Baseline station
Baseline | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Transitway station | |||||||||||||||||||||
General information | |||||||||||||||||||||
Coordinates | 45°20′51″N 75°45′39″W / 45.34750°N 75.76083°W | ||||||||||||||||||||
Owned by | OC Transpo | ||||||||||||||||||||
History | |||||||||||||||||||||
Opened | 1 October 2009 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Services | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Baseline Transitway Station is directly across from the main campus of Algonquin College in Ottawa's west end, off of Woodroffe Avenue and Baseline Road. Many Algonquin students and Centrepointe residents use this terminal to get to various points in the city, and of course, to get to the College. Several residential and business areas such as Centrepointe and College Square are also served by this important station.
It is also a major transfer point for communities in the inner southwest part of Ottawa, making it one of the busiest stations. A small park and ride is also located here, which was the terminus for route 95 for many years until it was extended to Barrhaven. After this station, Route 95 buses leave the transitway to travel on reserved bus lanes on Woodroffe Avenue, and re-enter the transitway at the Nepean Sportsplex. Baseline Station was the first station to be constructed in 1983 when the Transitway was undergoing initial construction.
Several trips on route 95 are shortened to start/end at Baseline Station. These trips are meant to supplement the trips travelling to/from Barrhaven Centre Station and do not serve Barrhaven. Several peak period and weekend trips on route 94 are also shortened to start/end here, supplementing service to/from Nepean Woods Station in east Barrhaven and providing an alternative route to route 95.
Expansion
Baseline station is currently undergoing a series of renovations, as part of the expansion of the Southwest Transitway. The current plan involves constructing a new station west of the current one, making room for the new Algonquin Centre for Construction Excellence (ACCE).[1] The new station will allow passengers to transfer from buses to the proposed LRT line when it is completed.[2]
The expansion has three main phases:
- Phase IA (May 2009 - August 2011)
- Baseline Station Relocation to the west of the proposed ACCE Building of Algonquin College, including new connections to Woodroffe Avenue; (complete)
- Navaho Drive Bridge structure; (complete)
- College Avenue Bridge structure (pending budget approval);
- Relocation of the 1200 mm diameter watermain at Navaho Drive;
- Construction of trench/tunnel structure for the SW Transitway (including the storm sewer and road surface) between Navaho Drive and College Avenue; (complete except for station and road surface) and
- Woodroffe Avenue Pedestrian bridge between the existing Algonquin College Campus on the east side of Woodroffe Avenue, and the future ACCE building on the west side of Woodroffe Avenue. (complete)
- Phase IB (April 2010 - November 2010)
- Tallwood Drive Bridge structure;
- Tallwood Transit Station; and
- The Tallwood Drive storm sewer relocation and watermain relocation.
- Phase II (2011–2013)
- The new Transitway Station at College Avenue that will be constructed to the south of the proposed ACCE Building;
- The SW Transitway BRT grade separation from Tallwood Drive north to College Avenue, including the ramps at the new Transitway Station; and
- The SW Transitway BRT from Navaho north to Baseline Road, and Tallwood south to Norice Street with a bus re-entry onto Woodroffe Avenue.
- Phase III (2016 and Onwards)
- Includes the long-term installation of all LRT systems required when the LRT (to be branded O-Train) is extended south to Baseline Station.
Currently, the original station has been demolished as the new station has been put into service as of October 1, 2009. The new station started out diminutive, with single shelters placed every few hundred metres, but proper shelters have been put in their place since.
Service
The following routes serve Baseline Station:
70 71 72 73 77
86B 87
91
94 95 111 118 156
157
172
174 178
205
402
406
456
Note: Route 87 doesn't serve Baseline Station in the late evenings Monday-Friday or outside of business hours on the weekends.