Westboro street closes to free up space for pedestrians, cyclists

A stretch of a Westboro street closed Thursday afternoon to all vehicles except local traffic to give pedestrians and cyclists more space to practise physical distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Kitchissippi Coun. Jeff Leiper said he used money from his traffic calming budget to rent barricades to block off roughly 1.5 kilometres of Byron Avenue.

"I'm really pleased," Leiper said Thursday, after they were installed at Golden and Redwood avenues.

"Immediately, this afternoon, once we put the barricades up, it virtually eliminated traffic on the street."

Mayor initially opposed

Earlier this week, Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson had expressed concern about shutting roadways down for pedestrians, arguing it would encourage people to congregate.

But on Thursday during an online town hall, Watson said if individual councillors want to use their traffic calming budgets to create more space for pedestrians and cyclists during the pandemic, he would support the idea on a "case-by-case basis."

City of Ottawa town hall: Can roads be closed to give pedestrians more space?

5 years ago

Duration 1:59

City officials say closing roads for pedestrians is complicated because of transit and emergency routes, though the idea is “being explored on a case-by-case basis.”

"They can work with our staff to ensure that whatever road they choose is the most appropriate," said Watson.

"Some roads are considered emergency routes and others are bus routes [where it] would be very difficult to take away a lane of traffic."

Leiper told CBC Radio's Ottawa Morning earlier this week that he did consult with city staff, including emergency services, before moving ahead with the barricades.

Barriers cost $3,500 a month

With so many people abiding by recommendations to stay home, "the traffic implications are almost nil," Leiper said.

"I've seen a lot of people walking in the street, and I'm hoping to make it a little more safer by restricting the traffic to just local traffic," he said.

The barriers cost the ward about $3,500 in rental fees per month, Leiper said. Councillors receive $50,000 annually for traffic calming measures. 

The councillor is now looking into of buying some barricades for the ward, considering the physical distancing and self-isolation orders could be in place for months.

Leiper said he's also looking into blocking off non-local traffic on a couple of other streets.