Surface rail along busy streets will be too slow for suburban commuters. This idea cannot compete with the speed of the Transitways despite downtown congestion on Albert and Slater.
The biggest problem we face is the fact that rail infrastructure was totally removed from downtown in the 1950s and 1960s and we lost many critical rail right of ways to roadways, parks and housing. This makes it hard to deliver passengers quickly to downtown by a rail system.
I do believe that the only way that streetcars can be re-introduced on Bank, Rideau and other streets is to create exclusive streetcar lanes so that traffic does not hold back streetcars. With this, on-street parking will have to go, and turning across the streetcar lane will have to be restricted. This may be hard to sell to car drivers and retailers.
Expansion of the O-Train network can only be done with the understanding that it really cannot effectively deliver passengers downtown. Just as the current O-Train line serves mainly Carleton University and few other locations, we should understand that O-Train links to Barrhaven and across town to Kanata using existing rail lines will mainly serve passengers wanting to travel to locations on those corridors. I believe that extension of the O-Train to the airport is of very limited value. A rail link that does not deliver visitors to downtown hotels will not be attractive.