LRT woes complicate LeBreton arena plans

As the groups behind a Senators arena and event centre at LeBreton Flats finalize their design plans and aim to sign a lease this fall, Ottawa's light rail transit system is offline again. That has one local architect concerned.

"We're unable to produce an LRT system that has the frequency and reliability we promised our citizens," Toon Dreessen said of the Confederation Line shutdown that's now stretched on for nearly a week.

In contrast, Dreessen says, "you need dependable, high-capacity transit to service...a hockey arena that is also going to do concerts and events."

Recent events have called into question two features of Ottawa's LRT service: the design and crowd management capability of Pimisi Station, just east of the proposed LeBreton Flats arena location, and whether passenger loads like those during Bluesfest 2023 contributed to the bearing issue that led to the Line 1 shutdown.

Dreessen doesn't think the Senators and the National Capital Commission (NCC), which manages the LeBreton parcel, need to rethink the arena location in light of those concerns. But he said any issues found with the LRT line need to be factored into a downtown arena plan. 

"They should be asking questions of the city and the design community of what it would take to make LeBreton work properly," he said.

Pimisi crowd issues

Two days before the Canada Day fireworks at LeBreton Flats, OC Transpo announced Pimisi Station would be closed for part of the day to customers, except those with accessibility needs. 

The Ottawa Police Service said the decision was made with OC Transpo and Canadian Heritage, which had hired a consultancy, Kennedy Event Planning and Crowd Safety Solutions, to examine Pimisi Station.  A medical emergency during Canada Day 2022 halted pedestrian movement. 

The station is located on a bridge and its design "does not facilitate the efficient handling of substantial crowds," according to a police statement. 

The police force has declined to comment more on its concerns. But in a statement on July 5, the city and police said the station was safe and the Canada Day decision was made to minimize lineups and manage overcrowding on and around Booth Street, not at the station itself.

Before Bluesfest kicked off on July 6 with a Shania Twain concert at LeBreton Flats, the city confirmed there would be no restrictions at Pimisi during the festival.

Twain was one of the Bluesfest's top draws, attracting more than 30,000 attendees, according to festival organizers.

After Shania Twain, they were able to clear LeBreton Flats in one hour flat.- City councillor and transit commissioner Riley Brockington

Ludacris and Pitbull also drew more than 30,000 people on July 15, and on that night, nearly 16,000 commuters used Pimisi Station, according to the city, which said OC Transpo was pleased overall with how Bluesfest went. 

"After Shania Twain, they were able to clear LeBreton Flats in one hour flat," said Coun. Riley Brockington, who sits on the transit commission, adding he has no concerns with Pimisi.

"We deliberately built two stations in LeBreton Flats, an east end [one at Pimisi] and a west end station [at Bayview]," he said, "and the premise was always this was going to be not just a large residential [community] but an event centre.

"These stations should be used and compatible with large crowds."

Crowds and bearing issue

On whether passenger loads contributed to the bearing issue found on a single light rail vehicle, Brockington said he hopes not.

"I just sort of fall back and go, God, this can't be true," he said.

"Our long-term plan before LRT even opened looked at consistently increasing overall passenger ridership," he added. 

But it is possible heavy loads during Bluesfest accelerated the deterioration of the bearing, said Jie Liu, a professor of mechanical engineering at Carleton University.  

Patrick Dumond, an engineering professor at the University of Ottawa who specializes in the monitoring and diagnosis of bearing faults, said he'd like to think the bearing problem is just a one-off.

"But this is not the first time we've had issues with the bearings..." he said, "so it seems like, if it is a load issue, we're reaching that maximum load more often than we'd like to."

Over the last week, OC Transpo has run load-bearing tests on trains to simulate real-world conditions, according to the transit agency's daily updates. No results from those tests have been released, though the city has revealed inspections of 24 axle hub assemblies have uncovered no issues. 

Before the bearing issue was detected on July 17, an earlier inspection was done around the first weekend of Bluesfest: after the Shania Twain concert, but before equally-high-wattage acts such as Foo Fighters and Ludacris with Pitbull, who also played on the LeBreton Flats stage. 

If there had been a problem with the bearing at that point, it would have been identified, the city said. 

Bluesfest unquestionably brought more people than normal to Pimisi station. 

According to statistics provided by the city, about 160,000 customers entered and exited Pimisi Station between 3 p.m. to 12 a.m. over the course of the festival. That's compared to 8,050 customer trips from June 8-11 and June 14-18 during the same time of day. 

"I visited Pimisi Station after Shania, Foo Fighters and Pitbull," Bluesfest spokesperson Joe Reilly said. "It was very busy and people had to line up and wait. But overall the staff did a good job of getting people on trains."

Premature to speculate, Senators say

Mayor Mark Sutcliffe said development on a new arena and major events centre, wherever it goes, isn't going to happen quickly. 

"We have a lot of time to think through what's the best location," he said, adding, "I hope that, by the time we get to that point, we'll have a safe, reliable light rail system."

A spokesperson for the Senators said via email that "with the distance between now and the downtown arena project, it would be premature to speculate."

Toronto-based Michael Andlauer, owner of the Brantford Bulldogs junior hockey team, signed an agreement in principle last month to become the new owner of the Senators. He did not respond to a request for comment. 

The NCC said its CEO, Tobi Nussbaum, was not available for an interview. 

According to the NCC's website, the consortium behind the event centre project, which is led by the Senators, "continues to make good progress on its proposal" and "the target date to enter into a lease agreement is fall 2023."

Nussbaum said last month that while it's possible other lands may be chosen, "Until otherwise notified, the message has been clear to us that there is a strong interest in building an arena [at LeBreton Flats]."

The NCC will work with OC Transpo "to ensure robust transportation demand management and emergency strategies are in place to support transit use at LeBreton Flats," the organization said by email last week.

Any development application for a proposed events centre will require a "detailed" transportation impact assessment, the city said in its own emailed statement.