Editor's update: this article was originally published for the ATM Meeting in September, 2010, but provides important background information for the coming meeting April 7th, 2011, 6-9 pm at Southminster Church.
[Residents of Old Ottawa South were asked to attend an Area Traffic Study meeting on Wed. Sept. 15, 7 - 9 pm, at Southminster Church in the Ladies' Parlour, 15 Aylmer Ave, off Galt Street.]
The community still needs a show of numbers!
For background information, read the article below as well as:
- Article about bus corridor
- Article about a redeveloped Lansdowne parking's impact
- map of study area
- City Display Boards from first Open House
At the request of OSWatch, the OSCA planning and development committee, City staff will attend a second Public Open House to learn what area residents are concerned about regarding traffic problems in Old Ottawa South (OOS).
A first Open House for the study took place on April 28, 2010 at Hopewell Avenue Public School, but it was not well publicized, and subsequently not well attended. OSWatch believes that a second meeting will more adequately canvas the community’s views, which is needed to tell City staff what our community is concerned about regarding traffic.
Impact on OOS from Lansdowne Decision
The impact of the City’s decision on June 28 to use Sunnyside Avenue as a major bus conduit to serve the sole-sourced redevelopment and expansion of Lansdowne Park and its stadium was also a factor that led to calls for an additional Open House for the traffic plan.
OSWatch Chair Brendan McCoy said, “Lansdowne and its direct traffic consequences, especially for Sunnyside, is a very large, new issue that requires more opportunity for input.”
Residents Requested Study for Over Ten Years
Getting sufficient public input is very important to this process because area residents have been requesting this study for over ten years. Despite ongoing support from the Old Ottawa South Community Association (OSCA) and Capital Ward Councillor Clive Doucet, the traffic study only received City of Ottawa funding after a series of accidents in 2005 where two pedestrians were hit by cars on Sunnyside Avenue in separate incidents. The more serious of the two accidents left a young man a paraplegic. He’d been waiting for the bus at the intersection of Sunnyside and Seneca, when he was run over by an out-of-control, eastbound SUV.
Glebe Plan to Restrict Right Turns in Morning Rush
The Old Ottawa South traffic study is partly intended to address such traffic concerns, but also aims to assess the impact of a Glebe Traffic Plan proposal to restrict right turns from Bronson Avenue into the Glebe during the morning peak period. One concern is that if Sunnyside is not restricted also, traffic will flow through Sunnyside (a street with many children walking to Hopewell Public School).
In the past, community concerns have included the impact of cut-through traffic in the neighbourhood, speeding, pedestrian safety, and aggressive driving practices. According to Morrison Hershfield, the consulting firm hired by the City of Ottawa to carry out the study, it will include a comprehensive review of the existing traffic conditions within the Old Ottawa South community to confirm/substantiate the reported concerns of the community.
If these concerns are substantiated through the data collection and analysis exercise, a strategy to address them will be developed and assessed for feasibility.
Who to Contact
For updated contact information (April 7th, 2011):
Justin Swan
Coordinator—Area Traffic Management
City of Ottawa, Planning and Growth Management
110 Laurier Avenue West, 4th Floor
Ottawa ON K1P 1J1
Tel: 613-580-2424, ext. 21636
Email:
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