Delays, long waits, frustrated commuters on first day of Canada Day closures

CTV Ottawa: Canada Day delays…already With road closures ahead of the big Canada 150 party, traffic chaos has already started.

There were long lines of red and white across downtown Tuesday, but it wasn't from Canada flags.

OC Transpo buses lined most of the major routes Tuesday morning and afternoon. From Nicholas St. to the Mackenzie King bridge to Slater and Albert, the first day of detours due to Canada Day road closures was a mess.

"It was really terrible," says one woman. "We were stuck in one place for a solid 30 minutes."

"(We) sat for about 40 minutes up the University of Ottawa on Nicholas," says another man. "It is what it is."

Other riders say there were stuck on short stretches of the road for close to an hour. The delays are because of the first road closure for Canada Day. Crews were putting up a tent on Wellington at O'Connor.

Many passengers were frustrated because of a lack of information. On Monday, OC Transpo tweeted about the detours that would be in place starting Tuesday, but it wasn't until late in the morning that there was any mention of significant delays.

In a statement to CTV News, OC Transpo Director of Transit Operations Troy Charter says "Customers should be aware when planning their commute that there may be delays to transit service as a result of these detours."

"We apologize to our customers for any inconvenience experienced as a result of these road closures."

For many, the warning came too late.

"It's insane," says a frustrated woman. "They should've planned this a little better or warned anybody that I'm going to have to leave two hours early now to get to work."

On Tuesday evening, buses were still jammed on the Mackenzie King bridge, Slater and Albert St.

With still five days until the big celebration on Saturday, the delays are likely to continue in both the morning and afternoon commutes. OC Transpo is informing riders to plan accordingly.