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The Rideau River viewscape (Fall 2015) All images: City of Ottawa |
by Jennifer Cavanagh
With Rideau Street construction upon us, anyone driving or taking transit across the Cummings Bridge in recent weeks may find themselves wishing for alternate river crossings. Good news! Adapted from another neighbourhood blog, Sandy Hill Seen, we share long-anticipated news from Jennifer Cavanagh.
With Rideau Street construction upon us, anyone driving or taking transit across the Cummings Bridge in recent weeks may find themselves wishing for alternate river crossings. Good news! Adapted from another neighbourhood blog, Sandy Hill Seen, we share long-anticipated news from Jennifer Cavanagh.
Back in mid-October (and to be confirmed with passage of the 2014 Budget), the City of Ottawa announced that funding had been allocated for the long-awaited pedestrian and Bike Bridge linking Overbrook’s Donald Street and Vanier’s North River Road with Sandy Hill's Strathcona Park! With the announcement, cheers and joy erupted on both sides of the Rideau River. For those just tuning in, here are some sketches produced by the City of Ottawa to further whet our collective walking and cycling appetites.
The narrow pinch-points have made pedestrian and cycling travel between the two areas unsafe (pinch points on Cummings Bridge), overly extended (the converted train bridge, just north of the 417) and simply unpleasant. It's refreshing to see logic prevailed in this undertaking to build a permanent structure where historically locals once built a summer crossing (see image below).
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Of particular interest to cyclists is the plan for a designated bike lane connecting the crossing to North River Road (along Donald) on the east, and for a designated bike path around the parking lot in Strathcona Park, on the western edge, eliminating the need for cyclists to traverse the parking lot – making entering and leaving the park much safer. The bridge has also been designed with greater width in the middle to accommodate pier-lookouts that do not impede commuters.
The narrow pinch-points have made pedestrian and cycling travel between the two areas unsafe (pinch points on Cummings Bridge), overly extended (the converted train bridge, just north of the 417) and simply unpleasant. It's refreshing to see logic prevailed in this undertaking to build a permanent structure where historically locals once built a summer crossing (see image below).
The bridge, linking park space along the Rideau River’s eastern shore with Strathcona Park and Range Road on the river’s western shore, creates better access to existing river-side multi-use paths, facilitates access to services & businesses in the adjoining neighbourhoods while creating an essential link for cyclists to the Rideau Canal, Laurier Street, Western Parkway Bike Lanes and beyond. Work still needs to be done to finesse links within neighbourhoods and to create safe-cycling for all levels of bike riding - we'd like to see novices, kids, retirees and lycra on two wheels to relieve traffic congestion & better connect our neighbours and businesses - however the advent of this bridge is confirmation that we are rolling forward in the right direction.
Of particular interest to cyclists is the plan for a designated bike lane connecting the crossing to North River Road (along Donald) on the east, and for a designated bike path around the parking lot in Strathcona Park, on the western edge, eliminating the need for cyclists to traverse the parking lot – making entering and leaving the park much safer. The bridge has also been designed with greater width in the middle to accommodate pier-lookouts that do not impede commuters.
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| Wrapping around Strathcona Park (western shore) |
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| A designated path on the south side of Donald (eastern shore) |
Construction is due to commence in Spring 2014 and be completed in the Fall of 2015 (Wouldn't it be great if it could be done sooner?).
All images: City of Ottawa
All images: City of Ottawa