City of Ottawa, NCC to make east-end transportation announcement
The City of Ottawa and the National Capital Commission will be making an announcement today to “discuss an agreement between the parties to advance transportation priorities in the east end.”
While a media release advising of the event provides no additional details, it comes as City Hall and the NCC have been at odds over a proposed extension of Brian Coburn Boulevard, which would require cutting through NCC-owned green space, lands that it has called “environmentally sensitive.”
Option 7, preferred by the City of Ottawa, would connect Brian Coburn Boulevard to Renaud Road. (City of Ottawa)
The city wants to build bus-only lanes on the extended road to help ease congestion and provide more transit options for the growing east end, but it would require the NCC giving up about 40 acres in the Greenbelt.
The NCC prefers a route that is closer to Navan Road, but that would be more costly for the city.
According to a 2023 city memo, the city’s preferred option for extending Brian Coburn Boulevard — known as “Option 7” — would cost an estimated $400 million, while the NCC’s preferred option, Option 1, would cost $610 million.
Option 1, preferred by the NCC, would run alongside Navan Road and the Blackburn Hamlet Bypass. (City of Ottawa)
The impasse created some sparks in 2022 when east-end councillors voted to reject a plan to build several new embassies in Mechanicsville, citing the ongoing dispute over the Brian Coburn extension. Last year, Transportation Committee chair Coun. Tim Tierney lashed out at the NCC over the the feud, saying its position was impacting traffic and housing priorities.
“People talk about, let’s have more housing; well, guess what? We can’t do it in the east end of the city unless we allow Option 7, which is one that we’ve been looking at very closely. Why are we not doing that?” he said in a CFRA radio interview.
A news conference will be held at 9 a.m. at the François Dupuis Recreation Centre.
This is a developing story … please check back later for updates.
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