Stittsville residents frustrated over heavy truck traffic on Fernbank Rd.

Residents in Stittsville are frustrated with trucks rolling down a designed no truck zone. CTV’s Dylan Dyson reports.

Residents living on Fernbank Road in Stittsville’s south end are frustrated with the amount of heavy truck traffic rolling through their community.

The trucks travel west of Stittsville Main Street, where the community is designated as a no truck zone, as indicated by multiple street signs.

Despite this, resident Jodie Kiss says 50 to 100 trucks pass by her house every day.

“When one of them goes to go through the stop sign and they slam on the brakes, it quite literally feels like an earthquake is happening in our home,” Kiss tells CTV News Ottawa.

“We’re a 40 km/h zone. Many of the trucks are traveling well beyond that and failing to stop at the stop signs that are that are here.”

She says the trucks are travelling to and from a business a few kilometres down Fernbank Road, CFT Storage.

“In December 2024, the city had approved their zoning for light industrial use and storage. But quite frankly, at the rate that we’re currently going, they’re far exceeding light industrial use,” she said.

In a statement from CFT Storage, the company says they are aware of the concerns from residents, but cite Traffic and Parking By-Law No. 2017-301, Section 54(2):

“Trucks may travel on non-designated truck routes when it is the shortest deviation from a signed truck route to their destination. In our case, Fernbank via Stittsville Main is that shortest and only legal access point. No alternative route satisfies this provision.”

Stittsville Coun. Glen Gower says he is working with the city to change that bylaw.

“It’s ridiculous right now,” Gower told CTV News Ottawa Wednesday.

“I don’t think they should be (travelling down Fernbank). We have an investigation that’s ongoing right now by city staff and bylaw. The investigation is ongoing, so I can’t speak to all of that. We’re waiting to see what the results are.”

In the meantime, Gower says he has instructed Ottawa police to increase enforcement in the area.

In a statement, The Ottawa Police Service said staffing is an issue when it comes to enforcing “No Truck Zones,” writing, “We continue to focus on competing issues such as street racing, disruptive vehicle noise, impaired driving and residential intersection enforcement to name a few.”

The statement from police went on to say, “Our officers will continue to enforce “No Truck” route violations throughout the year. We’ll also continue to triage the many demands on our limited enforcement resources.”

The stretch of Fernbank west of Stittsville Main is a two-lane road with no sidewalks and multiple speed reduction measures, including speed radars and traffic barriers.

Many residents are worried about the area’s safety with many young children and cyclists using the road.

One nearby resident told CTV News they are planning to sell their home because of the truck traffic.

Fernbank Road resident Nicky Swan says she has lived along the road for 43 years, but these days she is only getting four hours of sleep at night due to the trucks travelling back and forth at all hours.

“They start at 11 p.m. and then you’ll hear more at 1 a.m., and then usually 2 a.m., 3 a.m. and 4 a.m.,” says Swan.

“How did they get a permit to build up there in the first place, if this is what they were going to do on a truck restricted area?”

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