Pimisi station to remain open for Bluesfest after vexing Canada Day

OC Transpo is reassuring passengers confused and frustrated by the partial closure of Pimisi station during last weekend's Canada Day festivities that they won't encounter similar problems when Bluesfest kicks off Thursday.

On Monday, the city assured transit users Pimisi station will remain in service during the popular music festival at LeBreton Flats.

The site is already set up for the festival, with barriers to contain winding queues of ticket holders within a minute's walk of the station exit. 

The proximity to the LRT has been "a game changer" for the music festival, Bluesfest spokesperson Joe Reilly said Monday, helping move festivalgoers to and from the site with ease.

"They could park somewhere else, jump on the train, come down, get off — boom — and basically be on site," he said.

"We love keeping RBC Bluesfest in the middle of the city ... like a beautiful magnet in the middle of town for two weeks in July, and having that station there makes it fantastic."

Free ride for ticket holders

Reilly said the O-Train will run in both directions and extra buses will be on hand if there's demand for increased service during the event. Festivalgoers may also use their Bluesfest passes or individual tickets to get a free ride.

It will be up to OC Transpo to decide whether the post-performance exodus will require further service changes, but Reilly was confident that anyone who arrives by public transit will also be able to leave by public transit. 

"It worked last year. Hopefully it works this year," he said.

Things didn't run so smoothly on Canada Day.

According to a statement from the city's general manager of transit services, other agencies made the decision to curtail access to Pimisi station on Saturday.

"These traffic decisions were taken by the Department of Canadian Heritage and the Ottawa Police Service in consultation with the City of Ottawa's Traffic Services," wrote Renée Amilcar on the weekend.

The move to divert riders on Canada Day was made to effectively and safely manage crowds, the city said. Organizers expected to host tens of thousands of visitors despite a rainy forecast. 

Canada Day closure a surprise to many

Only people with accessibility needs were allowed to access Booth Street via the station for most of the day.

Between 8 and 10 p.m., when many were expected to arrive in hopes of staking out a prime spot to view the fireworks, trains bypassed the station entirely. After, the LRT resumed eastward service but anyone travelling west from Pimisi station had to board a bus.

Amilcar said staff had been working to get word of the service changes out "over the past week," but the closure still came as a surprise to many.

CBC asked the city to comment on why these particular crowd control measures were necessary, and what other options were considered.

The city referred those questions to Canadian Heritage and Ottawa police, but neither responded to CBC's inquiries.