| Busway Cities Fall to Appeal of Light Rail Ottawa, Ontario , the poster-child for busway advocates,
has changed directions and approved an approximately five mile light rail pilot project.
It will operate on existing Canadian Pacific R.R. freight tracks between Greenboro and
Bayview, near downtown Ottawa. The two year pilot project is expected to cost $16 million.
The line will use diesel self-propelled rail cars and link the Labreton Flats area near
central Ottawa with Carleton University and nearby office parks. It will connect with the
existing busway system.
This is the city whose busway network Charlotte hopes to closely follow as a model for
our four planned busway corridors. While Ottawa turns to light rail, Charlotte
clings to Ottawa’s old busway technology.
Houston, Texas, another busway city, has approved a light rail project between
downtown and the Astrodome. Many observers have said rail in Houston would be impossible
due to its decentralization and resulting tangled web of expressways. |
