The City of Ottawa’s roadmap to keep people moving over the next 20 years includes expanding light-rail transit into Barrhaven and Kanata, a new bus transitway on Baseline Road and widening Prince of Wales Drive and the Airport Parkway. Public consultations kicked off this week on Phase 5 of the Transportation Master Plan, which identifies transit and road network projects that are needed to “accommodate planned growth and achieve the city’s mobility objectives” until 2046, according to the city. The report says that with Ottawa’s population expected to grow to 1.4 million by 2046, the city is expected to see demand for an additional 1.2 million daily trips, including more than 620,000 daily trips in vehicles. “The largest growth in auto trips involves trips between suburban and outer urban communities,” says the report. “Many roads across the Greenbelt will be congested, and additional localized congestion hot spots are expected, especially within suburban communities, on two-lane arterial roads near the urban boundary, and at crossings of the Rideau River.” The Transportation Master Plan outlines $4.9 billion in “Needs-Based Transit Network” projects, $8.3 billion to extend O-Train Line 1 and Line 3 to Barrhaven and Kanata, $2.2 billion in “Priority Transit Network” projects, and $1.1 billion for road expansion and widening, called the “Priority Road Network” that the city says is ”needed to address development needs and peak period capacity.” Staff say there are $2.7 billion in “Needs-Based Road Network” projects in the Transportation Master Plan that are needed to address forecast traffic volumes in 2046. However, staff say it is “not affordable to implement all of the projects” within the current 20-year planning period. Here is a look at the transportation infrastructure projects identified as priorities. Priority Transit Network projects Priority Road Network projects The City of Ottawa says $29 million for pedestrian projects and $48 million for cycling project were approved as part of the Active Transportation Projects plan in 2023. Alta Vista Transportation Corridor The Transportation Master Plan includes a new route for the proposed Alta Vista Transportation Corridor, with the northern section removed from the plan. The original plan from the 1950s for the four-lane road would have seen it extend from the intersection of Walkley Road and Conroy Road north through the Alta Vista community to the Smyth Road Hospital Complex, crossing the Rideau River and connecting to the Nicholas Street/Highway 417 interchange. The plan faced opposition from residents and elected officials because it would have crossed through National Capital Commission green space, known as the People’s Park, in Old Ottawa East. The new plan removes the northern section from Hospital Link Road to Nicholas Street from the network. “Travel demand modelling for the TMP indicates that a road connection within this segment would provide no effective congestion relief, primarily due to downstream capacity constraints,” staff said. Public consultations The City of Ottawa will host three more in-person public consultations on the Transportation Master Plan. The City of Ottawa is also hosting online information sessions. For more information, visit https://engage.ottawa.ca/transportation-master-plan Council will approve the Transportation Master Plan Infrastructure Plan in July.
