Ottawa

Straps coming to all LRT trains by end of January

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City balked at original quote of $1M, will now pay $200K extra

One-third of Ottawa's new LRT trains now have strap hangers, and the rest should be installed by end of January, transit officials said Wednesday. (City of Ottawa)

Riders on Ottawa's new light rail system will have straps to hold on to on all trains by the end of next month, OC Transpo officials said Wednesday.

The straps have already been installed on one-third of the trains, and Rideau Transit Group (RTG) is working to get the rest delivered and installed by end of January, the city's transit commission heard during its monthly LRT update.

'Are we having a worldwide strap hanger shortage?' - Coun. Glen Gower

Riders noticed the lack of straps almost immediately after the Confederation Line opened to the public in mid-September, with many complaining they're not tall enough to grab hold of the metal bars overhead.

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Some riders even staged a protest by hanging on to scarves strung over the bars, but officials noted Wednesday that method is unsafe.

"Are we having a worldwide strap hanger shortage? How come it's taking so long to get these strap hangers in?" asked Coun. Glen Gower.

Transportation services manager John Manconi explained RTG had secured two different kinds of strap, but OC Transpo wanted them to be a consistent length. The straps were supposed to be installed right after the launch, but the agency became distracted by the chronic LRT delays, he said.

The city also paid extra to have vertical grab bars installed. (Andrew Lee/CBC)

'Welcome to the world of P3s'

The city is paying RTG just under $200,000 to have the straps installed, Manconi said, a far cry from the $1 million the consortium quoted when the LRT was being designed.

"Unfortunately, welcome to the world of P3s (public-private partnerships)," Manconi noted Wednesday. "We said there is no way we could justify $1 million for strap hangers."

Manconi said the city knew it could get a better price to install the straps after the launch.

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OC Transpo also paid extra for vertical poles with grab handles, as well as extra handles on seat backs, Manconi said.

Installing the poles cost "exactly" $1 million, said Michael Morgan, director of the city's rail construction program, in a statement to CBC News.