Residents ask if proposed Canal crossing worth price tag

Ottawa residents, particularly in the Glebe, are weighing the benefits versus the cost of a proposed Rideau Canal footbridge.

A public meeting was held Thursday night over the $17.5 million bridge, which would connect Fifth Avenue to Clegg Avenue near Lansdowne Park.

“Anything that facilitates people moving and walking and biking between communities like this is exciting, it’s vibrant,” said local resident Ainslie Benedict.

“I do think it’s a lot of money and I think it’s a beautiful bridge, but I would worry that if the bridge is really expensive it’s going to be derailed by cost,” said another.

Area councillor David Chernushenko said the long-term gains for building a bridge outweigh the cost.

“More and more, people are walking and cycling,” he said at the meeting. “There’s a recognized need to get people who can out of cars for some of their trips; this is an affordable, efficient solution.”

People who use the Corktown footbridge connecting Somerset Street with the University of Ottawa (about two kilometres to the north) said more options for crossing the Canal would be appreciated.

“From where I live in Sandy Hill to where I have to go in Gatineau, it works for me,” said John Kozij. “Otherwise I’d be out on the streets a lot more and this keeps me on the trails pretty much all the way from home to work.”

However, there are other crossings nearby that are open to vehicle traffic.

“I don’t know if (the new bridge) would be the best location,” said Christine Hardie. “It’s not too far to just cross at Pretoria or Bank.”

Some residents said they were concerned about a byproduct of more walking – more cars parked on nearby streets.

“That isn’t necessarily a bad thing, the same streets suffer from cars travelling too quickly,” Chernuskenko said.

“Most of the time if you actually have more cars parked on streets, traffic tends to get calmed down when they’re full.”

There are still a number of details to be worked out for the bridge, including how high and steep it would be if approved.

With a report from CTV Ottawa’s Katie Griffin

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  Concept drawing of a proposed footbridge that would link Fifth Avenue on the west bank with Clegg Avenue on the east side. This design was not selected to be built.