Future of NCC Parkways

[Urbanarchit]

I found this article interesting and worthy of a discussion (hopefully this hasn't been shared yet).

Two things that stood out for me was how, if the Parkway was eliminated, wouldn't it go a long way to relieving traffic on Parkdale? While traffic is caused by several factors, I feel that Parkdale is so bad largely because of the Parkway access and Queensway on-off ramps. So, getting rid of these would help reduce traffic here greatly.

Another thing I thought was laughable was how Mark Kristmanson's ponderings that the parkways may be a part of our cultural landscape and warrant preservation. I, obviously, vehemently disagree, as they haven't done much good for the city and only contribute to many woes. Preservation should only be done if it is unique or enhances the city, but these parkways do not make Ottawa a good city.

Op-Ed: De-Pave the John A. MacDonald Parkway

This month, the National Capital Commission put out a call for proposals that would “animate the shorelines of the Ottawa River.” The call for public applications is a smart idea, and a good (and low-cost) way for the NCC to improve its public perception. But if the goal is truly to reanimate the shorelines of the Ottawa River, the best way to do it is to remove the nearly-impassable four-lane roadway that currently separates most of the city’s residents from the river itself — an idea that, sadly, isn’t likely to be considered.

The Sir John A. Macdonald Parkway offers a nice, scenic drive, and it’s become a very important public transit route. But the impending removal from the Parkway of hundreds of buses per day leads me to question whether it makes sense to devote a huge portion of the city’s prime riverside real estate to a commuter roadway. It is a massive waste to keep the Parkway as is. As a friend on Twitter pointed out last month, “Why spoil a park by running a road through it?”

In their call for proposals, the NCC mentions the need to respect the “environmental sensitivities that are unique to these shorelines.” I’d challenge them to embrace that mentality themselves, because there are fewer land uses more damaging to a waterway than a big swath of pavement. The City of Ottawa is investing hundreds of millions of dollars in their waste water and stormwater infrastructure to protect the health of the Ottawa River’s ecosystem, so the NCC could follow that lead and remediate the river’s edge to complement that work.

With the road out of the way, citizens of and visitors to the National Capital Region can properly access and enjoy the Ottawa River’s sights by bike or by foot. Some pavement may remain, in order to provide car access to major points of interest: Woodroffe Avenue can be routed around to the Deschênes Rapids lookout, Scott Street can run overtop the transit trench towards Kitchissippi Lookout and Westboro Beach, and Island Park Drive already offers access to Remic Rapids and the nearby island parks. With the federal government’s plans to redevelop Tunney’s Pasture, better access to the Little Chaudière Rapids lookout is already in the works. The point of this is to allow people to get to the park with their automobile, and the freedom to enjoy the enriched riverside forest and shoreline first-hand. It’s hard to fully appreciate the park while driving through it at 70 km/hour.

The NCC’s new CEO, Mark Kristmanson, seemed open to the idea of reassessing the value of the Macdonald Parkway in a recent interview with the Citizen, but he wondered whether it (and the region’s other parkways) might be part of our “cultural landscape” and whether they might have heritage value as “relic(s) of the 20th century.” That argument may be a good one with some of the parkways in the region, but there are over 52 kilometres of parkway between Ottawa and Gatineau; how much of that need be preserved for its heritage value?

Restoring the river’s shoreline to proper parkspace also connects a lot of the parks there today, hugely increasing the habitat of the many endangered birds, fish, reptiles, and amphibians that have been known to live in the Ottawa River ecosystem. Although the depth of the habitat would be less than ideal in some parts, these slim treed areas would offer corridors between the larger spaces, including Mud Lake, Island Park, the green space north of Tunney’s Pasture, and Lazy Bay.

An expanded habitat will make local wildlife populations more resilient and, hopefully, larger. It won’t quite rival Gatineau Park in size, but the improved health of the habitat will make the riverside park a more enriching destination for citizens and tourists alike.

Better access to and use of the land can also connect us to the human history of the Ottawa River, from its importance to the Algonquin people in pre-colonial times to its role in the development and establishment of the current cities and region.

By de-paving the portion of the Parkway from Parkdale Avenue, the National Capital Commission could transform the river’s shoreline to a natural landscape built to accommodate humans rather than their cars. Increasing the accessibility of some of the specific points of interest, and improving the allure of these sites with more engaging attractions, could completely revitalize our shorelines in tandem with the long-overdue redevelopment of the Domtar Lands in the middle of the river. Although it isn’t likely before Canada’s sesquicentennial celebrations in 2017, it still offers a grand opportunity to continue building on the capital region’s green reputation.

The NCC is accepting applications for this “riverfront peacemaking initiative” until March 14 and there will surely be some very good ones. But if they really want to animate the Ottawa River shoreline, replacing the single-purpose roadway with more dynamic parkland would be the best way forward.

Peter Raaymakers lives in Ottawa.


© Copyright (c) The Ottawa Citizen

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/opinion...469/story.html

[J.OT13]

Removing the ORP would cause major traffic increases on Carling, Richmond and the Queensway. Although the original concept of the Parkways might not have been the best idea, they are now essential to Ottawa's transportation network. Even the City's original west LRT plan that called for the east bound lanes to be converted to rail would have gone too far (not to mention the lackluster new service to the Richmond corridor compared to the new underground solution).

[1overcosc]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

Removing the ORP would cause major traffic increases on Carling, Richmond and the Queensway. Although the original concept of the Parkways might not have been the best idea, they are now essential to Ottawa's transportation network. Even the City's original west LRT plan that called for the east bound lanes to be converted to rail would have gone too far (not to mention the lackluster new service to the Richmond corridor compared to the new underground solution).

Yes, it's needed for downtown commuter traffic. But outside of rush hour it's really not needed at all.

Once the LRT is in place to Bayshore & Baseline, we could probably remove the parkway.

[c_speed3108]

Originally Posted by 1overcosc

Yes, it's needed for downtown commuter traffic. But outside of rush hour it's really not needed at all.

Once the LRT is in place to Bayshore & Baseline, we could probably remove the parkway.

I wouldn't go so far as to say LRT would render it not need as even our best public transit ridership projects still have about 60% of commuters in private vehicles.

You do raise an interesting point though. Traffic on many of the parkways is pretty low outside of rush hour. Perhaps it might be interesting to have more "Sunday Bike day" like times. Particularly a Saturday would probably be very do-able. Or in the case of the western parkway, a setup where it reduces to two lanes (use just one side) outside of rush hours and frees up the other two lanes for other activities like biking, roller blading, running etc.

[Aylmer]

Originally Posted by 1overcosc

Yes, it's needed for downtown commuter traffic. But outside of rush hour it's really not needed at all.

Once the LRT is in place to Bayshore & Baseline, we could probably remove the parkway.

Also LRT to Aylmer. The Parkway is a very important route for tens of thousands of Aylmer commuters.

Once we have rapid, attractive alternatives (LRT) to Aylmer and Bayshore, keep one lane for emergency vehicles and convert the rest to extra-wide, four-season cycleways.

[J.OT13]

Weekends are great for the Parkways original purpose of leisurely Sunday drives. That's when I use it the most going in and out of Gatineau where some of my friends and family live.

Although the Sunday bike day is a good concept, it's also borderline useless considering the ORP, and most other parkways, already have fine pathways running along them.

[Aylmer]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

Although the Sunday bike day is a good concept, it's also borderline useless considering the ORP, and most other parkways, already have fine pathways running along them.

It's actually quite nice to be able to have the space to bike several abreast and at different speeds. It's the difference between shuffling along a narrow sidewalk and strolling down an extra-wide promenade.

That said, the pavement on the roads is of much poorer quality than that of the bike paths.

[Dado]

Originally Posted by Aylmer

That said, the pavement on the roads is of much poorer quality than that of the bike paths.

That's very context-dependent.

The old south side pathway along the SJAM parkway west of Island Park/Churchill is horrific - cracks every two feet. And while the path on the north side by the river is in better condition, it's fairly clear it was not exactly well-built, either: it has an annoying undulating quality to it in places (the best bit is where the old pathway was repaved, from around Preston west to the old crossing at Churchill). The surface of the SJAM Parkway there is no worse than that of the paths.

Then there's the path running next to Carling past Andrew Haydon Park and the Nepean marina - that path is in a horrible state of repair. The road isn't superb, but it's still better.

[Uhuniau]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

Weekends are great for the Parkways original purpose of leisurely Sunday drives. That's when I use it the most going in and out of Gatineau where some of my friends and family live.

Although the Sunday bike day is a good concept, it's also borderline useless considering the ORP, and most other parkways, already have fine pathways running along them.

Useless, and bloody annoying for taking western Transitway buses on summer Sundays, which then have to take a slow and jolting detour.

Speaking of jolting, is it just me, or are OC Transpo drivers' stompy pedal habits getting worse?

[eternallyme]

Maybe narrow it down to 2 lanes like most of the other parkways, with full closures on weekends?

Certainly once buses are removed from the JAM, Sunday Bike Days should also be extended to Saturdays and holidays, as well as the time of year extended from early May at least to Thanksgiving, if not late October. (Yes, holidays includes Canada Day outside of security zones, a way to reduce traffic in the area and encourage use of Park and Rides).

As it is right now, the 60 km/h speed is never followed (and an 80 km/h speed limit would be technically justified). Where all that peak period traffic is coming from - the middle west end or farther west - is a question mark though. I think a lot of it is fairly local really and not heading beyond Bayshore, with much of it destined for Carlingwood, Westboro, Lincoln Fields, etc.

[Dado]

As it stands today, the western part of the SJAM could be effectively narrowed to a two-lane road anyway: just designate the south carriageway for buses and the north one for car traffic.

The intersection at Woodroffe would need a few modifications if car access to the parkway at Woodroffe is deemed important. The bus slip lane at Dominion that crosses the median would need to be modified slightly to allow eastbound cars back into the south carriageway before getting to Island Park, and a similar modification would need to be carried out at Lincoln Fields.

[Urbanarchit]

*

[gjhall]

Originally Posted by defishel

Sort of like Bogotà's Ciclovía?

New York does this too now, many places do in fact

Summer Streets: http://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/summerst...ome/home.shtml

[Dado]

Moved my own post to another thread:
http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...1&postcount=50

[Aylmer]

I, for one, would love it if the Ottawa River Parkway were slowed down to such a degree that people could (*gasp*) cross it on foot without taking their lives into their own hands. It's currently designed for 100km/h, but I'd like to see a design speed for half that with an emphasis on slow but well-flowing traffic as opposed to the current fast/halt design. Same goes for the Col.By Drive, whose and design also makes it a barrier to the Canal.

If the parkway were actually designed as non-expressways, then I might actually give credence to the NCC's anti-WLRT arguments (our Metro/LRT should, after all, be designed to be speedy and would be out of place along a hypothetical pedestrian-friendly parkway.)

Good on them for at least having the discussion.

[MoreTrains]

I would love to burn the parkways with fire.... many times over, until they are dead. However, doing so before opening the western LRT would be a folly. What is also needed to discourage driving downtown, apart from the LRT itself, is larger, maybe even multi level Park and Rides. Even the largest ones (Eagleson I believe) are full less than 15 minutes into rush-hour. I also believe, unless the Bayshore terminus of the LRT has a Park and Ride, it wont make much of a difference at all.
The only real way to have accessibility for people is to get rid of either the north or south carriage way, and turn the other into a permanent bicycle/pedestrian path with ample benches, water fountains and trees. The only method for cars to cross the new 'Urban Escape Pathway' would be an extension of Deschenes St to the parking lot opposite (to unload bicycles and the sort), an extension of Lanark Ave to Westboro Beach, Island Parkway and River Street. Keeping all of the crossings to a minimum, and always using lights at the intersections would serve to boost accessibility and the natural ecology of the area.

[Ottawacurious]

'Inappropriate' and 'Upsetting': Veteran councillor criticizes Ottawa mayor's calls to open Queen Elizabeth Driveway to vehicles
https://ottawa.ctvnews.ca/inappropri...cles-1.6482103
Josh Pringle


A veteran Ottawa councillor is peddling into the debate over the National Capital Commission closing Queen Elizabeth Driveway for active transportation this summer, saying, "it is inappropriate" for Mayor Mark Sutcliffe to publicly and private call on the NCC to open the road to vehicles this summer.

Sutcliffe sparked a debate last week when he said he would like to see the NCC open the road along the Rideau Canal to vehicles because of the traffic impacts and few people using Queen Elizabeth Driveway for active transportation.

"I'm continuing to appeal to the NCC to recognize the traffic consequences that result from closing a road," Sutcliffe told Newstalk 580 CFRA's Ottawa at Work with Patricia Boal last Tuesday.

"There are already, in my view, great places to run and bike along Queen Elizabeth Drive. There's a fantastic pathway right by the water, which I use all the time, and when I'm on that path and the road is closed, I don't see a lot of cyclists and walkers and runners using the road.

"I don't know that we're getting as much benefit as perhaps the NCC hoped from that, and in the meantime it's creating a lot of traffic pressures."

Now, Coun. Jeff Leiper is criticizing Sutcliffe for advocating for the NCC to scale back the active transportation program along Queen Elizabeth Driveway.

"It needs to be clarified that your stated views are not Ottawa City Council policy," Leiper said in a letter to Sutcliffe Saturday night.

"It is inappropriate that you would use your platform as Mayor and Board membership to advocate behind closed doors for such a regressive position.

"It is particularly upsetting that the Mayor of our city would advocate to reverse a real safety gain – of which we have made too few - for residents who travel by active modes."

Sutcliffe is a non-voting member of the NCC's Board of Directors.

The National Capital Commission's Queen Elizabeth Driveway active use program sees the two-lane road open for active transportation, between Fifth Avenue and Somerset Street, daily from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. through the summer. The road is closed to vehicles on weekends and holidays from May 13 to June 25 and Sept. 9 to Thanksgiving Monday.

There have been nearly 50,000 visits to Queen Elizabeth Driveway since May, according to the NCC. The NCC is currently conducting a survey to gather feedback for the future of the program.

"Suggesting that residents who travel by foot, on bike and using mobility devices share very crowded Canal paths in order to make connections between neighbourhoods is not a solution as we seek to facilitate sustainable transportation options in an intensifying city," Leiper said in the letter.

"As we see too often, asking cyclists to share the road with motor vehicles is equally unsustainable."

Leiper says he copied NCC CEO Tobi Nussbaum on the letter, "to ensure that he is aware that Ottawa City Council has not taken a position on opposing the leadership the NCC has shown in the case of Queen Elizabeth Driveway."

The NCC launched the Queen Elizabeth Driveway active transportation program during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Earlier this year, Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group CEO Mark Goudie said he had seen documents suggesting the NCC planned to permanently close Queen Elizabeth Driveway to vehicles in the future, though the NCC said no decisions on the future of the road beyond 2023 had been made.

Sutcliffe said last week he has raised concerns with the NCC about the traffic consequences resulting from closing the road.

“I would like to see it open more often than what the NCC is proposing because it has huge traffic impacts. By my observations, I am not sure how necessary it is; there are great pathways on both sides of the canal," Sutcliffe said after Wednesday's Council meeting.

Sutcliffe says he is "not against active transportation", but is concerned about the number of roads closed to vehicles.

Somerset Coun. Ariel Troster is a supporter of the NCC's active use program, but wants to see solutions for construction and major events in the area.

"I am a big fan of the NCC's decision to reserve the QED for active use. It's rare to have that kind of freedom to walk and cycle safely. Feedback from residents has been overwhelmingly positive," Troster said on Twitter.

"That said: we need a solution for when there is major construction nearby or the closure of other surrounding roads for specific periods of time. Negotiating with the NCC is the best solution in those scenarios."

The NCC suspended the Queen Elizabeth Driveway active use program this weekend due to the construction on the Queensway and events at Lansdowne Park. Queen Elizabeth Driveway has been opened to vehicles this summer to allow vehicles and buses to travel to Lansdowne for football and soccer games.

In a statement to CTV News Ottawa, the NCC said it was "proud to provide safe, accessible, and unique active use experiences throughout the capital."

It added the program takes place on "roadways that were always intended to serve as scenic routes, not commuter roadways."

Leiper tells Sutcliffe that he would "welcome a discussion" on the future of active transportation programs like the closure of Queen Elizabeth Driveway, "that is evidence-based and transparent to chart a path forward."

"Many residents and community leaders are prepared to engage in a discussion about how we can achieve the aims of our Transportation Master Plan and help residents who make sustainable choices or who cannot drive be safe going about their daily movements," Leiper said.

With files from CTV News Ottawa's Leah Larocque and Ted Raymond

[lrt's friend]

Sorry. Support for Lansdowne 2.0 and closure of QED is pie in the sky. That also means no QED tramway, and we all agree that a subway is decades away. We cannot base intensification on cycling alone.

Sutcliffe's position is based on business interests which cannot be ignored. We cannot choke off downtown by only improving Cycling. This favours mostly young people. There must be a balanced solution.

[phil235]

Originally Posted by lrt's friend

Sorry. Support for Lansdowne 2.0 and closure of QED is pie in the sky. That also means no QED tramway, and we all agree that a subway is decades away. We cannot base intensification on cycling alone.

Sutcliffe's position is based on business interests which cannot be ignored. We cannot choke off downtown by only improving Cycling. This favours mostly young people. There must be a balanced solution.

We have to be careful about confusing “active transportation” with “cycling”. In my experience, cyclists are a relatively small percentage of the overall users of the QED when it’s closed. And neither the walkers/joggers nor the cyclists skew young, so that is a big red herring.

I’m relatively neutral on the 8-8 closures, though I definitely support closures at some times. But I really don’t think that the QED should be viewed as a key commuter route to get downtown. That was never the intention, and putting a heavily trafficked roadway right next to the canal makes no sense to me. Particularly when there is a heavily trafficked roadway right on the other side.

[J.OT13]

Glad Leiper's standing up against this. Even Watson never asked QED to reopen while a Queensway overpass was replaced.

This is typical Ottawa though. Very little was done to support transit riders while the east Transitway was closed for conversion. Even less during multi year shutdowns of Line 2. But 3 days with no Queensway, and people flip.