Westboro resident says a planned redesign of his street will make it too narrow

A Westboro man wants the City of Ottawa to reconsider a planned redesign of his street. CTV’s Peter Szperling reports.

A Westboro man is part of a group of residents that wants the City of Ottawa to rethink a planned redesign of their street.

Benoit Lebeau says there is already a problem “getting out of driveways from time to time,” on Athlone Avenue, and a plan to add a second sidewalk will “narrow the street even further, which will make it even worse.”

The city is planning for an “integrated renewal,” of Athlone Avenue and three other streets as part of a project to replace watermain and sanitary sewers in the neighbourhood.

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Part of the construction, slated for completion in 2027, includes new pavement, new concrete sidewalks, catch basins, and traffic calming measures, according to the city.

Lebeau says the plan to add a second sidewalk on the east side of the street, along with traffic calming ‘bump outs,’ doesn’t make sense.

“That’s what we’ve been trying to communicate to the city, but the only thing we’re getting is the same message, that engineers are following city approved guidelines.”

The city held a public information session in April of this year. According to the city’s policies, sidewalks are prioritized on key corridor like this block of Athlone, which leads directly to an LRT station.

“The city’s policies are to build a second sidewalk whenever possible,” Kitchissippi Ward Coun. Jeff Leiper tells CTV News Ottawa. “We want to have pedestrian infrastructure on both sides of the street.”

He says he’s spoken with residents, and “the city has been back and forth with these residents.”

Getting in and out of driveways

Leiper says he’s heard concerns about being able to get out of driveways on the street.

“The city wants to make sure, of course, that people are still able to get out of their driveways relatively easily,” said Leiper. “I don’t think residents quite buy some of the analysis that the city has done.”

Lebeau says he was provided with technical drawings from the city, which show there is adequate turning radius to enter and exit driveways.

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To demonstrate his concerns to CTV News Ottawa, and some neighbours parked a vehicle in front of his home to simulate what he says will be a traffic calming bump out and parked a van at the edge of what residents say will be the added sidewalk.

Getting out of his driveway in an average sized SUV required a maneuver of backing up, pulling forward, and backing again in order to exit. During the process, several cars had to stop on the street to allow Lebeau to continue.

“So, really, it’s creating road rage,” he says.