Commuters trying to reach Lincoln Fields Station in Ottawa’s west end have had to navigate a narrow, snow-packed, multi-use path this winter because a sidewalk closure for Stage 2 LRT construction has left them with limited options. The north-side sidewalk along Carling Avenue between the Lincoln Fields shopping mall and the transit station is closed for construction, with posted signs directing pedestrians to the south side. But for many, the quickest and most accessible route is the unmaintained footpath along the Kichi Zībī Mīkan, which remains buried under snow. Residents say the path is partially packed down by foot traffic, but city crews have not cleared it. A small section has been plowed at the crosswalk leading to the bus station, however, leaving an abrupt snowbank between cleared pavement and the rest of the trail. “It’s a little silly,” says Emma Russett, a resident who uses the bus almost daily. “It seems weird that they would just plow this one little spot.” Roland Reevs, another area resident, says the path’s condition reflects “a random mindset.” “They plow a little here, and do a little bit here, and we’re supposed to be happy,” he says. “But there’s no continuity.” Bay Ward Coun. Theresa Kavanagh says the issue stems from jurisdictional confusion. “And why? Because the path belongs to the NCC and they never plow. But it’s going to our transit station, so we have to work with them and get it done,” she says. “So, it’s passed the buck and, it goes back to the city. Then the city tells me that it’s Stage 2’s responsibility.” Kavanagh calls the situation “ridiculous and, in terms of accessibility, absolutely hopeless,” adding her office has been pressing for action for months, and even years. By Thursday evening, crews finished blowing and clearing a path along the trail, a solution that residents say should have been implemented much earlier. “When you see a well-trodden path, you know that it is being used by people,” says Reevs. “So have a plow, plow it.”
