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Funding set aside to turn the city-owned Prince of Wales Bridge into a cycling and pedestrian link to Gatineau has been redirected to a different project — a move one city councillor describes as a “down payment” on a future bridge over the Rideau Canal to connect the Glebe and Old Ottawa East.
The 2016 budget, approved Thursday, will now see $2.7 million previously intended for the multi-use pathway project on the Prince of Wales Bridge be reallocated to a proposed pedestrian and cycling bridge between Fifth Avenue and Clegg Street.
“This crossing would provide significant city-wide benefits, especially given the recent revitalization of Lansdowne Park,” said Vivi Chi, the manager of transportation planning, in an email.
Cash to draw up preliminary designs for the Prince of Wales Bridge, a decommissioned rail bridge spanning the Ottawa River just east of Lemieux Island, was approved in last year’s budget. But the work — pegged at $10.5 million — was only to be initiated if the City of Gatineau and the NCC agreed to cost-share the construction of the project.
Chi says no such agreement was ever reached, despite informal discussions over the past two years.
Meanwhile, momentum has been building around the Fifth-Clegg project for months so it’s not surprising there’s been some leapfrog action.
During his re-election campaign last year, Mayor Jim Watson said he’d try to speed up the project and make it a priority this term. He reiterated the message last week when the city officially opened Adàwe crossing, a new pedestrian and cycling bridge linking Somerset Street East and Donald Street, teasing Capital Coun. David Chernushenko that he had “bridge envy.”
Not surprising, Chernushenko shares the mayor’s enthusiasm for the project. “It’s almost a running joke — whenever I get the chance, I raise it,” he said.
The $2.7 million “makes a great down payment,” he says, adding he’ll work with Ottawa Centre MP Catherine McKenna and MPP Yasir Naqvi to secure funds to build the $17.5-million bridge.
The city is currently undertaking geotechnical testing on both sides of the Rideau Canal to support the design of the bridge. Boreholes will be drilled to collect soil samples for testing, and engineers will determine requirements for road construction, support columns and the pathway ramp. The work is expected to last about five days, Chernushenko said.
Both bridge projects were approved in the 2013 transportation master plan, but the Prince of Wales one was slated for completion by 2019. Construction of the Fifth-Clegg bridge was slated to happen between 2020 and 2025, but both Chernushenko and Watson want to advance that timeline. Chernushenko said he wants to see a shovel in the ground “by the end of this term.”
He plans to hold a public information meeting in January to show off the latest designs.
As for the Prince of Wales project, it will continue to be included in the pathway network of the Ottawa Cycling Plan, but there will no longer be funding attached to it.
Despite being officially closed, the bridge is a popular spot for dog walkers and people hoping to catch the sunset or Canada Day fireworks over the Ottawa River. A picture of a couple enjoying a romantic dinner on the bridge earlier this year went viral after it was posted on Reddit.
The dream of many would see the Prince of Wales Bridge act as a public transit connection between Ottawa and Gatineau. It’s the natural extension of the Trillium line, which currently terminates at nearby Bayview station and, on the Gatineau side, lands in close proximity to the Rapibus corridor. Gatineau Mayor Maxime Pedneaud-Jobin said recently he hopes to revisit this topic in a future meeting with Watson.
mpearson@ottawacitizen.com
twitter.com/mpearson78
查看原文...
The 2016 budget, approved Thursday, will now see $2.7 million previously intended for the multi-use pathway project on the Prince of Wales Bridge be reallocated to a proposed pedestrian and cycling bridge between Fifth Avenue and Clegg Street.
“This crossing would provide significant city-wide benefits, especially given the recent revitalization of Lansdowne Park,” said Vivi Chi, the manager of transportation planning, in an email.
Cash to draw up preliminary designs for the Prince of Wales Bridge, a decommissioned rail bridge spanning the Ottawa River just east of Lemieux Island, was approved in last year’s budget. But the work — pegged at $10.5 million — was only to be initiated if the City of Gatineau and the NCC agreed to cost-share the construction of the project.
Chi says no such agreement was ever reached, despite informal discussions over the past two years.
Meanwhile, momentum has been building around the Fifth-Clegg project for months so it’s not surprising there’s been some leapfrog action.
During his re-election campaign last year, Mayor Jim Watson said he’d try to speed up the project and make it a priority this term. He reiterated the message last week when the city officially opened Adàwe crossing, a new pedestrian and cycling bridge linking Somerset Street East and Donald Street, teasing Capital Coun. David Chernushenko that he had “bridge envy.”
Not surprising, Chernushenko shares the mayor’s enthusiasm for the project. “It’s almost a running joke — whenever I get the chance, I raise it,” he said.
The $2.7 million “makes a great down payment,” he says, adding he’ll work with Ottawa Centre MP Catherine McKenna and MPP Yasir Naqvi to secure funds to build the $17.5-million bridge.
The city is currently undertaking geotechnical testing on both sides of the Rideau Canal to support the design of the bridge. Boreholes will be drilled to collect soil samples for testing, and engineers will determine requirements for road construction, support columns and the pathway ramp. The work is expected to last about five days, Chernushenko said.
Both bridge projects were approved in the 2013 transportation master plan, but the Prince of Wales one was slated for completion by 2019. Construction of the Fifth-Clegg bridge was slated to happen between 2020 and 2025, but both Chernushenko and Watson want to advance that timeline. Chernushenko said he wants to see a shovel in the ground “by the end of this term.”
He plans to hold a public information meeting in January to show off the latest designs.
As for the Prince of Wales project, it will continue to be included in the pathway network of the Ottawa Cycling Plan, but there will no longer be funding attached to it.
Despite being officially closed, the bridge is a popular spot for dog walkers and people hoping to catch the sunset or Canada Day fireworks over the Ottawa River. A picture of a couple enjoying a romantic dinner on the bridge earlier this year went viral after it was posted on Reddit.
The dream of many would see the Prince of Wales Bridge act as a public transit connection between Ottawa and Gatineau. It’s the natural extension of the Trillium line, which currently terminates at nearby Bayview station and, on the Gatineau side, lands in close proximity to the Rapibus corridor. Gatineau Mayor Maxime Pedneaud-Jobin said recently he hopes to revisit this topic in a future meeting with Watson.
mpearson@ottawacitizen.com
twitter.com/mpearson78
查看原文...
