In Mid-July the City of Ottawa will begin to re-direct traffic from Scott St. to Burnside Ave. to replace water/sewer lines through the end of August. The City closed Scott Street earlier this week between Bayview Station Rd. and Parkdale Ave. to westbound traffic. Drivers can still travel eastbound on Scott St. At the same time, OC Transpo is closing down the LRT between Tunney’s Pasture and Rideau stations for planned maintenance during July 15-26 which will add buses to Burnside Ave. Pedestrian and bike access is also blocked on the north side path on Scott Street during construction.
“We have spoke to the City about the timing with OC Transpo’s planned LRT shutdown. The City acknowledges that the timing is not ideal but they are concerned about getting the work done before school buses start in September which could present another safety issue,” said Lorrie Marlow, MCA Board President.
In an email from MCA to city officials sent on June 30th, we requested that all possible traffic-calming measures be used on Burnside. Our request included:
3-way stop at Stonehurst and Burnside needed for the Laroche Park access to childrens' playground
Speed bumps before and after the Burnside hill
Electronic speed monitoring signs must be working
Traffic counter to record the amount of vehicles
Children/senior crossing signs and street markings for residents crossing Burnside at Carruthers to enter the gate into Lazy Bay Commons also at Burnside/Forward and/or Hinchey trying to access the Riverton Apartments.
City Police traffic enforcement must sit on the corner of Carruthers and Burnside daily during peak hours
Creating a right-turn lane on Burnside/Parkdale with the installation of no parking signs on the northside of Burnside from Forward to Parkdale next to the Brigil building @ 121 Parkdale Ave
Request Richcraft to allow a temporary dog park in the fenced vacant lot at Parkdale and Scott next to the new community garden. This will redirect Mechanicsville dogwalkers to cross at a safe crosswalk on Scott instead of risking Burnside traffic without a safe crosswalk.
The City has responded and is not able to meet our requests for items 1,2, and 5 of our list because these items do not meet certain criteria. They are working on helping us with 3,4, 6, and 8 and will provide slow-down signs all along Burnside. The City is not able to meet request 7 because the width of Burnside is too narrow. MCA is also in discussions with the City about directing some of the traffic onto the Kichi Zibi Mikan parkway from Slidell.
“The City is working with us on this issue but we can’t let our guard down and expect that this will go smoothly. We want all residents to be aware of the safety risks during this time and to please take extra caution crossing roads and watching children,” said Marlow.
At this time, we encourage residents to keep an eye on Burnside traffic and to please report any issues by emailing us at mechanicsvilleca@gmail.com. We assure you that we monitor our email daily and we will reach out to the city on behalf of our community to demand action from the City as needed.
