Return to Rideau St. 'normalcy' will offer traffic relief, says Fleury

On a day when an illegally-parked delivery truck caused massive OC Transpo delays — just the latest incident in a summer already overflowing with traffic woes — one downtown Ottawa councillor is offering a glimmer of hope.

Rideau-Vanier Coun. Mathieu Fleury, whose ward includes the now-infamous Rideau Street sinkhole, said circulation should finally improve when the busy thoroughfare reopens.

"Once we're able to go back to more normalcy along Rideau Street, you'll see the relief valves in terms of construction," Fleury told CBC News on Friday.

Delays of 30 to 40 minutes

OC Transpo buses heading into Ottawa's core faced delays of 30 to 40 minutes Friday morning because of an illegally-parked delivery truck at the intersection of Elgin and Slater Streets.

The truck was parked at Elgin and Slater sometime around 8:15 a.m., OC Transpo said. It was removed later Friday morning.

That wasn't soon enough, however, for the dozens of frustrated commuters who got out of OC Transpo buses lined up along Albert and Slater streets to walk instead.

OC Transpo tweeted Friday that while it does have tow trucks, they couldn't tow someone's delivery truck.

"We can't drive around the cars and other buses held up behind a truck," the company tweeted at one upset rider.

"This is why we need LRT. All traffic is affected," the company tweeted at another.

City warned about construction

Earlier this year, city officials warned residents to expect a particularly busy summer construction season, especially near the University of Ottawa, as it tries to finish up transit and road projects ahead of 2017 — Canada's 150th birthday, and a year that's expected to draw significant numbers of tourists to the city.

In June alone, there's work planned or already underway on Bank Street (at Queen Street), Lyon Street (at Gladstone Avenue), Preston Street (at Albert Street, on weekends) and along the Queen Elizabeth Driveway.

Transitway stations have been closed for light rail work, and buses have been detoured onto roads like Scott Street, adding to traffic volumes. In fact, yet another Transitway stop will shut down Friday night, as Tunney's Pasture station closes at 7 p.m.

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There's little doubt it would have been a summer filled with delays — and that was before a major stretch of Rideau Street suddenly collapsed.

"It's been tough especially on buses [with] all the pressure along Mackenzie [King] Bridge. Certainly I know there is a lot of construction going on in our city, more than [just] the LRT," Fleury said Friday.

"We're truly impacted by the sinkhole. We have news we're going to be able to open at some point next week. They're paving on Sunday and then we need engineers to stamp the site as being safe. That's our primary concern."

Mayor Jim Watson has said that he wants Rideau Street back open in time for next week's North American Leaders' Summit.

But the summit — which brings U.S. President Barack Obama and Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto to town — comes with its own traffic matters, as many streets near Parliament Hill and the ByWard Market will either be partially or completely closed.

'Out of control'

Regardless, the sheer number of construction projects closing downtown streets is overwhelming for some commuters, who say it's gotten so bad that one little problem can set off a domino effect that creates a massive disruption downtown.

"I think the construction is out of control," said commuter Gary Wallace. "I think construction should be limited to night and they should get the work done a lot faster. The city should have some consideration for people's quality of life in this city."