Weighing the wins and trade-offs of Bank Street’s bus-lane pilot project

No matter the time of day, taking a bus down Bank Street in the Glebe can be a slow-moving trip. 

Traffic is frequently gridlocked with single lanes in most directions. Cars are parked on the sides of streets, creating narrow spaces. Bikes try to manoeuvre through the tight spaces, while some cyclists choose the safer option of riding on side streets. During peak periods, up to 720 vehicles drive down Bank Street every hour. 

It’s even worse during game days at TD Place, when maneuvering the stretch between Lansdowne Park and Highway 417 — a 1.6 kilometre journey — could take upwards of 18 minutes. For comparison, the same distance should take three minutes by car during regular traffic flow or 15 minutes by walking. 

In June 2024, the City of Ottawa launched the Bank Street Active Transportation and Transit Priority Feasibility Study, which introduced four options to improve how people get around. They ranged from removing parking to dedicated bus lanes to be shared with cyclists. 

At the time, the city said the idea of permanent bus-only lanes was off the table, but it considered implementing bus lanes during peak travel times.  Now, the city says it wants to make that vision a reality with permanent and temporary solutions rolling out next summer. 

In a written statement to the Ottawa Lookout, Capital Ward Coun. Shawn Menard said the proposal is meant to change the “status quo congestion” on Bank Street, following consultation with city staff, the community, and local businesses.

“Bank is a narrow street for the demands placed on it,” Menard wrote. “It is a commercial district; it is a residential street; it is an important transportation and trucking route; it is a destination, in and of itself; and it is an important neighbourhood main street for the Glebe.”

Menard said the pilot would include new sections of 24/7 bus lanes, extended peak-period bus lanes, bike lane extensions from the Bank Street Bridge, and pedestrian safety upgrades. 

He said the plan should improve transportation in the Glebe and make the street “more welcoming for all residents.”

Twenty-four-hour bus-only lanes are proposed for several sections of Bank Street, including northbound between Regent Street and Fourth Avenue, southbound between Fourth Avenue and Thornton Avenue, southbound between Holmwood Avenue and Wilton Crescent, and northbound just south of Aylmer Avenue. These full-time transit lanes would be permanent and are expected to result in the removal of 17 on-street parking spaces along the corridor.

In addition, city staff are recommending a pilot project that would introduce peak-period bus-only lanes in other segments — operating northbound from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. and southbound from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.

According to an analysis by city staff, those temporary morning and afternoon priority lanes could reduce bus travel times by up to 60 seconds per trip. 

The pilot follows several years of study work examining how road space is currently used on the corridor — and how it could be reassigned.

City analysis has found Bank Street carries heavy transit demand but has limited physical space to accommodate competing uses. Routes such as the 6, 7 and 11 serve thousands of riders daily, yet buses routinely experience delays caused by congestion, curbside activity and event traffic around Lansdowne.

At the same time, the feasibility study concluded that any redesign would involve trade-offs. City planners have long identified Bank Street as one of Ottawa’s most complicated urban corridors to redesign because it must function simultaneously as a neighbourhood main street, commercial strip and transit spine.

“The objective of this study is to evaluate options to improve conditions for transit, walking and cycling,” the city states in project materials. “However, the space along Bank Street is limited, and trade-offs will be necessary.” 

Parking is one of the most visible examples of those compromises. While Bank Street itself contains 143 on-street spaces, city analysis suggests those represent only about seven per cent of the parking supply across the wider Glebe area, with nearly half of nearby spaces located at Lansdowne. Most side streets branching off of Bank Street often offer street parking.

Waiting at the Bank and Fifth stop on Tuesday, transit rider Alyssa Montemurro said service in the area is poor enough that riders often feel stranded.

“It’s the worst. There are no buses in this area,” she said.

Montemurro said she had already read about the proposed changes, but believes the problem needs to stretch wider to fix problems with OC Transpo service across the city. 

The transit agency forecasted a $47-million deficit for the 2025 year, but it came in at $52-million. Part of this was due to a drop in ridership and no funding flowing from upper levels of government. 

It’s estimated that 6,900 transit users travel the Bank Street corridor on transit routes 6 and 7 daily, which is among the highest ridership citywide. 

As light rail shutdowns and other issues cause a shortage of buses, both routes had a delivery rate of less than 93 per cent last month.  

At The Papery, staff member Lindsay said the shop was not in favour of losing more spaces.

“It will be just another restriction for people coming to the shop,” she said.

Lindsay said the store does rely on street parking for customers and argued that simply redesigning the street will not necessarily convince more people to take transit.

Similarly, at 3 Brothers Shawarma & Poutine on Bank Street, owner Elie Sarkis said parking is already tight enough for customers and delivery traffic.

“Our restaurant has zero parking areas for the public,” Sarkis wrote in an email. “Most of our customers park on nearby streets.”

Sarkis said better transit would still hurt some businesses if it came at the expense of vehicle access.

“You can’t solve a problem with another problem,” he wrote, adding that one of his biggest concerns is that customers may avoid the area altogether if they see it as less convenient.

Other businesses described a more mixed picture — particularly when weighing parking needs against daily transit delays.

At Mickle Macks Haberdashery, staff member Jaymaara rated the importance of street parking to customers at about six out of 10 and said many shoppers already arrive on foot because they live nearby.

But Jaymaara, who also uses transit to commute from the ByWard Market, said traffic on Bank Street regularly slows buses down. Asked to rate the impact, he put the delay at seven out of 10 and said he would welcome a better transit system.

The Glebe Dental Centre sees many people arriving on foot because they live in the neighbourhood, said staff member Kalli.

“We have a lot of walkers,” she said, noting that the experience of a medical office may differ from retailers and restaurants that depend more heavily on passing customers.

The Glebe BIA did not respond to a request for comment before the deadline, but told the Ottawa Business Journal they fear the changes would result in a loss of customers and revenue. 

Rob Deckker, president of the Centretown Community Association seems to think so. 

In an open letter sent to city staff, the downtown resident said, while optimistic, the current proposal isn’t enough. 

Among its recommendations, Deckker’s association is calling for longer operating hours for bi-directional bus lanes, more sections of 24/7 transit-only lanes, and expanded use of transit-priority signals along the corridor. 

It also suggested broadening the definition of major events that trigger bus-lane operations to include smaller but high-traffic gatherings such as 613flea markets and Ottawa Charge games, and improving signage directing drivers to the Second Avenue parking garage to help offset the loss of some on-street parking.

“Once implemented, we believe the project should be reviewed within the first six months with consideration taken to increase bus lane durations and to expand bus lane durations and to expand bus lane locations, including in Centretown,” said Deckker. 

The Centretown Community Association also stated that the City’s own data collected outlined that 77 per cent of respondents want more space for people outside of private vehicles on Bank Street.

“As the busiest bus corridor in the city, we need to be maximizing the efficiency of bus travel to ensure traffic flows smoothly and reliably,” wrote Dekker. 

Some advocates in the area are also calling for the city to remove more parking spaces to make dedicated bus lanes a permanent option. But at City Hall, that idea isn’t widely supported as parking is “well used.”

Between 50 to 60 per cent of spots are taken during the daytime on weekdays, with it climbing to between 70 and 85 per cent on evenings. Numbers increase again to more than 90 per cent on weekends.

The file with recommendations will go before the Public Works and Infrastructure Committee on March 30. The city says it will refine the pilot project of the plan during its implementation and report back with the results in December 2028.