> Ottawa's LRT isn't really LRT as most people think about it. I don't think you can generalize like that - Canada (where both the Author and I live) has 4-5 L

> Ottawa's LRT isn't really LRT as most people think about it. I don't think you can generalize like that - Canada (where both the Author and I live) has 4-5 LRT systems, with several more under construction [1]. The light rail in Calgary is the longest, it is not grade separated (it has intersections inside and outside the downtown area). I feel that it also works pretty well. Toronto has the St Clair streetcar and is building the Eglinton LRT, which is/will be partially separated, I also feel they are/will be an integral part of the network. The full separation of Ottawa's system is a big advantage, to be sure, but it is only possible because it is upgrading from a BRT which was also almost fully grade separated (otherwise, land acquisition costs would have been dramatically higher). The grade separation of the O-train is incidental to the point I was making - an LRT can make a great core of a transit network, using frequent train service instead of route duplication in Bus/BRT service. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Light_rail_in_Canada https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Light_rail_in_Canada