Redesign for Montreal and Blair roads is too suburban, committee hears

The City of Ottawa has re-designed two major arterial roads in the east end to add cycling tracks and improve traffic flow, but some wonder whether the future $150-million project will lead to roads that are still too wide and suburban.

City staff spent a couple of years studying5.5 kilometres of Montreal Road east of St. Laurent Boulevard, and 2.8 kilometres ofBlair Road north of Highway 174.

The area affects how people make their way to and fromthe Blair and Montreallight rail stations, and includes the area where thousands of homes arebeing built at the Wateridge development on the former Rockcliffe air base.

The plans call for the number of traffic lanes to remain the same. For Montreal Road, staff recommend adding bus lanes in various places to give buses priority, and creating segregated cycling lanes. Blair Road would get a new, separate multi-use pathway on the west side and a cycling track on the east.

An urban future

The Vanier Community Associationpointed out part of the Montreal Road redesign between St. Laurent Boulevard and the Aviation Parkwayfalls in an area called "inner urban" under the new official plan up for debate in October.

That designation calls for far more peopleliving in compact areas with more multi-storey buildings, which would require a different planning focus.

"This section of Montreal Road needs to be more urban and less suburban," said Chris Greenshields, echoing comments made by the city's urban design review panel in July.

The city should have been more aggressive to boost transit use on Montreal Road, Greenshields said.

City staff said they considered many designs and found a compromise, whichneither requires buying a lot of privateland nor does itcreateextra congestionat intersectionsthat might block transit lanes.

Transportation committee chair, Coun. Tim Tierney, pointed to comments from the city's emergency services general manager about Montreal Road having the number of lanes unchanged so ambulances can come and gofrom the Montfort Hospital and use the fire station.

In all, the project would cost $150 million fundedby revenues the city receives from gas taxes. The timeline will depend on the new list of priority transportation projects, and that master plan has been delayed to fall 2024.

A bus loop for the Montreal Road light rail station would move ahead as part of the construction of Stage 2 of light rail to Orlans.

Transportation committee approved the designs in a 10 to 1 votewith only Rideau-Vanier's Mathieu Fleury voting against.

If this design also gets the support of full city council, the City of Ottawa will post the environmental assessment for a 30-day public feedback period this fall.