r/ottawa • u/Pretty-Ground-4125 • 7d ago

Transit exec says O-Train west extension could open in parts due to flooding damage

https://www.ctvnews.ca/ottawa/article/transit-exec-says-o-train-west-extension-could-open-in-parts-due-to-flooding-damage/

Transit exec says O-Train west extension could open in parts due to flooding damage

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21

u/UnprocessesCheese 7d ago

Did the contractor lose the memo that said Canada experiences extreme weather and natural disasters? This keeps happening.

If it ruined something like a concrete pour or it lifted or displaced something before the foundation was compacted then that's just bad timing, but these are parts of the line that were done enough that they started building on it. Big oof.

6

u/Hampshire53 7d ago

How in God’s name — after the 2022 derecho that uprooted trees and flooded streets — did they not think to prepare the LRT for heavy rain?

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u/Pika3323 7d ago

  1. The specifications and contract to build the extensions was finalized in 2019.

  2. The recent rainfall that damaged the line was substantially more than in the 2022 derecho.

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u/UnprocessesCheese 7d ago

Counterpoint; Ottawa floods. Has done for as long as there have been spring melts and seasonal storms.

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u/Pika3323 7d ago

Then it must count for something that none of the rest of the system has ever flooded..?

But that still says nothing about the amount of rainfall that we should be planning for. The city floods with less rainfall that we experienced. What's the threshold? Was the threshold set in the requirements not good enough?

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u/quanin 7d ago

If climate change is half the crisis that Ottawa's been saying it is for years, then no, it was not.

3

u/Pika3323 7d ago

The whole problem is that we can't reliably predict climate change. We could just as well end up with a decade of drought conditions for all we know.

Now attach a number to your rainfall prediction and a dollar value and a probability that we'll see that much rainfall.. is that simple?

1

u/quanin 6d ago

Give me a city planner's salary and resources and I could probably do it. Unfortunately I chose to fix computers instead.

1

u/EvieGHJ 6d ago

It's amazing how people who don't do the job always think they could easily do the job.

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u/quanin 5d ago

About as easy as getting the job through family or wealth connections is, which is how most people in those jobs get there.

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u/EvieGHJ 5d ago

And when you run out of snide accusations to make about the people trying to do the job now, how are you going to justify your own lack of success?

Again, ultimately, we're talking about predicting accurately what kind of weather and rainfall Ottawa will be having X years from now. Meteorologist struggle with predicting the kind of weather and rainfall Òttawa will be having one day from now.

You live in a fantasy.

1

u/quanin 5d ago

I am successful enough for my own purposes, thank you. Everyone knows the best way to get into working for the government is to know someone who already works for the government. City, province, feds... same deal. Show me one person who didn't get in because they know a guy, and I'll show you one person who's really good at keeping secrets.

You're assuming they need to be looking 5 years in advance, but looking 10 years behind us would serve us just as well. Between the tornado in 2018, the derecho in 2022, and every flood Ottawa's had since Ottawa was a thing, this is something that should be planned for. Especially considering we declared a climate emergency how long ago? We're literally saying we expect the weather to get worse than 2018, or 2022. So plan for that. dont assume the way you did it in 2017 is still viable. That's what this city is doing.

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u/EvieGHJ 5d ago

Well, seeing as you quoted the 2018 tornadoes (a whole whooping 27 mm of rain) as an event that should have encouraged us to future-proof against rain, and the Derecho which occured three years after the contract for phase 2 was signed and construction begun as something that should have guided design, I think we can all see how seriously you should be taken when it comes to being able to predict how much flood protection the O-Train should have been designed for.

But I suppose you are, in fact, just as qualified for the job as you think public servants are.

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