Abstract Manager

The Ottawa Hospital is developing a world class healthcare and research facility to replace the aging Civic Hospital Campus in the Nation’s Capital. The New Campus Development (NCD) will serve the greater Ottawa and Eastern Ontario region, Western Quebec and Nunavut, and will employ over 10,000 staff within a 500,000 m² campus. A $2.8 billion investment represents one of Ottawa’s largest public health infrastructure projects ever.

A series of transportation planning studies were prepared to support the municipal, provincial and federal approval processes for the “Master Site Plan” (MSP) – reflecting full buildout of the NCD. The NCD is situated in an evolving neighbourhood that includes some of the city’s busiest arterial roadways, commercial destinations, venerable residential communities, planned medium- and high-rise developments, and Capital landmarks such as the Central Experimental Farm (CEF) and Rideau Canal/Dow’s Lake.

Anticipated population growth combined with future travel activity at the NCD was a significant concern for community. A critical element of the MSP process was to engage stakeholders to forecast future travel trends at the NCD, identify the various impacts to the area transportation network, and recommend appropriate interventions.

The 50-acre site has a unique topography and natural features. There is a notable escarpment, creating grade changes of up to 20m that needed to be addressed to meet universal accessibility standards. The site has many trees and a popular community greenspace (Queen Juliana Park) with multiple active transportation pathway connections. Preserving these trees and connections was a key mandate.

Among the opportunities leveraged included a well-established municipal active transportation network with pathways along the Rideau Canal and nearby CEF. The team consulted frequently with the operating authorities to ensure active transportation facilities were effectively integrated into the MSP. Transit integration was also an important consideration, with an LRT station situated within walking distance and a planned bus rapid transit route along the site’s frontage.

This presentation will outline the evolution of the transportation elements in the MSP, including the approval process, unique infrastructure and operational challenges, and compromises made to gain acceptance by the community as well as various levels of government. Various transportation principles and tools were applied, including:

• Multi-Modal Level-of-Service
• Protected Intersection Design
• Neighbourhood Traffic Management
• Parking Planning
• Transportation Monitoring
• TDM and TOD
• Universal Accessibility (AODA)

TOH and the consultant team were ultimately successful in achieving approval from all levels of government, with the first phase and early servicing currently under construction.