Uncertainty for future Airport Parkway expansions

Good morning! 

Easter is one of my favourite holidays. Not because of the chocolate — though that is certainly a bonus — but because it is a season of change and renewal. I am looking forward to hosting Easter dinner and trying my hand at baking my Aunt Diane’s famous carrot cake — which is actually made from carrot baby food. Believe it or not, it is actually incredibly hard to find a can of the poured carrots without any other flavorings, but managed to do so. I will report back on how the experience went.

Today we have an exclusive story on the future of Airport Parkway expansion plans and why the River ward community most likely wont be getting a multi-use pathway anytime soon after all.

Let’s get to it!

— Charlie Senack, Ottawa Lookout managing editor, [email protected], X: @Charlie_Senack

In the last edition of the Lookout we shared reporting from CTV which stated drug needles have been found in the playground at Glashan Public Elementary School in Centretown. A number of staff members have reached out to us to say that was an issue a few years ago that has been resolved. Also: A reminder that their will be no newsletter on Monday because of Easter. Have a great long-weekend!

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WEATHER

Friday: 9 🌡️ -5 | 🌧️

Saturday: 18 🌡️ -6 | 🌧️

Sunday: 10 🌡️ -5 | 🌤️

Monday: 10 🌡️ -4 | 🌧️

OTTAWA NUMBERS

📉 925 and 0: The big number is the number of measles cases in Ontario, while the zero is how many measles cases there are in Ottawa. The good news is that the rate of infection seems to be slowing down. [Ottawa Citizen]

📈 1,103: The number of housing units sold last month in the city, down 6.2 per cent from March last year. [OBJ]

CITY

Airport Parkway future expansion uncertain; multi-use pathway delayed for now

If you’re a driver in Ottawa, chances are you’ve used the Airport Parkway. Its popularity as a connection route has grown in recent years, along with calls for an expansion. 

In 2008, plans were proposed which would see the Parkway expanded from two lanes to four from Brookfield Road to Hunt Club Road. Also part of the project is a new southbound off-ramp at Walkley Road, a roundabout intersection, and a multi-use pathway (MUP) on the west side. Sawmill Creek Pathway is already located to the east near South Keys.

Construction on the entire road development was supposed to start in spring 2026 and end four years later. But its future is now uncertain due to changing timelines and a broken up approach.  

Here's what happened

In 2023, council approved a plan to decouple the $89-million project and delay the Parkway widening until a new Transportation Master Plan (TMP) was tabled and they had two years of data on the LRT Trillium line which runs parallel to the transportation network . The off-ramp was fast-tracked and approved, however, and final design work is taking place this year. Its expected funding will be included in the 2026 and 2027 municipal budgets.  

City staff have begun doing design work on the future multi-use pathway and Parkway expansion. If the path was to be built now, city staff have said it would be damaged during future widening work. New design information revealed that constructing the MUP on the west side of the Airport Parkway — without concurrently constructing the roadway widening — would involve substantial throwaway costs of about $870,000. 

River Ward Coun. Riley Brockington, whose community would benefit from the active transportation network, said he agreed to delay the project on that basis, but wants more information on future timelines. The Airport Parkway is listed as a priority project in the TMP, but staff have concerns it will not be built in the one to three-year timeline currently proposed. 

Brockington supported a motion at Wednesday's council meeting to defer the multi-use pathway for a few months until the updated TMP is released this summer. By that point, he said council would have a better idea whether or not it was wise to move ahead with the active transportation crossing now — or wait for the projects to be done together. 

Neighbouring colleague and Gloucester-Southgate Coun. Jessica Bradley said she supported a deferral and questioned city staff's comments on the crossing being damaged. She also said the finances could be looked at from various angles. 

“In terms of throwaway costs, we were only considering the damaged path, not the fact that if we don't widen it for 10 years, the cost to actually construct that pathway is going to go up quite a bit when we consider inflation and construction costs,” Bradley told the Lookout. 

Bradley, who already has a multi-use pathway on her ward’s side of the Parkway, also said the money is currently secured to build the pathway and fears it could be lost in the future. She also noted reluctance in trusting the TMP master plan because the Airport Parkway expansion was also listed as a priority in 2025 but never went anywhere. And since then, more projects have been added to the growing list.

Over half of council did not agree. A motion to defer was defeated Wednesday, 13-11. 

Beacon Hill-Cyrville Coun. Tim Tierney said he was “perplexed” as to why the city “wants to waste money.” Kanata North Coun. Cathy Curry worried the motion would delay “what is a critical project to widen that road to the airport.” Both voted against. 

Brockington disagreed. In closing statements, he said the motion does not decide when the Parkway would be widened, whether or not to decouple the project, or if to accept the throwaway costs. He said it was simply to get more information. 

So should the Airport Parkway expansion move ahead? 

Most councillors say yes. Brockington noted not all of his constituents are on board, but there is certainly a compelling case to be made. 

“We don't have a lot of north-south rapid routes in the city. If you think about it, how do people south of Hunt Club get to the Queensway or downtown? They've got at least a one -lane airport parkway, Prince of Wales is one lane, two lanes in some areas, but mostly one lane. To the west you've got streets like Merivale and Woodroffe, Cedarview further west you get,” Brockington told the Lookout. 

“In just my time in office, the explosion of communities south of Hunt Club like Findlay Creek, Riverside South, Barrhaven; lots of people take the Hunt Club bridge to get on Prince of Wales to get down to Barrhaven,” the River Ward councillor added. “The Airport Parkway winding is supposed to serve communities like that to get to the canal, downtown or to get onto the Queensway further north.”

Bradley on the other hand isn’t as convinced. She said the TMP was delayed because of changing traffic patterns due to the COVID-19 pandemic. And while back to normal levels, the arrival of the Trillium Line could also change things. 

“The Airport Parkway functions well probably 98 per cent of the time and has some pinch points around peak morning and peak pm traffic. There is a period of the day where it gets a little bit stop-and-go,” said Bradley. “I don't want to minimize people's experiences. I know that people's time is of value and they want to get home to their families after work or they need to get to their jobs. But when we pit it against all of our other priorities in the city and the cost and whether that's actually going to provide real congestion relief.”

Riverside South-Findlay Creek Coun. Steve Desroches said he disagreed with council's decision to decouple the Parkway project a few years ago and thinks it’s a waste of time to wait for LRT statistics. 

“To claim that Line 2 would meet all of the needs of our transportation clients is out of touch with reality. No other sort of city has this policy where we’d delay infrastructure because of the launch of our LRT system,” he told council. “In fact the east-west lines run parallel to the 416. It’s clear to me that the Parkway upgrades are needed. The taxi industry relies on this key corridor. And the new e-commerce we are seeing around this will not rely on transit.”  

What happens next is somewhat unclear. A better idea on the future of the Airport Parkway expansion plans will be known after the TMP is released, but even then no final decisions are immediately made. 

Have a comment on this story? An insight you want to share? Write in to our Community Corner and it could appear in the newsletter.

THE AGENDA

🥚 It’s Easter Weekend, and besides chocolate eggs and time off, that means there are different hours for many facilities and businesses. For Friday, many of the malls are closed, waste collection shifts a day, libraries are closed, bu good bad news — all parking regulations for Friday stay the same. City pools and arenas are also on different schedules. Sunday and Monday also have many different hours, you can find the full list here. [CBC]

🏗️ The future of a heritage property on Richmond Road and Island Park Drive is up in the air. The building, built in the 1910s, was a nunnery and is now up for sale, as the company that owned it went into receivership. There was supposed to be a condo development that would’ve preserved it, but it was never built. Around $720,000 in taxes are unpaid. [CBC]

🚍️ If you’re looking for a day to travel around Ottawa, then the first weekend of May may be the one. OC Transpo and Para Transpo are thanking customers with free service that weekend, as part of the Trillium Line relaunch. [CBC]

👮 A man was stabbed at the Place d’Orleans shopping centre yesterday and had to be sent to the hospital. [Ottawa Citizen]

Sports

🏒 How’s everyone feeling about the Senator’s chances? After eight years, the team is back in the playoffs, in what’s being called the Battle of Ontario as they face off against Toronto. Game 1 is on Sunday at 7 pm. Luckily for Ottawa, Toronto has a recent history of choking (sorry to any random Toronto people who read this newsletter). Here’s the full schedule for the Eastern teams. 

👍️ Good news — Brady Tkachuk returned in yesterday’s game for the Senators. Bad news? He left early for precautionary reasons. But good news (I promise this is the last one), he says he’ll be ready for the playoffs. [NHL]

🏒 In even more hockey news, the PWHL’s entry draft will be held June 24 in Ottawa, with some big names declaring for the draft this year. [CBC]

EVENTS

Anime Ottawa | EY Centre, 4899 Uplands Drive | Apr. 18-20 | Cosplay, gaming, anime art, and creators | Tickets $65+

Bytown Antique & Vintage Show | Nepean Sportsplex, 1701 Woodroffe Avenue | Apr. 19, 10:00 am | Come grab some vintage goods

Easter at the Bunker | Diefenbunker: Canada’s Cold War Museum, 3929 Carp Road | Apr. 19, 10:00 am | Many events for families, including easter egg hunt | Tickets $13

Ottawa Easter Weekend Market | Horticulture Building, 1525 Princess Patricia Way | Apr. 19, 9:30 am | Books, food vendors, artisans, and free OC Transpo | Free with RSVP

Ottawa Easter Weekend Market: Glebe Festival | Horticulture Building, 1525 Princess Patricia Way | Apr. 19–20, 9:30 am | Authors, artisans, food vendors, books and crafts | Tickets $8

January Butler: A Tribute to Celine Dion | Theatre du Casino du Lac-Leamy, 1 Blvd du Casino | Apr. 19, 8 pm | Live tribute show to Celine Dion | Tickets $41

The Bowie Lives – A Bowie Spectacular | Harold Shenkman Hall, 245 Centrum Boulevard | Apr. 19, 8 pm | Tribute to David Bowie with Michael Bell | Tickets $61

MOUTON NOIR - Renzel Dashington -Ottawa | Laugh Lounge, 61 York St | April 20, 7:15 pm - 10:00 pm | Comedy one man show | Ticket $25.29 

Sounds of Spring | Dominion-Chalmers United Church, 355 Cooper Street | Apr. 20, 1:00 pm | Free choral and brass concert celebrating spring | Free

Moss Art Workshop | Parking Indigo Ottawa - St. Margaret's Anglican Church 206 Montréal Rd | April 30, 9 pm - 8:30 pm | General Admission $54.58 

COMMENT CORNER

In the last week we wrote about crime in Centretown, what issues matter most to Ottawa seniors, election sign vandalism and OC Transpo missing reliability targets

The election sign vandalism was one of our biggest commented-on stories yet, with 20+ readers writing in. Many people had criticisms of the signs themselves (though there were no supportive calls for vandalism!).

Story update: Many readers shared their sightings that other candidates’ signs had been vandalized, including Liberal candidates Bruce Fanjoy, Jenna Sudds and Mark Carney, and Conservative candidate Dean Wythe. Seems like it’s an even more widespread issue than we first reported!

PHOTO OF THE DAY

Someone captured some photos of the city on film. Very nice!

OTTAWA WORDLE

Think you can guess today’s Ottawa Wordle? Play it here.

COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHTS

• For anyone in Kanata, this ramen shop is a must-visit.

• With this new upgrade, Lowertown Brewery could be one of the best places to see hockey games. [OBJ]

• There are over five different Ribfests planned this summer throughout the city. You can see the list here. 

• Ottawa Jazz Fest just got a big new performer — The Roots. 

• Okay, that’s a very odd place to store drugs… [CTV]

STORIES THIS WEEK