 fighter jet," said Ghassan Hammouri, who lives on the 14th floor of 215 Parkdale Ave., a condo building perched on the northern edge of the LRT trench, just east of Tunney's Pasture station.

Indeed, with the windows open, a passing train sounds more like a passing plane. The noise rises gradually to a deafening peak that makes normal conversation, concentrating on a task or even hearing the television all but impossible, residents say.
Residents dispute that. For one thing, the decibel levels are presented as an average over a 16-hour period, which they say doesn't reflect the frequent, sharp rises in volume that come when a train passes.

Also, the noise-level testing, which was conducted from inside a unit at the Parkdale condo building, was done with the windows closed. Residents say that doesn't accurately represent the sonic disruption, particularly in the summer months.
I haven't delved into the Environmental Assessment of the line and neither do I live in Ottawa, but this seems a little over exaggerated. I'm sure most forum users have had plenty of experience around rail vehicles and would probably agree that trains don't make as much noise as a fighter jet. From YouTube videos, the trains seem to make as much noise as TTC Flexity's. Anyone with a more up close experience of the line can discredit that.
 
The comparison with fighter jets was made because the RAF Red Arrows had flown over downtown Ottawa recently and some people at the same location had seen them from their buildings.

There are a number of problems. The trains are running in a trench, which is projecting the sound upwards. Also, the tracks have been laid on concrete instead of ballast. Ballast will absorb a good portion of the noise.

Judge for yourself

CBC Ottawa radio on LRT noise in Mechanicsville

CBC Ottawa News video on LRT noise in Mechanicsville

Note: Scott Street is where all the diverted buses are located until the Confederation Line is opened, yet the trains are clearly much louder than regular traffic. In the video, you see an articulated bus, that you don't hear at all.

I have commented for years on SSP Ottawa how loud Trillium Line trains are when I am at our local Home Depot.
 
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'Like a CF-18 fighter jet': LRT noise disturbing condo dwellers



I haven't delved into the Environmental Assessment of the line and neither do I live in Ottawa, but this seems a little over exaggerated. I'm sure most forum users have had plenty of experience around rail vehicles and would probably agree that trains don't make as much noise as a fighter jet. From YouTube videos, the trains seem to make as much noise as TTC Flexity's. Anyone with a more up close experience of the line can discredit that.

NIMBYS exaggerating?? NO......say it ain't so!
 

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