Fence could have ended Bank-Somerset closure: report

A downtown Ottawa intersection closed for more than eight weeks last fall could have been opened to traffic if the city had installed a fence in the middle of the road, CBC has learned.

The intersection of Bank and Somerset streets was shut down after the partial collapse of a heritage brick building on the southeast corner on Oct. 19. It wasn't reopened until Dec. 19 due to the potential risk of further collapse. Local businesses said the lengthy closure was devastating, as it caused the flow of customers and revenue to dry up.

Business owners had argued the street didn't need to be closed, while the city said it wasn't safe to open it.

In fact, a Nov. 2 city report obtained through an access to information request said vehicles could safely have travelled in one lane of traffic on each of Bank and Somerset streets if a five metre barrier had been erected in the middle of the roads for protection.

Arlene Gregoire, the director of building code services for the city, said that option was never seriously considered.

"To go ahead and install 16-foot-high substantial fencing … in the middle of the street — it's a very permanent solution to what at the time looked like it was going to be a temporary situation," Gregoire said.

Gerry Lepage, head of the Bank Street Business Improvement Area, said he thinks the barrier would have been the best option for businesses as the closure dragged on for weeks.

"Definitely that option should have been reconsidered," he said.

Kim Ramji, day manager of the Atomic Rooster bar on Bank Street, agreed.

"I'm just amazed," she said. "That was never brought up at the time and it could have helped us a lot."

The Atomic Rooster opened two months before the partial collapse of the building on the same block, and the closure was hard on the new business, Ramji said.

"You want people to find you and with the streets closed, they weren't coming anywhere near here."

After the partial collapse, the city and the owners of the damaged building argued over whether it would need to be demolished or could be saved. Eventually, it was assessed by an independent engineer, partially torn down and deemed stable enough for the streets to reopen.