Plan to build bus lanes on St. Laurent Boulevard will require property acquisition

A sign above St. Laurent Boulevard in Ottawa. Sept. 25, 2025. (CTV News Ottawa)

The $260 million plan to create a transit priority corridor along Ottawa’s St. Laurent Boulevard with bus lanes and cycle tracks will affect 79 properties, with eight properties requiring full acquisition by the city.

Ottawa’s Public Works and Infrastructure Committee approved the functional design for the St. Laurent Boulevard transit priority corridor environmental study on Thursday.

The plan would see 5.2 kilometres of St. Laurent Boulevard, between Hemlock Road and Innes Road, redeveloped with bus-only lanes, new two-metre cycle tracks, improved sidewalks and crosswalks and transit priority at several intersections.

The Transportation Master Plan approved earlier this year confirmed the need for transit improvements on St. Laurent Boulevard, including bus lanes south of St. Laurent Station. There are 10 OC Transpo bus routes that use St. Laurent Boulevard to provide transfer opportunities to O-Train Line 1, and the road is “heavily used by out-of-service buses” accessing the OC Transpo garage on St. Laurent, according to staff.

The proposed St. Laurent Boulevard transit priority corridor includes the creation of bus only lanes between Lemieux Street and Innes Road/Industrial Avenue, the creation of a median multi-use pathway between Lemieux Street and Tremblay Road, wider sidewalks and cycle tracks on other areas of St. Laurent Boulevard, and transit priority at several intersections.

Here is a look at the proposed St. Laurent Boulevard transit priority corridor:

• Hemlock Road to north of Montreal Road: Two travel lanes, upgraded sidewalks, dedicated cycling facilities and enhanced bus stops. Staff say buses will operate in “mixed transit.”
• Montreal Road to north of McArthur Avenue: Two vehicle lanes in each direction, with upgraded sidewalks, dedicated cycling facilities, and bus stop enhancements.
• McArthur Avenue to north of Lemieux Street: Staff say a northbound lane would be added through reallocation of an existing general-purpose lane. “In the southbound direction, the EA recommends buses operating in mixed traffic with transit priority at intersections,” staff said. There would be upgraded sidewalks, dedicated cycling facilities and enhanced bus stops.
• Lemieux Street to Tremblay Road: Staff say this segment is the “most complex” due to the connection with the St. Laurent O-Train station and the Highway 417 interchange. There would be two general purpose lanes in each direction, a northbound bus-only lane between Hwy. 417 and the LRT station bus access ramp, and a median multi-use pathway with barrier protection from the adjacent lanes.
• South of Tremblay Road to Innes Road/Industrial Avenue: Staff say the preferred solution is to maintain the existing four general traffic lanes and “widen the corridor to provide continuous bus lanes” in each direction, along with wider sidewalks and cycle tracks.

The report says the plan also includes a new multi-use pathway to connect to the St. Laurent O-Train Station from St. Laurent Boulevard.

According to staff, the St. Laurent transportation priority corridor would save northbound OC Transpo buses 4.4 minutes during weekday afternoon travel periods and improve bus reliability by 29 per cent.

Staff say the recommended functional design for the St. Laurent Boulevard transit priority corridor affects 79 properties, with eight requiring full acquisition due to the degree of the project’s impact. According to the report, the remaining 71 properties would be impacted “varying amounts,” which would “affect operations/functionality of the property, or encroach on yards, signs and parking areas.”

The price tag for the recommended plan is $260 million in 2025 dollars, while the price to design and implement a phased implementation design is $241. There is no funding allocated for the project.

The report does not say when construction could begin on the project.

“Implementation of all segments remains contingent upon key factors such as funding availability; future development/redevelopment; and City Council priorities,” staff said.