Ottawa police called to Prince of Wales Bridge 51 times — over 10 years
Jon Willing, Ottawa Citizen
Published on: October 6, 2016 | Last Updated: October 6, 2016 5:00 PM EDT
The Ottawa Police Service has received 51 calls about activities at the Prince of Wales Bridge since 2005, according to statistics kept by the force.
A list of the calls, obtained through access to information, sheds light on the reasons why police have been requested to investigate on and around the bridge. The Citizen asked for a call log between Jan. 1, 2005 and Aug. 29, 2016, which was the date of the information request.
The City of Ottawa bought the historic bridge in 2005 to protect the crossing for a future interprovincial transit connection. The city has been trying to block access to the bridge at three locations – on the Ottawa and Gatineau sides, plus the middle section at Lemieux Island – but trespassers have scoffed at the measures.
The police log has no calls about the bridge in 2005.
There were only three calls in 2006, all related to traffic. Over the course of the 10-plus years, a total of eight calls were related to traffic stops or complaints.
When it comes to calls about violent incidents, there were three calls over the time period: an assault causing bodily harm one July night in 2009, and an assault with a weapon on an early October morning that same year.
Fourteen calls described a suspicious person, vehicle, call or circumstance in the area. The only two calls to the bridge in 2007 were for a suspicious person and suspicious circumstance.
In each year between 2006 and 2011 there were between one and three calls. There was a spike in 2012 when police took 12 calls.
There were eight calls in 2016 up until Aug. 29, but two of the calls were cancelled and one was for administrative reasons. There was a call in February marked as a motor vehicle collision processed through a collision reporting centre. There was a traffic stop and disturbance in May, and in July there was a theft and a disturbance.
Other reasons for police attending the bridge since 2005 were for trespassing, noise, property damage, theft, warrants and for people with mental health issues.
Four of the 51 calls were marked as “cancelled,” while seven others were either marked “administrative” or “information.” Three of the 51 calls resulted in charges, according to the log.
The city has been increasingly concerned about safety on the closed bridge, especially since Transport Canada requires the municipality to prevent access to the deck. The issue blew up over the summer when people learned the city was considering installing stronger security gates for $250,000.
Instead, the city spent a smaller amount on chainlink fences, which were instantly vandalized, and hired private security to guard the bridge access points.
People have since behaved.
Carina Duclos, manager of municipal design and construction, said the gates haven’t been damaged. Signs that were spray-painted have been replaced, Duclos said.
While people have called for the city to turn the bridge into a pedestrian and cycling path, the city doesn’t have the $10.5 million needed to make it happen.
The unused rail bridge connects to the O-Train Trillium Line, which has a northern terminus at Bayview station. The city wants to run the train to Gatineau, one day when it can afford to.
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