NCC to partially close Queen Elizabeth Driveway to vehicles
Pilot project’s success will depend on how public behaves, says Tobi Nussbaum.
The National Capital Commission is launching a pilot project closing a long stretch of the Queen Elizabeth Driveway to motor vehicles daily from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. starting Saturday and running through April 26 “to enable physical distancing for residents who live in the dense surrounding areas.”
The NCC said that implementing the project had included “consultation and co-ordination” with Ottawa Public Health and City of Ottawa traffic and emergency management staff.
“Access for emergency vehicles will be maintained,” the NCC said.
Because of the directive to avoid all non-essential travel, the commission asked that only local residents living nearby access the
Queen Elizabeth Driveway during the pilot and that “members of the public should not seek to drive there as a destination.”
Barricades and signage will be put in place between Laurier Avenue and Fifth Avenue and motorists will still be able to cross at the Pretoria Bridge and enter Pretoria Avenue.
The roadway should be used like the multi-use pathways with the yellow line dividing north and southbound traffic, the NCC said. Cyclists and pedestrians are asked to follow “basic safety rules”: keep speeds to 20 km/h, keep to the right and pass on the left, ring a bell or call out when passing, and stay alert.
The NCC said a decision on whether to continue or end the road closure would be based on how it worked, including compliance with the closures and whether people
were physical distancing.
Meanwhile, Coun. Shawn Menard said lane closures on the Bank Street Bridge would be implemented to “improve pedestrian distancing and active transportation while safely accessing essential services on Bank Street.”
Menard said Tuesday that the curb lanes of the bridge over the Rideau Canal would be dedicated to pedestrians and cyclists and that there were “more discussions to come” about other areas of Bank Street.
GATINEAU PARK
Gatineau Park is closed and parking on roadways within the park and on neighbouring roadways is prohibited. Local authorities are enforcing this.
All parking lots, benches, outhouses and picnic areas in the Greenbelt and the Bruce Pit offleash dog park are also closed, and parking on roadways is prohibited and will be enforced, the NCC said. With files from Joanne Laucius
The National Capital Commission has a proud history of supporting healthy living in the capital, including walking and cycling, and of making it easier and more enjoyable for residents and visitors to make use of its many trails, paths, roads and parkways.
One obvious example is our always popular Sunday Bikedays.
For half a century, we’ve closed the capital’s scenic parkways to all motor vehicles on summer Sunday mornings to allow people more space to bike unimpeded.
Bikedays attract thousands of people, from the serious road warriors to families out for a casual ride together.
The event has become a muchloved capital tradition.
But with the arrival of COVID -19, as a community we find ourselves seeking a delicate balance between getting fresh air and exercise, especially now that the weather is nicer, and following public health directives to stay close to home and avoid all non-essential trips.
At the NCC, we have been working over the last month to try to achieve this balance. On the one hand, we facilitated local access to most of our pathway network by expediting the clearing of ice and snow. We have continued to allow local access to our trails in the Greenbelt to ensure people living close by can continue to use them.
On the other hand, we have closed our parking lots to discourage people who don’t live near a particular trail or pathway from making them a “destination” and accessing them via non-essential trips in motor vehicles.
This distinction is important: When outdoor spaces become destinations, they attract crowds from farther afield, which runs contrary to the directive to stay local and the purpose of physical distancing, which we know is critical to controlling the spread of COVID-19.
At the same time, we understand that residents of the capital who live in denser urban areas have a greater challenge in exercising locally while respecting physical distancing.
That is why we have launched a pilot project in the part of the National Capital Region with the highest population density.
By barring vehicular traffic from the Queen Elizabeth Driveway between Laurier and Fifth avenues daily from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., we hope to give local residents the opportunity to enjoy a walk or a bike ride while practising physical distancing.
The nine-day pilot project will have rather unusual performance metrics. We won’t gauge success by looking at the total number of users, but at whether those users are local (measured in part by the impact of traffic and parking on neighbouring side streets), whether the rules of the closed road are followed and whether public health directives are respected.
In short, the success of this pilot project, and whether it continues past the pilot stage, depends on the use. We want local residents to take advantage of the road closure, and others not to.
Along with evolving public health advice and other factors, the results will also inform our decision-making when it comes time to determine whether and, if so, how a Sunday Bikeday-like approach to our parkways can best occur this season.
In sum, the NCC will continue throughout this crisis to work with partners and stakeholders to allow residents of the National Capital Region to use our parks, trails, pathways and roads in ways that are both consistent with public health directives and that contribute to physical and mental well-being. We acknowledge that such a balance is not always easy to achieve, and that the situation is a dynamic one.
With co-operation and understanding from the public, prudence in the face of our challenges, a willingness to safely experiment and, if necessary, course correct, we are committed to easing the journey of National Capital residents through, and past, this pandemic.
Tobi Nussbaum is CEO of the National Capital Commission.
We won’t gauge success by looking at the total number of users, but at whether those users are local ... and whether public health directives are respected.