PINCH THE PARKWAY
NCC considers lane cuts
The NCC’s proposal to narrow the Sir John A. Macdonald Parkway from four lanes to two from Carling Avenue to Island Park Drive when the city’s LRT Phase 2 is completed appears, on the face of it, to be an attractive project, taking advantage of increased rapid transit to restore the scenic parkway elements envisaged by planner Jacques Gréber more than 50 years ago. However, the practical elements of where the traffic goes reveal how half-baked this proposal is.
Don Butler’s review of the NCC’s traffic consultant report indicates that more than 500 cars during the morning peak period would be displaced by this initiative. Clearly these cars would go to Richmond Road and Carling Avenue, already overcrowded during the morning rush hour. And the city plans to narrow Richmond Road from three lanes to two when LRT-2 goes through, as part of its “complete streets” initiative. Is the NCC not aware of this?
The premise for this initiative seems to be that the extension of LRT-2 to Baseline Road and Bayshore should encourage communities in Ottawa’s west end to abandon their cars and use the LRT. However, the traffic using the parkway also comes from south Nepean (using the Woodroffe Avenue and Greenbank Road corridors) and from Kanata, particularly as the Queensway slows up near Pinecrest Road. These are the folks who compete with my neighbours from Carlingwood, Britannia and Bayshore for this commuting space; they will not have an LRT option for another 20 years.
It is simply naïve to expect that removing capacity from the parkway can be accomplished without consequences. The NCC should re-think this half-baked notion. Alex Cullen, Ottawa
It is simply naïve to expect that removing capacity from the parkway can be accomplished without consequences. The NCC should re-think this half-baked notion. — Alex Cullen, Ottawa