Traffic backups along Carp Road have been a frustration for years, but relief may finally be on the way as the city moves to widen one of Stittsville’s busiest stretches of road. Greg McDonnell, who has lived in Stittsville for seven years, says the traffic along Carp Road has only gotten worse over time. “Long overdue. It’s a constant issue with traffic,” McDonnell said. McDonnell uses the road four times a day but says he avoids rush hour at all costs. “To get from here to the 417 is impossible in the evenings, afternoons, early mornings,” McDonnell said. To address the traffic, the city is planning to widen Carp Road from two to four lanes between Highway 417 and Hazeldean Road, a two-kilometre stretch. The project will also add sidewalks, cycling tracks, and new sanitary and storm sewers, and watermains. “It’s a really, really busy stretch. Any time in rush hour, it gets backed up,” said Stittsville Ward City Councillor Glen Gower. “It’s been on that priority list for Stittsville for about a decade now. So, it’s a much-needed north-south route to get people from the main part of Stittsville up to the Queensway and up to Carp.” Business owners along the road say the changes can’t come soon enough. “From the service area, we can actually see the road. And I always look and I see how busy it is. It’s always packed and there’s bumper to bumper traffic around the area,” Classic Shawarma owner Mohammed Abdalkarim said. At his restaurant on Carp Road, more traffic could mean more business. “I think it definitely would make a big difference for sure,” Abdalkarim said. The project will start in the spring with the Carp Road and Hazeldean Road intersection and continue north toward Highway 417 over the next five years. “I’m not looking forward to the years of construction and how backed up it’s going to be,” said Anh-Quan Nguyen, owner of A2 Dental. “But I think in the long run, it’ll probably generate a little bit more flow to this plaza and hopefully will increase more foot traffic and visibility to the local businesses.” As for Stittsville resident McDonnell, he says the area has outgrown its roads. “It’ll make a huge difference. Stittsville has really grown. I’ve been here seven years and to me, it’s almost doubled in size. And the roads haven’t changed,” he said. City staff are hosting a public meeting Thursday evening at the Tony Graham Recreation Complex to give residents a chance to see the plans and have their say.
