Chief William Commanda Bridge (former Prince of Wales Bridge)

[dougvdh]

Originally Posted by zzptichka

What's stopping them from connecting the bridge to the dog park?

Is that even a dog park?

But, yeah, great question. They should be connected.

BTW, there's a big tent set up there right now - obviously some event is happening on the island.

[zzptichka]

Originally Posted by dougvdh

BTW, there's a big tent set up there right now - obviously some event is happening on the island.

https://www.riverkeepergala.com/

[Ottawacurious]

Originally Posted by dougvdh

Is that even a dog park?

But, yeah, great question. They should be connected.
.

The purification plant tried to close down the unofficial dog park a couple years ago. I think it was due to security (safety?) concerns or something.

It wasnt an official park and I dont know if that's changed.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by Uhuniau

There is some serious under-tapped potential with the bridge and Lemieux Island.

Absolutely. Big resting area with benches and a water fountain. Could even be a good spot for an NCC bistro. Can we just give full control of the City to the NCC?

[Uhuniau]

Originally Posted by zzptichka

What's stopping them from connecting the bridge to the dog park?

I'm baffled by this as well. When there were construction interruptions during the bridge conversion, they even used the route through Lemieux Island as an alternative to the south span when it had to be shut down for concrete pours. Once that detour was no longer needed, the gate was shut again, and shut it has remained.

I don't get it.

[Uhuniau]

Originally Posted by Ottawacurious

The purification plant tried to close down the unofficial dog park a couple years ago. I think it was due to security (safety?) concerns or something.

It wasnt an official park and I dont know if that's changed.

It wasn't official, and it was shut down during the construction disruption a few years ago, but part of the reason for the shutdown was to create an official dog park AND a link to the bridge, which is that switchbacked trail mid-island that is still, years later, gated off without explanation.

[zzptichka]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

Absolutely. Big resting area with benches and a water fountain. Could even be a good spot for an NCC bistro. Can we just give full control of the City to the NCC?

Yep, uploading to NCC is the only way to get this done. And it's not because the city won't have the budget. They will take the budget and spend it on new fences, gates and 100 "Do Not Jump" signs.

[dougvdh]

Originally Posted by Ottawacurious

The purification plant tried to close down the unofficial dog park a couple years ago. I think it was due to security (safety?) concerns or something.

It wasnt an official park and I dont know if that's changed.

It's not listed as a dog park on the official City of Ottawa dog park maps. (https://ottawa.ca/en/recreation-and-park...ecreation/parks/dog-parks/map-dogs-parks)

I think the city ended up doing an official off-leash area at Laroche during that park's reconstruction instead.

[J.OT13]

• Video Link

[Horus]

This is why we can't have nice things....


https://www.ctvnews.ca/ottawa/article/va...-commanda-bridge-to-cost-230k-city-says/

Vandalism on Chief William Commanda Bridge to cost $230K, city says

By William Eltherington

Published: August 12, 2026 at 6:21p.m. EDT

The City of Ottawa says it will cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to fix lighting infrastructure along the Chief William Commanda Bridge after the popular pedestrian path over the Ottawa River was subject to vandalism this week.

Barrie Forrester, section manager of street and community lighting for the City of Ottawa, says the damage requires replacement of electrical wire, ductwork, junction boxes and hand hole covers.

Forrester says the damage “appears to be the result of vandalism and theft” and estimates the cost to replace the stolen infrastructure to be approximately $230,000.

The city didn’t say how long it would take for the repairs to be made.

It follows a similar incident on a pedestrian pathway between the Pimisi and Bayview O-Train stations in LeBreton Flats, where wires were removed from the trail lights last week.

CTV News Ottawa found tape covering the wires along the pathway on Wednesday.

“While the incidents are similar in nature, we cannot confirm whether they are connected or involved the same individuals,” Forrester said.

[zzptichka]

The City of Ottawa says it will cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to fix lighting infrastructure along the Chief William Commanda Bridge after the popular pedestrian path over the Ottawa River was subject to vandalism this week.

No it wasn't.

It was reported to the 311 and cops multiple times in the winter. Maybe if the city actually paid attention to these reports and acted on them we wouldn't be in this situation.

The thief was cutting it slowly chunk by chunk over several weeks. I personally reported it once, there were others on Reddit. And they are just finding it out now?

[J.OT13]

I don't understand how we don't have systems in place to prevent this.

[dougvdh]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

I don't understand how we don't have systems in place to prevent this.

The least expensive deterrent would probably be just keeping the lights on 24-7 there's always 120v (or maybe 347V in this case?) of risk running through the wires. But I think the bridge was particularly vulnerable since it was closed all winter - little traffic and no lights on.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by dougvdh

The least expensive deterrent would probably be just keeping the lights on 24-7 there's always 120v (or maybe 347V in this case?) of risk running through the wires. But I think the bridge was particularly vulnerable since it was closed all winter - little traffic and no lights on.

There you go. Make the bridge accessible 24/7/365 as a deterrent to copper thieves. Win-Win.

[zzptichka]

Originally Posted by dougvdh

The least expensive deterrent would probably be just keeping the lights on 24-7 there's always 120v (or maybe 347V in this case?) of risk running through the wires. But I think the bridge was particularly vulnerable since it was closed all winter - little traffic and no lights on.

I've noticed they have lights 24/7 East of Portage bridge on the Gatineau side. I was surprised lights are still working there, maybe it's helping.

There were (still are?) cameras on the Commanda bridge. Wonder what happened to them.

[Uhuniau]

Originally Posted by zzptichka

I've noticed they have lights 24/7 East of Portage bridge on the Gatineau side. I was surprised lights are still working there, maybe it's helping.

There were (still are?) cameras on the Commanda bridge. Wonder what happened to them.

I also wonder what happened to the traffic counter.

[dougvdh]

Originally Posted by Uhuniau

I also wonder what happened to the traffic counter.

Speaking of counters (that one might be battery powered), I've noticed there's a compression line counter installed on Voyageurs Pathway between the William Commanda and the Leamy Creek inlet. It's installed close to the inductive loop counter, so I'm winder if the NCC is finally starting to realize that the inductive loop counters may be significantly undercounting modern carbon bikes and groups of riders.