NCC releases its parkway plan to mixed reviews

Depending who you ask, the plans from the National Capital Commission (NCC) to ensure people get out and actively enjoy Ottawa's parkways either go too far or not far enough.

The NCC released its 2023 active use program schedule Monday to a few middling reviews.

"We do have mixed feelings," said Erin Maher, co-lead of Parkways for People, a group that advocates for a new approach to managing the parkways.

Maher told CBC Radio's All In A Day Tuesday the group appreciates the programming — which includes times when the roads are set aside for walking and cycling — but was hoping to see "gains" in the number of hours they're used for such purposes.

While Parkways for People wants to see the hours expanded, others want to protect vehicle access.

Here are the details

The NCC's active use program returns to the Queen Elizabeth Driveway on the west side of the Rideau Canal. It started in 2020 to expand opportunities for outdoor exercise during the COVID-19 pandemic

The driveway will be periodically reserved for active use on weekends and holiday Mondays from May 13 to Oct. 9 between Somerset Street and Fifth Avenue. From July 1 to Sept. 4, it's exclusively for active use.

The Weekend Bikedays program is returning to the Sir John A. Macdonald and Sir George-Étienne Cartier parkways in 2023 for a 53rd season, the NCC said in its news release.

Every weekend and holiday Monday from May 13 to Oct. 9, both westbound lanes of the Sir John A. Macdonald Parkway from Vimy Place to Carling Avenue will be closed to vehicles.

For the same dates, both lanes of the Sir George-Étienne Cartier Parkway between the Aviation Parkway and St. Joseph Boulevard will likewise be reserved for pedestrians and cyclists.

Queen Elizabeth an 'area of concern,' OSEG says

Mark Goudie, president and CEO of Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group (OSEG), said the NCC "summoned" OSEG and the City of Ottawa in mid-April to inform them of the planned closure. 

OSEG was then given just one business day to respond, Goudie said.

"We're a major stakeholder in this," he said. "I was not called one time about my inputs."

Speaking to the city's finance committee Tuesday, Goudie said he understands from the NCC that its plan for 2024 is to expand the Queen Elizabeth Driveway closure from downtown all the way to Preston Street.

An NCC spokesperson said in an email to CBC the commission had not yet made a decision about the driveway for the 2024 season.

"One big area of concern that we have for TD Place and for Lansdowne right now is the NCC's planned closure of QED," Goudie told the committee.

The executive said although the NCC does a "wonderful job of stewarding" public spaces in Ottawa, he believes the driveway is an important part of Ottawa's transportation infrastructure.

Lansdowne Park, which OSEG manages, has entrances for vehicles on Bank Street and Queen Elizabeth. Goudie estimates about 40 per cent of vehicle traffic enters via the latter.

"If that traffic is forced to find other ways, people are making two decisions," he said. "One, just not come, because it's too difficult. Or two, meander their way through the neighbourhoods in the Glebe."

Not far enough

For People for Parkways, however, the closures announced this week represent a missed opportunity.

"We really would have liked to see some movement and some gains being made this year, as opposed to what was presented for last year," Maher said. "We didn't see a lot of those gains in the announcement."

The group has previously advocated for creative management of NCC parkways, including turning a stretch into a national urban park.

Maher said Parkways for People would like to see the active use program extended to Preston Street next year.

Regardless of the length of road closures, Maher said the active use programming is part of the "Ottawa identity."

"[It] brings such joy to our lives," she said. "Just being able to get out there and experience what freedom of movement feels like in a city, when so often you're sort of scuttled to a sidewalk."