Transit users looking forward to safer pathway near Leitrim Station

Transit riders say they are looking forward to a new path near Leitrim Station, which will be safer than walking along Albion Road. CTV’s Shaun Vardon reports.

Residents in south Ottawa got a look at plans for a new multi-use pathway near Leitrim Station on Tuesday.

For Findlay Creek resident Dyan Tufts, the new pathway along Albion Road that has been proposed by the city can’t come soon enough.

Tufts has been living in the community for almost a decade and has seen the number of houses grow rapidly, but the connections between them have not kept up.

At a community meeting Tuesday night at the Fred Barrett Arena, she got her fist look at the plans.

“For me it will be a huge benefit,” Tufts said. “One of the challenges is that my kids don’t have the opportunity to walk over and take advantage of the transit station because there is no safe way for them to get across Albion Road, so I’m very positive about this.”

Currently, residents need to walk or cycle along the side of Albion Road wile traffic speeds by at 80 kilometers per hour.

The city’s proposal builds a crosswalk across Albion and a pathway along the half-kilometer stretch from Quinn Road to Bunchberry Way. Once complete, it will connect existing paths so residents will have a safer way to get around their community and take transit.

Cassian Soltykevych cycles in the community and says he sees the new plan as a gamechanger that will open the area to more visitors.

“It’s a great idea to have a pathway because there is the new pathway along the O-Train line, but there is not a safe way to connect to the rest of Leitrim and Findlay Creek,” Soltykevych said. “There are a lot of businesses, and with the Bank Street renewal, we can visit but we need a safe way to cross Albion right now.”

According to city officials, the new pathway is expected to be completed sometime in 2027. The local city councillor, Steve Desroches, can’t wait.

“This is an important project for the residents of Findlay Creek, especially those that use transit and want to cycle and walk to the station and right now they can’t,” he said.

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