Barrhaven residents hope new promised interchange can ease traffic woes
Barrhaven residents are relieved that the provincial government is promising to fund a new highway interchange at the 416 and Barnsdale Road.
"In the past few years, the last dozen years, traffic has been extraordinarily painful," says Muhamed Karkari, chair of the Half Moon Bay Community Association. "We've had pinpoints all across the entire community. And the fact of the matter is that getting in and out of our community is getting worse and worse every month, not just every year, every month."
- Sign up now for daily CTV News Ottawa newsletters
- The information you need to know, sent directly to you: Download the CTV News App
Karkari says a source of traffic is not enough access points to Highway 416, forcing many to drive through the community, blocking roads. He calls the interchange announcement "critical." He says, "We have been fighting for this for years and years. Always holding on hope that this would happen. And we are elated that the province has finally agreed to make this happen. So this is something that's essential for not just our community here, it's essential for the whole city."
Ontario Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy made the announcement during his delivery of the Ford Government's budget at Queen's Park on Tuesday, stating this would help "support South Ottawa's growing population and jobs."
Lisa MacLeod is the MPP for the area, and says there will be many benefits to the new interchange. "It's so important that we're getting a Barnsdale Road exit onto the 416 for a variety of reasons. One is we have been dealing with enormous growth both in our residential but also commercial sectors in the community. It will be convenient for my constituents."
MacLeod says, "I think just as importantly, it's going to be a good economic driver. We are the gateway between Kanata and Kemptville and into the downtown core of the city when you're on the 416. So I think you're going to be able to move goods and people much more quickly."
MacLeod is referring the new Amazon distribution centre, as well as the many homes being built in the area.
The timeline or cost is still not clear on the new interchange, but MacLeod says the city and the province will work together on construction and design, and the environmental assessment is already underway.
Area councilor David Hill says this interchange is long-awaited and can't come soon enough.
"I was ecstatic. This is a huge infrastructure investment in the community," Hill says. "It's been needed for a long time. And certainly one of the top issues that many of the leaders here in the community have been fighting for several years."
Hill says about 3,500 residents or about 1,500 households move to the community a year.
"It needs to be balanced with the infrastructure investments as well as the residential. And I know certainly a lot of the folks that I speak to out here in the community when we talk about new developments, their biggest frustration is that the infrastructure is not keeping pace with the rate of residential development," he said. "And so this is going to be a really important investment in the community for access for the residents, but also for our economic growth."
Right now, Barrhaven residents can only access the 416 from Bankfield Road or Fallowfield Road; the new Barnsdale interchange would be in the middle, easing congestion.
The provincial government is promising to fund a new highway interchange at the 416 and Barnsdale Road in Barrhaven.
Commuters like Mariella Dibello say traffic is only getting worse in the area. "It's pretty bad. Not a lot of streets to feed all these houses. I've lived in Barrhaven, actually, my whole life, so it's really getting bad."
Dibello says the interchange will make a big difference "It's a lot of traffic. It'll definitely help a lot. I can't wait."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Guilty: Trump becomes first former U.S. president convicted of felony crimes
Donald Trump became the first former American president to be convicted of felony crimes Thursday as a New York jury found him guilty of all 34 charges in a scheme to illegally influence the 2016 election through a hush money payment to a porn actor who said the two had sex.
Can Trump come to Canada now that he's a convicted felon?
A Canadian immigration lawyer says now that Donald Trump is a convicted felon, he is technically barred from crossing the border into Canada.
Montreal tech billionaire charged with several sex offences
Robert Miller was charged Thursday with several sexual assault charges after Montreal police reopened an investigation into the tech billionaire.
Police: 3 killed, including suspected gunman, in Minneapolis shooting
Three people, including the suspected gunman, are dead after a shooting Thursday at a Minneapolis apartment complex, police said.
'Why didn't they stop?' Mom asks of driver in hit-and-run crash that killed son
The mother of a 13-year-old boy who was killed in a hit-and-run in Edmonton is begging the driver to come forward.
The northern lights are returning to night skies across Canada this Friday
If you missed the brilliant displays of the aurora borealis over North America on May 10, you may have another chance to see them on Friday night.
A pair enjoyed pricey meals and bolted when it was time to pay. Their dine and dash ended in jail
A Welsh couple who dined out on pricey meals and bolted when the bill came is now paying the price, behind bars.
$400K in damages for B.C. woman who had unnecessary mastectomy was 'inordinately high,' court finds
A jury's award of $400,000 to a woman who had a mastectomy after being misdiagnosed with breast cancer has been substantially reduced by B.C.'s highest court, which found the damages were "wholly disproportionate."