Dudas Backs Ottawa Ring Road
For decades, transport trucks travelling through Ottawa to eastern destinations, have all been forced to funnel through the city’s core. The only other alternative to the 417 for these trucks is to take countryside roads, or detour far to the south.
Although this flow of transport trucks hauling goods past our city has long been viewed as unsustainable and detrimental to urban communities, no plan has come to fruition to permanently address the situation.
For those long-time readers of my articles, you know transportation investment is a common refrain, and my advocacy for a southern ring road predates even my election. Since amalgamation, Ottawa’s population has grown by a quarter of a million people. Meanwhile, our major transportation networks are largely unchanged and are increasingly overburdened by growing traffic demands.
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This newsletter excerpt from Orleans West-Innes Councillor Laura Dudas is courtesy of the city-wide community group Your Applewood Acres (And Beyond) Neighbours
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Imagine for a moment a road that juts off Hwy. 416, circumvents our city’s rural communities, and ideally ends at a new eastern interprovincial bridge past Ottawa’s boundary. It would be transformative, providing a route for transport trucks heading to Montréal, Quebec City and further east, with a way to avoid driving through Ottawa’s downtown. Additionally, it could serve trucks hauling cargo arriving at the airport; or for example, going to stock up Ottawa’s massive Amazon warehouses (with another opening in the south end soon), all of which are currently forced to funnel through the core.
This doesn’t even speak to the need of providing options for residents in Ottawa’s east, south and west ends (as well as those communities in areas outside of Ottawa), with an alternative to Hwy. 417. How can anyone be surprised when a single closure, either for construction or an accident, grinds all movement to a halt?
This ring road, however, must be a Provincial 400-series roadway. Much like with the 417, and the uploading of Hwy. 174, I believe that the Government of Ontario should take the lead in the construction and maintenance of this roadway, as the demands on it go well beyond serving only Ottawa; the movement of goods throughout Eastern Ontario would see efficiencies, also reaping the benefits, and growing communities around Ottawa would also see new connections alleviating their growing traffic pressures. From my perspective, it’s a win for the Province no matter which way you slice it. We know this is not too much ask, as the Province is eagerly building 400-series highways in the Greater Toronto Area. I strongly believe that their construction spree must extend to Ottawa and Eastern Ontario.
I am elated to see that more of my colleagues are now getting on board, acknowledging that as our city continues to grow, the demands on our existing infrastructure are only going to get worse. Although the decision to include a ring road as part of the City’s Transportation Master Plan this past July did not receive unanimous support, it does not in any way prevent us from relaying to our Provincial counterparts that a road of this nature is necessary for the continued growth and prosperity of our city. I, for one, plan on continuing to press for this much-needed investment in our City’s transportation future.
For You:
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From Gower, More Transit, Fewer Words: BENN
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A single road will not fulfill all the the requirements on Laura Dudas’s wish list/emotional outburst. As always, she, like many councilors, needs to sit down and think before she speaks. One thing she mentions is a roadway that bypasses Ottawa in order for eastbound trucks to get to Montreal. Two such roads already exist. One is the 401 which becomes the 40 at the Quebec border and goes through Montreal via Dorval. And the 417 goes through Montreal as well, changing its number to the 60 once it reaches the Quebec border. How many more roads, exactly, does she feel are necessary to reach Montreal? Let’s begin with that question and go through the list of other questions one at a time rather than just throw everything on the table at once and create nothing but confusion.
The reason a ring road doesn’t exist in Ottawa is primarily due to the river that lies between Ottawa and Quebec. Laura Dudas seems to intimate that previous councilors weren’t smart enough to design a road that circles the city. I can hardly wait to see how she’s going to get asphalt to sit atop water. Based on her laundry list she’s not looking for a ring road, what she’s seeking is a spider’s web. The mother spider standing in front of the National Art Gallery would likely approve. Too bad she doesn’t get a vote.