Embedded Files
Downtown Interprovincial Truck Tunnel Study (2016)
Downtown Interprovincial Truck Tunnel Study (2016)
Latest Update: 2025
In 2022 and 2025 the NCC published two editions of its Long Term Integrated Interprovincial Crossings Study. This Study discussed and evaluated various options for resolving issues of interprovincial movement of people, cars, and trucks including transit expansions, a new bridge across the Ottawa River, and this downtown truck tunnel.
In 2020, the Federal Government committed to constructing a new bridge over the Ottawa River at Kettle Island/Aviation Parkway. In 2025 a federal impact assessment was formally launched for construction of a 6th bridge across the Ottawa River at Kettle Is/Aviation Parkway.
Latest Update: Aug 2016
One of the most serious and longstanding transportation planning issues in Ottawa has been the problem of the volume of interprovincial heavy trucks traversing Ottawa's downtown to reach the Macdonald-Cartier bridge (2600 trucks/day), and to a lesser extent (1000 trucks/day) traversing the Dalhousie ward to reach the Chaudieres bridge.
The interprovincial crossings project was undertaken between 2007 and 2013 to determine a location for a new bridge across the Ottawa River which was to serve as an additional truck route to help alleviate the downtown truck problems.
This project ended in June 2013 with no satisfactory resolution to the location for a new bridge and all progress towards a solution to the downtown truck problem stopped.
In the fall of 2013 the City of Ottawa and the Ontario Ministry of Transport announced their intention to explore the feasibility of a downtown tunnel between the 417 and the Macdonald-Cartier bridge as a potential solution to this problem.
There had been many calls from the community to include this alternative as part of the analysis undertaken in the interprovincial crossings project. However any serious study of this option was discounted because of the importance that was placed on moving forward with a project that would add new capacity for interprovincial car traffic.
In April of 2014, the City of Ottawa and the Ontario Ministry of Transport moved forward on their commitment by releasing an RFP to solicit a consultant to perform the tunnel feasibility study. The final report was listed as a 2015-2018 Term of Council priority to be released by Q1 of 2016.
In June 2016 the release of the report was delayed until Fall 2016 with the reason given being that more time was required to refine some of the technical details of the report.
The report was released in Aug 2016 and concluded that a tunnel could be feasibly constructed along a route between the Vanier Parkway near Coventry Road and the Macdonald-Cartier bridge. If available today the Study confirmed that it would divert 1700 trucks per day and up to 25,000 cars per day off of downtown streets. This information and its associated analysis is provided in this Tunnel Feasibility Study Transportation Report.
The proposed tunnel would be 3.4km long, would in fact be 2 separate tunnels (one for each direction of travel), with 2 lanes in each tunnel. The cost was estimated at between 1.7B$ and 2.0B$ (2015$). It was estimated that if the tunnel existed in 2016 that it would carry approximately 1700 trucks and 20,000-25,000 cars per day. During the peak afternoon period the car traffic would approach 1400 vehicles per hour and a forecast was made that this would increase to 2500 vehicles per hour by 2031. Unfortunately the Study did not provide any forecast for how much additional truck traffic the tunnel would carry by 2031.
Ottawa City Council on Sep 14, 2016 voted 21-2 to set aside 2.5m$ in the 2017 budget for a detailed environmental assessment (EA) for this tunnel and commissioned the Mayor to approach the provincial and federal governments to also contribute to the funding of the EA on a 1/3 basis. The EA process includes significant opportunities for formal public consultations. It is expected it would take 3-4 years to complete.
The provincial government of the time committed their 1/3 contribution for this EA to complement the City of Ottawa's commitment. However the federal government did not commit to their proposed 1/3 funding. After several years, the City of Ottawa reversed the 2.5m$ it had allocated in the 2017 budget and the funds were reallocated to other projects.
Click here for further details on the downtown truck tunnel feasibility study details
East End Interprovincial Crossings - Downtown Truck Route (2013+)
East End Interprovincial Crossings - Downtown Truck Route (2013+)
Overview
In 2007, the NCC together with the Ontario and Quebec Ministries of Transport commissioned an extensive multi-phase study to determine a location for a new crossing of the Ottawa River. They shortlisted 3 possible bridge corridors in the east of the National Capital Region and discounted all potential west end bridge locations. An east end bridge was intended to add significant new capacity to accommodate projected increases in peak period auto demand as well as to provide a new route for heavy trucks to cross the Ottawa River. Initial estimates projected the overall cost of the project to be $400m to $500m (Updated as of May 2020 to 1.8B$) making it one of the largest road projects in Ottawa in decades.
The project has many opponents who do not wish a new heavy truck route situated near their communities. Meanwhile others believe that the proposed new bridge would not provide an adequate truck route which would actually alleviate the problem of 3500 trucks per day travelling through downtown Ottawa streets (2600 on Rideau/King Edward and 900 on Preston/Bronson/Scott).
The FCA contends that the primary focus for any new inter-provincial project should be to provide a viable solution to the problem of interprovincial trucks in the downtown residential communities and that any solution that simply spreads the trucks into other communities and without fully resolving the downtown problem is not acceptable. Thee FCA advocates that alternatives that could provide a better solution to this truck problem need to be more fully investigated.
The following link will lead you to more information about this Interprovincial Crossings Project and the ongoing issues that it is intended to address.
Airport Parkway/Lester Rd Widening
Airport Parkway/Lester Rd Widening
Update 2025: In the 2025 TMP the Airport Parkway project between Brookfield and Hunt Club was re-prioritized to a post 2033 project. The Lester Rd widening was separated out as a separate project (ie. was no longer considered as a 'phase' of the Airport Parkway project and reclassified as a "Needs" based project which essentially meant that as of 2025 it was not considered as financially feasible until post 2046.
Update: 2016-2024: This project was re-considered multiple times at City Council during this period and decisions taken to delay the implementation of the project until at least several years after the completion of the LRT Lines 2 and 4 (ie. expansion of the north-south O-Train project to Riverside South with service every 12 minutes). This Line 2 project went into service in early 2025.
Update: Sep 2016 - Environmental Assessment Approved by City Council
The consultant completed their environmental assessment (EA) study for this project in the spring of 2016 and a report was brought to City council in June. The EA was accepted by council in a vote of 18 for and 5 against. Numerous delegations spoke at Transportation Committee asking the project to be delayed until post-2023 when the Trillium transit line is to be extended to and beyond the airport. One of the FCA member associations submitted these public comments to the Committee. Another contentious element of the project is the proposal to add a new southbound off-ramp from the Parkway to Walkley Rd. Numerous local groups opposed this plan because of the potential for additional cut-through traffic in adjacent communities.
The EA in the form of the "Environmental Study Report - ESR' was posted for a 30 day review period in Sep 2016 for further public comment at which point it was 'approved' by the Ontario Ministry of the Environment . After this approval, the City may go ahead with the project. It is not clear when the City of Ottawa will propose to commence construction.
More public debate is required to determine whether its implementation can be justified prior to extending the Trillium transit line to and beyond the airport (which is planned for 2023).
As part of the EA, the City released the Airport Parkway Needs Assessment document outlining the traffic projections and arguments for why this road widening project is needed.
Update: Jan 2016 - Phase 1 delayed until post 2020
An Ottawa Citizen article reported a Nov 2015 internal city memo that stated that as a result of lower than expected collections of development charges that funding would not be available to start this project until at least 2020 or possibly even longer. That represents a delay of several years from the original plan.
Just a few more years of delay and it just may be possible to realize our preferred plan to have the Trillium Line extension to south of the Airport (planned for 2023) completed first and to evaluate the timing/need for the road expansion once the benefits of the transit expansion can be realized and evaluated. Later in January 2016 the mayor hinted that he would be supportive of re-prioritizing the Trillium line expansion ahead of the road expansion.
Both articles go on to provide the details that the City had expected 43m$ of development charges revenues annually but that going forward a more realistic projection was 26m$ annually. A city official is then quoted as saying "the new reality means that road projects will be introduced at a slower rate to match available funding".
Project Overview:
The 2013 Transportation Master plan pulled forward the proposed date for this project by several years and as a result an Environmental Assessment project was initiated during 2014.
This project is proposed to have a 3 stage rollout as follows:
Stage 1: expand Airport parkway to 4 lanes divided hwy between Hunt Club and Brookfield
- Completion is envisioned for 2019, Projected Cost: 31m$
Stage 2: expand Lester Rd to 4 lanes between Albion Rd and the Airport Parkway
- Completion envisioned for 2020-2025 timeframe, Projected Cost: 13m$
Stage 3: expand Airport parkway to 4 lanes divided hwy between the Airport and Hunt Club
- Completion envisioned for 2026-2031 timeframe, projected cost 36m$
End-End project cost = 80m$
The study went through 3 rounds of public open houses (the 1st occured on Jan 27, 2015) and was finished in the latter half of 2016.
At a December 2014 pre-meeting the main topics that were raised by by members of the public were concerns about the project timing and about the degree to which this road expansion would lead to further congestion on Bronson Ave north of the canal. Those same issues were raised by various members of the 100 strong crowd who attended the first public consultation meeting on Jan 27, 2015.
The project timing issue is related to the fact that the City is extending the Trillium line to Riverside south (Bowesville station) and to the airport by 2023. Thus doubling the capacity on the parallel roadway just prior to the transit expansion seemed like putting the cart before the horse. Of course the project consultants insist that both are needed and the sooner we get started on the road expansion the better (since the transit expansion can't be rolled out any faster than 2023)
The other concern relates to the question of the utility (futility?) of delivering an increase of cars onto Bronson Ave which is already at full capacity in the section north of the canal. Although the airport parkway expansion will reduce congestion and increase capacity for traffic headed to Heron Rd/Riverside Dr/Carleton U. it is not likely to be of any help to traffic destined to downtown/417 west/Carling Ave and in fact could significantly worsen the commute time on this leg of the journey not just for south end commuters but other city commuters currently using that corridor whose commutes will be worsened as a result of this project. The FCA is of the view that the City should study this issue in order to clarify whether the overall system wide benefits would actually be justified relative to the cost of this project.
Highway 174 Widening
Highway 174 Widening
On Mar 2, 2016 the Transportation Committee accepted the 174 Widening Environmental Assessment. This 343m$ project was prioritized in the TMP 2013 as a post-2031 project. This calls for a widening to 6-lanes of the 174 from 'the split' with the 417 eastwards to Trim Rd, where a new full freeway interchange would be built and then a widening from 2 lanes to 4 lanes would continue further eastwards to the village of Cumberland.
There are calls from some Ottawa councilors that the Ontario Government fund this project. This brings a potential risk that it could be implemented sooner and that such a decision could displace senior level government funding away funding from other Ottawa transportation related projects (most notably a solution to the downtown interprovincial truck problem).
The cost of this EA was funded by the Province of Ontario as a means to accelerate it's completion to link it with the Province's intention to widen Hwy 17 further east of the City of Ottawa boundary. Normally EA's expire after 10 years (ie. they need to be re-opened/re-viewed if a project is not started within 10 years of the EA completion. Since the current City of Ottawa plans do not forsee undertaking this project until post 2031 (15 years from this date of writing), it is unclear what this all means. It certainly does increase the suspicion that the Province might step in and accelerate implementation of this project. It certainly would not be a positive for transit ridership on the LRT Stage 2 which is to be extended eastward to Orleans paralleling this 174 widening.
NCC Parkways: Sir John A. Macdonald Parkway Narrowing
NCC Parkways: Sir John A. Macdonald Parkway Narrowing
The National Capital Commission is contemplating potential changes to the Sir John A. Macdonald (SJAM) Parkway post 2023 once Ottawa's LRT Stage 2 project is completed and OC Transpo buses will no longer be using the section of the roadway between the 417 and Dominion Station.
The most notable and potentially controversial aspect of the proposal is to reduce the roadway from 4 lanes to 2 lanes (subject to detailed traffic studies) between Carling Ave. and Island Park Dr. This would allow the asphalt to be moved further away from the pedestrian and cycling paths along the waterfront. The traffic volumes along this section of the roadway are considerably lower than the sections further east and we look forward to traffic studies which could confirm that the roadway narrowing could be achieved with little to no impact on existing commuter traffic.
For further reference: NCC Parkways Policy Document
This document lays out the guiding principles the NCC will use to govern the evolution of the Parkways in Ottawa.
Alta Vista corridor (AVC)
Alta Vista corridor (AVC)
Overview:
Since the 1980s the City of Ottawa has listed as one of its top priority new road projects an undeveloped corridor joining Conroy Road at Walkley through to a modified Nicholas/417 interchange at the Queensway (including a new 4-lane bridge across the Rideau River). An Environmental Assessment was initiated in 2001.
The project was partitioned into 3 separate stages with the first stage referred to as the "Hospital Link": a connection between Riverside Dr and the north side of the Ottawa Hospital General Campus. A coalition (Citizens for Healthy Communities) was formed in 2001 including representatives from downtown community associations to oppose this on the basis of the number of additional cars it would dump into the downtown area. The coalition felt any such transportation investments were much better spent on new transit initiatives.
2025 Update: During development of the 2025 TMP it was decided to terminate plans for Phase 3 of the AVC (ie. north of Riverside Drive to Nicholas St) and to remove this project from the Official Plan and Transportation Master Plan. The Phase 2 project (from Ottawa Hospital to Conroy Rd) remains in the plan as a "Needs" prioritized project which means as of 2025 funding was not considered to be available to construct it until post 2046.
2015 Update:
Construction of the AVC Phase 1 - Hospital Link (at a cost of 69m$) was begun. The project was completed in 2017.
Nov 2013 Update:
In the 2013 TMP the City proposed that the AVC Phases 2 (south to Conroy Rd) and 3 (North on a new bridge across the Rideau River) be delayed until post 2031. The emergence of higher priority roadway needs in combination with a more realistic assessment of costs and expected Development Charge revenues resulted in the `demotion`of the AVTC in terms of implementation timeframe. In the 2008 TMP the northern phase of the AVC (Riverside Dr to 417-Nicholas Interchange) was listed as needed for implementation in the 2016 to 2022 timeframe.
This delay was welcome news to many downtown community associations which had opposed this road for decades. The CA's were pleased that the City finally recognized that its (supposed) benefits relative to its costs did not pass the value test. The 2011 budget commitment of 69m$ to construct Phase 1 (The Hospital Link) was a bad decision which is now even worse given that other phases of this roadway have been delayed for at least another 18 years. The City had a golden opportunity to back off from the Phase 1 roadway and re-prioritize the committed 69m$ for other more useful projects. Having not made that decision, the Hospital Link serves as nothing more than a secondary access road serving nothing but the Ottawa Hospital.
Background:
The City of Ottawa began public consultations towards an environmental assessment (EA) for the construction of this road in 2001. The EA was completed and presented to City council in 2005 and at that time was vigorously opposed by a number of community groups.
As a compromise it was agreed that the road would be broken into 3 phases and that only Phase 1: the "Hospital Link" portion was approved for construction. It was further agreed that 2 more reviews of the Transportation Master Plan (2008 and 2013) would be required before any decision would be taken regarding the remaining 2 phases of the roadway. The coalition opposed to this road appealed to the Ontario Ministry of the Environment that this EA was incomplete and should be subjected to a more rigorous process (bump-up request). In January of 2008 the Ontario Ministry of the Environment denied this ‘bump-up’ request.
The AVC is proposed to be built in several stages and in the 2008 Transportation Master Plan the first stage (called the Hospital Link) was listed as a priority 1 (for implementation by 2015) project. This 1.2 km link would have an intersection with Riverside Drive and then loop around back on itself to rise over an overpass to be constructed over Riverside Drive, then to a second overpass of the Transitway, followed by an underpass of the CN rail line, then to a signalized intersection with Alta Vista drive before continuing on to connect to the hospital ring road on the north side of the hospital. In the proposed 2011 budget, 5m$ was requested for preliminary work and a further 50m$ was committed in 2012 for construction of this 1.2km link. This link was completed in 2017.
This more detailed Alta Vista Corridor Backgrounder document outlining the history to date behind this project is a valuable reference for those interested in more details.
2011:
Downtown Community associations reiterated opposition to this major new artery into downtown with this Hospital Link opposition letter sent to City Council members prior to debating the proposed 2011 budget. The reason for the high cost for this 1.2km roadway is that it required an overpass to be built over Riverside Dr and over the southwest bus Transitway and an underpass to be built under the CN rail line. All this just to put in a 1.2km secondary access road with no other use other than dead ending at the Ottawa General Hospital for the next 18 years. If there was a bad infrastructure investment anywhere in Ottawa, surely this is it.
2013:
Subsequently, downtown CAs were actively involved in public consultations for the 2013 update to the Transportation Master Plan (TMP) particularly related to the AVC. It was their contention that the 2021 traffic projections used in 2003 to justify the need for this road were not materializing as predicted during the 2003-2010 period. (See 2013 Analysis of AVTC Traffic Trends). It was requested that staff undertake a thorough analysis of traffic trends and to review the implications of these trends on the original projections used to justify this roadway. Such a review was undertaken and the details summarized in this AVTC Technical Memo. which as one could expect reiterated the need for the project.
More details are available at the AVC Presentation to City Transportation Committee on Sep 21, 2005. This includes a summary report on why the road is needed, alternatives considered, as well as detailed drawings showing the proposed design for the compete roadway from Conroy/Walkley through to a modified Nicholas/417 interchange.
Prince of Wales Drive widening EA (2012)
Prince of Wales Drive widening EA (2012)
Jan 2017 Update
The City launched a project to modify the road layout and intersections in the vicinity of Hunt Club Road and Fallowfield Dr. The project was expected to cost approximately 13m$ and construction undertaken during 2017. The City provided the following information on their website:
Why: To improve vehicular, cycling and pedestrian traffic flow, as well as to rehabilitate the asphalt roadway along the Prince of Wales Drive corridor.
What: Intersection modifications, including additions and extensions of through lanes and turning lanes, new traffic signals, paved shoulders, and rehabilitation of the roadway.
When: Tendering of the construction contract is expected to take place in Winter of 2017, with construction scheduled to begin in Spring of 2017.
Proposed Modifications:
Prince of Wales Drive, Northbound between Hunt Club and Wellsmere Court;
Prince of Wales Drive, between Deakin Street and Hunt Club Road;
Prince of Wales Drive, between Blazer Avenue and Deakin Street;
Amberwood and Prince of Wales intersection: New signalised intersection;
Prince of Wales and Merivale Road intersection;
Hunt Club and Riverside Drive intersection;
Deakin Street, between Macfarlane and Prince of Wales: new Multi-Use Pathway.
Nov 2013 Update:
As part of the 2013 update of the Transportation Master Plan the City re-evaluated the available funding envelope (primarily from Development Charges) vs the anticipated roadway expansion needs and de-prioritized the widening of Prince of Wales Dr to beyond the 2031 timeframe. Instead some intersection modifications would be undertaken in the vicinity of Fallowfield and Hunt Club roads to add some minor performance improvements to this section of the road. This effectively placed the Environmental Assessment "on the shelf" for another 10-15 years (unless subsequent TMP updates revise the priorities again).
See our 2013 TMP Update section for more details.
2011:
The City of Ottawa completed an environmental assessment for the widening of Prince of Wales drive to 4 lanes on the section between Woodroffe and Fisher Ave. The widening was planned to be undertaken in several stages beginning from the south and working to the north with the final total cost estimated to be $100m. The 2012 City budget provided a section outlining the plan for road expansions over the next 3 years time horizon. In this section an entry appeared for widening of Prince of Wales Drive from Strandherd Dr north to Merivale Rd with an estimated cost of 44m$.
By enabling significant additional vehicles into the city centre via Fisher Ave one of the main side effects of this project will be even greater congestion downtown. The detailed project information included the Environmental Assessment Study and proposed roadway design have been removed from the City of Ottawa website. The only information record still available is this diagram illustrating the current and projected (2031) Traffic Volumes anticipated on the Prince of Wales Corridor. Downtown community associations participated in the public consultation phase of this project and provided its position in written form via this Prince of Wales widening CCC response letter.
Queensway expansions
Queensway expansions
During the 2003-2007 period an Environmental Assessment was completed for the widening of the 417 to 4 lanes in each direction between Hwy 416 and Anderson Rd.
The implementation of this work has been ongoing in stages starting in 2012. As of May 2016, it was reported that in total 591m$ had been spent on the 417 since 2003.
A copy of the 417 widening environmental assessment can be found at: 417 Widening
6 to 8 lanes: Carling to Woodroffe (2016-2019)
6 to 8 lanes: Carling to Woodroffe (2016-2019)
The 2016 Ontario Budget included details outlining several projects related to the 417 west of downtown.
These included:
Widening Highway 417 in Ottawa between Maitland and Island Park Drive starting in 2016, then from Highway 416 to Maitland Avenue starting in 2019.
Adding noise barriers to Highway 417 in Ottawa and "improvements at the Bronson Avenue interchange" starting in 2018.
Dec 19, 2016: The Government of Canada announced it was contributing up to 50 percent of total eligible costs of Phase 1 of this project (Island Park Dr to Maitland Ave), to a maximum of $47.57 million, through the Major Infrastructure Component of the Building Canada Fund.
6 to 8 lanes: Nicholas eastward to the Split (2012-2015)
6 to 8 lanes: Nicholas eastward to the Split (2012-2015)
Latest Status: The Ontario 2011 provincial budget included funding announced for this 417 freeway expansion. In May 2011 the following Notice of Detailed Design Commencement was issued indicating that work on this project was starting. The first public information meeting describing the project plans occurred Feb 7, 2012. Project construction started in May 2013.
Background: In 2003 the Ontario Ministry of Transport (MTO) completed a detailed environmental assessment for the addition of a fourth lane in each direction to the Queensway starting from Metcalfe Street moving eastward as far as Walkley Road. This project also included some modifications to existing Queensway ramps at Lees, Bronson, Parkdale, etc to improve satefy. Like the Altavista Corridor downtown community organizations opposed this initiative and together with other groups appealed to the Ontario Ministry of the Environment (MoE) that this was not a typical ‘Highway expansion class’ of environmental assessment and should be ‘bumped-up’ to a more rigorous EA review process. In January 2008 the MoE ruled that a more rigorous “Individual EA” would not be needed and formally approved this environmental assessment for widening the Queensway.
During May 2011 several presentations were made to Ottawa City Council on the topic of accelerating the implementation of Ottawa's east-west LRT project. These presentations referenced the fact that the LRT project was dependent on this 417 widening project being finished prior to 2016 as the added lanes on the 417 were needed to be used for OC Transpo buses during the 2016-2018 timeframe when the Bus Transitway would be taken out of service for transition to LRT.
Also in Feb 2011 a formal notice of expropriation was issued to homeowners living nearby the Parkdale Ave westbound off-ramp indicating that other aspects of the original 2003 plan (ie. the ramp modifications for safety improvements) were also going ahead.
This several hundred million dollar project (quoted in a Citizen article on Jun 8, 2011 as 200m$) would likely simply enable some 5,000 east end commuters to reach their central destinations (and return) a few minutes faster during a 2 hour period in the morning and afternoon. Even this benefit has been debated by some, as the eastbound afternoon returning traffic is bottlenecked primarily by the 2 lanes of the 174 east of the split, and not particularly by this section of the 417 planned for widening. In fact the widened 417 would deliver even higher volumes of traffic to the already constrained 174 between the split and Orleans resulting in even bigger backups for Orleans (and beyond) bound traffic. The rest of the 20 hour daily period the extra lanes would be serving no particularly useful purpose.
As the LRT Stage 1 went into operation in 2019, east-west auto traffic experienced a simultaneous 33% expansion of capacity to the east of downtown on the 417 as the new 417 lanes were converted from bus lanes to general traffic lanes. Hardly a recipe for encouraging a modal shift onto the new transit line!
More Info:
The project website is: 417 Expansion East .
4 to 6 and 8 lanes: Eagleson Rd to Highway 7 (2012-2014)
4 to 6 and 8 lanes: Eagleson Rd to Highway 7 (2012-2014)
In the fall of 2011 the Ontario Government announced further widenings of the 417 in the west end of Ottawa at the cost of 86m$. When completed the 417 through the Kanata area became wider than and had more capacity than the section between Richmond Road east to Carling Avenue.
The 417 west projects include:
widening Highway 417 from four to eight lanes from Eagleson Road to Palladium Drive with a new High Occupancy Vehicle lane in each direction
widening Highway 417 from four to six lanes from Palladium Drive to Highway 7
repairs to the Carp Road, Eagleson Road and Huntmar Drive bridges
Roadway Reconstructions - Complete Streets
Roadway Reconstructions - Complete Streets
Elgin Street Renewal - Complete Street (2017-2020)
Elgin Street Renewal - Complete Street (2017-2020)
The water and sewer infrastructure beneath Elgin Street were up for renewal and as part of the reconstruction plan the City took a "Complete Street" approach to the final street layout. Construction began in 2019 and last for 24 months.
Highlights of the new design for Elgin Street include:
Wider sidewalks on both sides of the street
Reduced number of travel lanes and enhanced street edge activity (pedestrians, parking, trees, bike racks, etc.) to help calm traffic
Flexibility to retain on-street parking and loading spaces on at least one side the street in most blocks
removal of approximately 60 of the 120 on-street parking spaces on Elgin itself
Flexibility to program some spaces as flex space for parking / loading spaces, for pedestrian use, or for outdoor patios or streetside spots
Improved bus stop waiting areas
The draft design for Hawthorne Avenue includes:
Wider sidewalks on both sides of the street
Introduction of a westbound cycling facility (works in tandem with existing eastbound bike lane on Graham Avenue)
Maintaining some on-street parking on the south side of the street
The first draft of the street layouts were made public in Jan 2017 and can be downloaded from the following links:
Main Street Renewal - Complete Street Approach (2015)
Main Street Renewal - Complete Street Approach (2015)
The 2013 Transportation Master Plan identified a policy priority of implementing "Complete Streets" where the allocation of the right of way on the street is more fairly balanced among all of the modes of transportation and that this policy should be considered particularly when streets are being 'renewed' as a result of sewer/water infrastructure replacement.
During 2013-2014 Main Street was identified as one such potential street and an environmental assessment was conducted for a street re-design which would see segregated bike lanes added and the roadway reduced from a 4-lane profile to a 3-lane profile. (One traffic lane in each direction plus a third lane whose use alternates between on-street parking and left turn lanes at intersections).
This street design was approved by City Council in June 2013 and the implementation began in 2015. This added an important segregated cycling link from the Alta Vista area towards the downtown.
The detailed analysis of the options considered and a modelling of the impact of these changes on the road network are detailed in this Main Street Environmental Study Report.
The anticipated impact of these changes on auto traffic is provided in this Main Street Traffic Impact Summary Memo.
Bronson Ave Reconstruction (Rescue Bronson - 2012)
Bronson Ave Reconstruction (Rescue Bronson - 2012)
Updates
Mar 2016: Final reconstruction of the street south of the 417 occurred in 2018.
Jan 2012: The mayor acknowledged the This letter from local CAs and assured them that their concerns would be considered. Shortly after an announcement was made that Bronson Ave lane widths would not be increased as part of the sewer/water/reconstruction effort. The stated reason was that the proposed widening would have required relocation of hydro poles, adding costs which the City did not wish to incur.
Nov 2011: The sewer and water services under Bronson Ave were to be renewed in the 2012 to 2014 timeframe. This project took place over several phases with the first phase focusing on the section of Bronson north of the Queensway with work expected begun on this section early in 2012. The CCCA (Centretown Citizens Community Association) and DCA (Dalhousie Community Association) raised the possibility that since traffic levels are lower on most of this section of Bronson that upon reconstruction the road profile could be reduced from the current 4-lanes to effectively 3-lanes (one traffic lane in each direction combined with opposing left turn lanes at intersections).
Right sizing roads in the downtown area to achieve a better compromise between automobile users and community quality of life should be given closer attention. Because changes such as the one proposed for Bronson north by Rescue Bronson would have had the potential to make a significant difference in quality of life for adjacent residents and non-motorized users of the corridor then every effort should have been made to achieve these goals. The onus should have been on the City to prove in a convincing manner that such community enhancing changes could not have been accommodated.
As of Dec 1, 2011 the affected communities had been unable to get the authorities to accept their 3-lane proposal.
Follow this initiative more closely via posts on the West Side Action Blog.
King Edward Ave. lane reduction study (2010)
King Edward Ave. lane reduction study (2010)
Through the efforts of a group of mostly Lowertown residents who organized under the name “King Edward Avenue Task Force” and with the help of councilor Georges Bedard the City has undertook a study to determine the feasibility of reducing King Edward Ave north of Rideau St from 6 lanes down to 5 or 4 lanes. This study wrapped up its final report in Summer 2010. An excellent and informative document is available from Dillon consulting of their analysis of this proposal. King Edward Lane Reduction Study.
As a bit of background, the King Edward Avenue Task force disagreed with Delcan corporation’s design in 2002 for the then current reconstruction of King Edward Ave at 6 lanes. As is typical in such cases Delcan and City Traffic planners prevailed. The King Edward Task Force reasserted their case in Fall 2007, again suggesting that 4 lanes was all that was necessary since the area traffic congestion during the recent construction phase seemed to be less dramatic than many had expected. While the road was being constrained to 4 lanes during construction the Task Force argued it was an ideal time to study whether a 4 lane option was feasible. City council agreed and directed City Staff to perform a study.
Numerous examples have emerged in cities throughout the world where urban lanes of traffic have been returned to pedestrians, cyclists, and residents with surprising little impact on auto traffic. Ottawa needs to begin to intelligently pursue such policies as well and King Edward Ave is an excellent example of where this could have been implemented.
In April 2011 the report was brought back to council with a recommendation that no lane reductions be considered for King Edward Ave until after construction of a new east end bridge. This recommendation passed at council with a 21-3 vote. The report and the presentation made at City Transportation Committee can be found on this King Edward Lane Reductions Report.
Page updated
Report abuse