Seasonal closure of new Rideau River footbridge confounds users, councillor

A pedestrian bridge near Carleton University that opened to excited users just six months ago has been closed for the winter, confounding the area's city councillor and people who use it.

The new crossing over the Rideau River connects the Carleton campus to Vincent Massey Park. The bridge, which had been under construction since 2020, opened in June after numerous delays and false starts.

But soon after last week's snowfall, steel barricades with a sign reading "no winter maintenance" were installed at either end of the bridge.

River ward Coun. Riley Brockington said he's frustrated he "can't get a clear answer" from the city about why the bridge had to be closed.

"It's just very frustrating that we, with much fanfare, open these great connections and then close them when the first snowflake hits the ground. I don't support that at all," Brockington told CBC on Monday.

The footbridge was originally meant to open at the same time as the expanded Trillium rail line, now slated for early January. Brockington said he and Coun. Shawn Menard, whose wards the bridge connects, put pressure on the city to accelerate the opening.

Brockington said he wants to find out whether the decision to close the bridge for the winter was a budgetary one, or whether there are liability concerns at play.

"It's definitely our goal to determine what is the holdup here — the real holdup — get that ironed out and get this bridge opened for future years," he said.

NCC pathways a concern, city says

According to a statement to CBC from Quentin Levesque, the city's director of roads and parking services, the bridge was closed for the winter on Dec. 6.

"Public safety is our top priority, and this decision was made to ensure everyone's safety during winter conditions," said Levesque.

"As the National Capital Commission (NCC) pathways on the south end of the bridge are not winter maintained or groomed for winter recreational activities, winter maintenance is not currently planned for this bridge."

He said the city is consulting with various parties to explore the feasibility of maintaining the bridge during the winter months.

But Brockington is concerned blocking the bridge could create new public safety concerns as people try to cross it despite the closure.

"We've heard that people are now climbing over the gates. There may be some point where people think they can walk across the river. They might risk it and do that, rather than going all the long way around Bronson [Avenue]," he said.

"Even if they didn't plow it this year, but kept it open, that would still be my first choice over putting these gates up."

Bridge users disappointed

Ian Sherwood, who uses the bridge on his regular cycling route, said the closure is disappointing.

"It is a popular trail," Sherwood said. "It's well-used and quite popular for cyclists and pedestrians."

Adam Freed, a service design researcher for the federal government who uses active transportation year-round, believes the city should embrace the fact that Ottawa residents engage in outdoor recreational activities, even during winter weather.

"The fact that we have winter in Ottawa shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone, and we should be planning and budgeting for winter maintenance of these active transportation routes, just as we do for motor vehicle routes," Freed said.

Brockington said he plans to address the issue during the city's budget session on Wednesday.