Chief William Commanda Bridge's Gatineau's connection criticized
"I thought, 'They must be going to improve it. It can't be left like this. It's just too weird.' Then it was open. Bad things are going to happen."
Blair Crawford, Ottawa Citizen
Published Aug 10, 2023 • Last updated 5 hours ago • 3 minute read
Cyclists and pedestrians are praising the new Chief William Commanda Bridge, but not its “cockamamie” T-intersection with the Gatineau multi-use pathway.
The former railway bridge linking Ottawa and Gatineau across Lemieux Island opened Friday, just in time for the long weekend in Ontario, and it was immediately crowded with cyclists, walkers and runners.
“It’s a game-changer,” said Doug van den Ham, a bike commuter who’s crossed the bridge multiple times in the days since it opened.
“It’s wonderful. It’s got great views of the city. It’s way safer than either Portage, Chaudière or Champlain bridges.”
But the abrupt right-angle intersection with the National Capital Commission multi-use path on the Gatineau side has caught many users by surprise. Poor sightlines, steep uphill grades from both directions of the MUP and a lack of warning and direction signs make the intersection hazardous.
“Once people are more familiar with the intersection, I suspect it will work OK, but caution is needed,” van den Ham said. “It’s a natural spot where you want to have a bigger space for people to stop, maybe a few benches.”
The bridge hadn’t even opened when Gatineau resident Suzanne Ladouceur was caught in the congestion. Ladouceur, 66 and in her own words “no gazelle,” was eastbound on the Gatineau path when she had to stop on the steep uphill approach to the bridge.
“I didn’t know where the entrance was, and there are no signs at all,” Ladouceur said. “I had to come to a complete stop because someone stopped in front of me — I guess to gawk at the bridge. At first I thought, ‘Oh, this is neat,’ but I didn’t have my feet planted firmly and I started to roll backward.”
Ladouceur fell off her bike, banging her head on the pavement.
“As I went down I thought, ‘Gee, I’m glad I have my helmet on,’ she said. “Then, when I stood up, I thought, ‘What kind of a stupid intersection is this?’ There’s nothing warning you. It’s boom! You’re there! It’s just a cockamamie thing.”
Aside from some road rash and bruised pride, Ladouceur was unhurt. The Chief William Commanda Bridge officially opened the next day.
“I thought, ‘They must be going to improve it. It can’t be left like this. It’s just too weird.’ Then it was open,” she said. “Bad things are going to happen.”
The former Prince of Wales Bridge was modified for bikes and pedestrians with an $8-million federal grant from Infrastructure Canada and $12 million from the City of Ottawa. The cycling and pedestrian conversion isn’t permanent since the bridge might one day be used for rail service again.
The connection to the National Capital Commission MUP on the Gatineau side is the responsibility of the City of Gatineau.
“Obviously something has to be done to improve the safety of it,” said Hull-Aylmer MP Greg Fergus, who walked across the bridge for the first time with his wife one evening this week.
“Whenever you build something, there’s what exists on paper and what users discover. And often the people who make the decisions are not the users.”
Fergus said he’d speak to his municipal counterparts to see what could be done, if anything, to make the intersection better.
The City of Gatineau has big plans for the area, including a north-south STO rapid bus stop and an east-west tramway to downtown, said Steve Moran, councillor for the Hull-Wright district.
“The function of that area is going to change,” Moran said.
Moran said the Chief William Commanda Bridge was “an amazing bit of infrastructure” that had been embraced by Gatineau residents working at Tunney’s Pasture, as well as students at the nearby Université du Québec en Outaouais.
“It’s a T-intersection, and that’s never ideal. We try to avoid that,” Moran said. “There’s not a lot of space to work with there. It’s safe now, but we’ll have to sit down and look at what the inconveniences are.”
The city has no immediate plans to rework the intersection, but it is working with the NCC to improve signage, Moran said.
That was not what Ladouceur wanted to hear.
“(The City of Gatineau) have been so good with putting in bicycle trails, I’m surprised they dropped the ball on this,” she said. “Surprised and disappointed.”
https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-new...-bridges-gatineaus-connection-criticized
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