Manotick residents want an end to truck traffic

Residents of Manotick, a village in south Ottawa, are calling for an end to the steady stream of trucks passing through their community.

The village's main roads are part of the city's designated truck route. Hundreds of large vehicles travel east and west across the Rideau River every day; however, the heavy traffic is raising concerns among locals, who describe the trucks as loud, dangerous, and unnecessary.

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"I almost got killed here last summer," says resident, Jim Sproule. "I was on my mountain bike, crossing the bridge, and it was a flatbed truck that came by me and kept coming, pushing me more and more over to the side to the sidewalk. I wasn't on the sidewalk. I was on the road and I just had to stop because he was going to run over me."

Approximately 800 trucks cross the intersection at Manotick Main Street and Bridge Street each weekday, roads which are lined with senior residences, a school, businesses and homes.

Sproule, a retired, former deputy chief coroner of Ontario, was shaken by his near-hit with a large truck and took it upon himself to conduct his own independent traffic review of the area.

"And what it basically showed was this intersection is effectively designed to optimize a fatal incident with a pedestrian," he notes from his 2023 report. "Given the demographics of the people in the area, lots of seniors, given the trucks that go through here, given the way that corner is set up in terms of turning left to right and these are all factors that increase the likelihood of a fatal pedestrian injury, particularly for seniors."

Sproule has joined forces with another resident, Bruce Miller. Together, they lead the Manotick Concerned Citizens Against Truck Traffic (MCCATT), a group pressing the city to divert the truck route.

"Obviously there's air pollution issues, but the real concern we have is about safety for pedestrians and bicycling here," says Miller. "There was even an alternate route now, on the Vimy Bridge. What's needed to be done is to extend Earl Armstrong Road to the east towards Bank Street in order to provide that through link that is needed in order to close the road in Manotick."

Sproule adds that the Vimy Bridge, which connects Prince of Wales Drive to Riverside South, is safer, with fewer homes nearby and is propose-built for a large number of trucks given it has six lanes.

Rideau-Jock Coun. David Brown, who represents the area, has acknowledged the ongoing problem with truck traffic and has worked to enhance safety in the last two years. Measures include reworking lanes at the problematic intersection, extending pedestrian signals, and expediting the installation of a speed camera. Additionally, parts of Century Road, south of Manotick, have been redesignated for truck traffic.

Despite these efforts, many residents believe the only solution is to close the truck route through Manotick entirely. "The city seems more interested in avoiding inconvenience for truck traffic than improving public safety," Sproule said.

Brown, who was unavailable for an interview, noted that the recently implemented safety measures are just the beginning. A truck route review is planned, which could provide the necessary evidence to remove Manotick from the city's trucking network. He adds that he is committed to resolving the long-standing issue of heavy truck traffic through Manotick, which he describes as a 'serious disruption' to the community.

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"For decades, the Village of Manotick has been enduring an unacceptable issue with truck traffic through the village core," Brown said, in a statement to CTV News Ottawa. "The issue is a serious disruption to regular life in the community and it is one that I am absolutely committed to resolving."

Looking ahead, Brown outlined next steps, including a truck route review, upgrading Century Road, and expanding Earl Armstrong Road to provide a better alternative for truck traffic.

"We're optimistic with the initiative that have been taken," says Miller. "One thing that we want to do is get more people involved people who live in Manotick, do business in Manotick, to put pressure on the city to move things forward in terms of the budget for 2025 and then in the future for planning to provide the alternative truck route."