While Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson’s announcement that the city has reached a population of 1 million residents is a noteworthy milepost, it also serves as an occasion to question the city’s longer-term ability to cope with the ever-increasing volume of vehicle traffic. Now that there are plans in place to expand LRT, a priority should be attached to addressing the need to create a road bypass around Ottawa on the south side which will allow those travelling east to west, or west to east, and not having a requirement to come to Ottawa, to avoid overcrowding an already congested Queensway.
Whether it is a bypass in the south, a ring-road with new bridges that goes around both Ottawa and Gatineau or some combination thereof, the various studies that have been done must be dusted off, updated, and commitments made. As Ottawa’s traffic problems will only get worse as the population grows, we can no longer afford to ignore the matter.
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