A downtown tunnel is in the future for public transit in Ottawa under all four options for a proposed rapid transit network unveiled by city staff Monday.

A long-term plan for rapid buses or trains that pass through downtown is being developed as part of an update to the city's 2003 transportation master plan.

The updated plan will include one of four options, with an estimated cost of $3.2 billion to $3.8 billion each, which could use the tunnel for:

• Buses only; the city would keep the city's diesel single-track O-train line, but would not add any other light rail lines.
• Buses and a train with twin tracks that would run north-south from the University of Ottawa, through downtown, to the airport and to a station at the south end of Bowesville Road in Riverside South.
• An east-west light-rail line that would run from Baseline station north to Lincoln fields and then east to Blair station.
• The east-west line, while the twin-track north-south rail line to Bowesville station would also be built.

All four plans call for an expansion of the city's transitway:

• South from South Keys and the airport to a station at the south end of Bowesville Road.
• East from Barrhaven through Riverside South, connecting with the north-south transit way at Bowesville Station.
• Southwest from Barrhaven Centre to a station at Cambrian Road.

They also all require commuters coming in from the outer suburbs to transfer to another bus or train before entering the city's downtown core.

That was seen as a fatal drawback of previous transit plans, but deputy city manager Nancy Schepers said she is confident it could work.

"The public in Ottawa is prepared to transfer, provided that the system is very reliable, and that the transfer takes place in a place that's comfortable and sheltered from the weather," she said.

None of the plans include light rail across the Rideau River into Barrhaven, a key feature of the previous light rail plan that was cancelled by council in December 2006.

That disappointed some councillors.

Mayor praises tunnel

Mayor Larry O'Brien said the tunnel will make transit more reliable and prevent weather-related delays, and is an option he's backed from the start.

"During the campaign I … said that a ride on a world-class transit system can only start with a ride down an escalator," he said after arriving by bus at the downtown World Exchange Plaza for a news conference.

O'Brien said citizens elected him "to hit the reset button on mass transit" and pointed to the four options as the result.

The mayor also used his speech to thank Conservative MP John Baird for "listening to his constituents." During the 2006 municipal election campaign, Baird withheld federal money for the city's previous light-rail plan until the new council could vote on the contract. The new council ended up cancelling that contract.

Coun. Rainer Bloess was among councillors who said they were pleased with the options replacing the old plan.

"We do start in the core. That was the weak link in the previous transit plans," he said. "I think there is something for everybody here."

Councillor hopes for non-city funding

Coun. Peter Hume said the city is counting on upper levels of government to pay at least a third of the cost of whatever plan goes forward.

"When you look at Toronto and other cities and what they have been able to have funded by the province and federal government, it's totally realistic," he added. "This is a reasonable plan."

The plan was released following public consultations in the fall.

The city will be accepting public comments on the four options through open houses and online consultations during the next two months, and staff will table the recommended option in mid-April.

That option will go before the joint transit and transportation committee on May 21 and to city council on May 28.