Queen Elizabeth Driveway will be open this weekend, but not intended as commuter route: NCC
![Bronson Avenue Crews will replace the Bronson Avenue overpass the weekend of July 13 to 17. (Google Streetview)](/content/dam/ctvnews/en/images/2023/6/23/bronson-avenue-1-6453083-1687527832105.png)
The Queen Elizabeth Driveway in Ottawa will be open to cars this coming weekend due to several events at TD Place and construction closing a section of Highway 417 at Bronson Avenue.
But the National Captial Commission said the road was not meant to be a commuter route.
Kiewit Dufferin Midtown Partnership has announced the closure of all eastbound and westbound lanes from Thursday, July 13 at 8 p.m. to Monday, July 17 at 6 a.m. for the replacement of the aging bridge over Bronson Avenue.
The closure will cause significant traffic headaches that will ripple across Ottawa those days. It also includes a closure of Bronson Avenue near the 417.
The National Capital Commission says with the traffic issues and weekend events on the horizon, its usual closure of the Queen Elizabeth Driveway to cars to allow people to walk, run, or cycle on the road will be suspended.
Both lanes of the Queen Elizabeth Driveway, located on the west side of the Rideau Canal, have been reserved for active use, between Fifth Avenue and Somerset Street from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily since Canada Day. Starting at 8 a.m. Friday, however, the program will be suspended until 8 p.m. Sunday, meaning drivers will be able to use the Queen Elizabeth Driveway for commuting.
In a statement to CTV News Ottawa on Wednesday, the NCC said roads such as the Queen Elizabeth Driveway, which are often closed for active use, were never intended to be commuter routes.
"This program, much like our Weekend Bikedays program on the Sir-George-Etienne Cartier and the Kichi Zībī Mīkan takes place on roadways that were always intended to serve as scenic routes, not commuter roadways."
People walk, ride bikes and inline skate on Queen Elizabeth Drive in Ottawa, as it is closed to motor vehicle traffic to allow people to get outdoors while practising physical distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic, on Sunday, May 3, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
"I'm not against active transportation but I am concerned about the number of roads that have been closed to vehicles over the last few months and even over the last couple of years," said Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe while speaking on Newstalk 580 CFRA's Ottawa at Work with Patricia Boal. "The National Capital Commission has been closing more and more of its routes and some of that has created problems for the flow of traffic."
Earlier this year, Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group CEO Mark Goudie said had seen documents suggesting the NCC had plans to permanently close the Queen Elizabeth Driveway to vehicles in the future, though the NCC said no decisions on the future of the road beyond 2023 had been made.
Sutcliffe said he's been raising his concerns with the NCC and they agreed to keep the road open to vehicles this weekend because of the bridge replacement on the Queensway.
"I'm continuing to appeal to the NCC to recognize the traffic consequences that result from closing a road," he said. "There are already, in my view, great places to run and bike along Queen Elizabeth Drive. There's a fantastic pathway right by the way, which I use all the time, and when I'm on that path and the road is closed, I don't see a lot of cyclist and walkers and runners using the road. So, I don't know that we're getting as much benefit as perhaps the NCC hoped from that."
The NCC has been closing sections of the Queen Elizabeth Driveway since 2020, as a way to give people in some of the most population-dense neighbourhoods in the city a place to get outside during the COVID-19 pandemic. It has continued the program since then, sometimes operating only on weekends and holidays, and sometimes seven days a week.
Sutcliffe said drivers should be aware that driving this weekend will be complicated, but it will be worth it in the long run.
"The bridge replacement on the Queensway is a good thing, it's improving the infrastructure on the Queensway, but there are going to be traffic impacts," he said. "Everyone wants the work to be done and everybody's amazed at how quickly they do it, but when you're stuck in your car on the day they are doing it, it's not as exciting."
--With files from CTV News Ottawa's Leah Larocque
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
![](https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.6945600.1719608806!/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_800/image.jpg)
'We need new leadership': Liberal MP writes to caucus, says Justin Trudeau should resign
A sitting Liberal MP has written to the federal caucus to say he thinks Prime Minister Justin Trudeau should resign. 'For the future of our party and for the good of our country we need new leadership and a new direction,' said New Brunswick MP Wayne Long in the brief note.
WestJet warns of travel disruption as mechanics union opts to 'continue with strike action'
WestJet says it is 'outraged' after its airline maintenance engineers went ahead with their previously threatened strike on Friday evening.
Minivan slams into a Long Island nail salon, killing 4 and injuring 9, fire official says
A minivan slammed into a Long Island nail salon Friday, killing four people and injuring 9, a Suffolk County fire official said.
Ontario MPP removed from PC caucus over 'serious lapses in judgment'
Premier Doug Ford has removed a member of his caucus due to what he’s describing as 'serious lapses in judgment.' In a statement released Friday morning, the premier’s office said MPP Goldie Ghamari had been removed from the Progressive Conservative caucus 'effective immediately.'
Martin Mull, hip comic and actor from 'Fernwood Tonight' and 'Roseanne,' dies at 80
Martin Mull, whose droll, esoteric comedy and acting made him a hip sensation in the 1970s and later a beloved guest star on sitcoms including 'Roseanne' and 'Arrested Development,' has died, his daughter said Friday.
Lt.-Gen. Jennie Carignan to become first woman to lead Canadian Armed Forces
Lt.-Gen. Jennie Carignan will be named Canada's new Chief of the Defence Staff, CTV News has learned, making her the first woman to lead the Canadian Armed Forces.
Multivitamins don't help you live longer, study suggests
Millions of people who take multivitamins everyday may not be reaping the perceived health benefits, according to new research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Is marriage harder than it was 10 years ago? Why one psychologist thinks so
Marriage might be the oldest institution in the world, but it's struggling to adapt to the pressures of modern life. Registered psychologist Adisa Azubuike explains why it's more difficult today.
Five survivors from Sudbury, Ont., rescued in human trafficking investigation
Six people have been charged in a provincial human trafficking investigation that identified five survivors from Greater Sudbury.