Stretch of Manotick Main Street off limits to heavy trucks June-February
After decades of advocacy from the area’s residents and elected officials, Manotick is finally getting some relief from the long-standing problem of heavy truck traffic clogging the village.
On Monday, Rideau-Jock Coun. David Brown announced that starting this week, a nearly two-kilometre stretch of Manotick Main Street between Bridge Street and Century Road will be removed from the city’s truck route network for the majority of the year.
The route will remain open to heavy trucks from March to May, and local businesses will still receive deliveries, so the trucks won’t disappear entirely, Brown said.
“What we’re looking to do is reduce that transient traffic down as much as possible just to make the village a little more livable, a little more safe and a little more enjoyable,” he said.
Leeanne Van der Burgt, president of the Manotick Village and Community Association, said the problem has been percolating for as long as she’s live in the area, about 20 years.
Van der Burgt said last year, the association counted 800 trucks a day using Manotick Main Street between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m.
Concerns over safety, noise, fumes
Along the route are two seniors’ residences, an elementary school and several restaurants with patios, all of which are impacted by the noise and pollution, Van der Burgt said.
There are safety concerns, too: Tire tracks are visible on the sidewalk at the northeast corner of Bridge and Main streets, demonstrating how big rigs with large loads have difficulty making the sharp turn there.
Because of all this, Van der Burgt called Monday’s announcement a win.
“This is great news for the community and it will certainly be a step in the right direction toward issues that have been long standing,” she said.
At the nearby Miller Seniors Apartments, second-floor resident Derk Duermeyer said he’s unable to enjoy his balcony due to the fumes from passing trucks.
“I believe that the traffic problem over here in Manotick is worse than King Edward and Rideau,” he said, referring to a downtown Ottawa intersection where heavy truck traffic has also been a problem.
Brown said the city will undertake a review of truck routes in the south end to figure out where all the traffic is going, and whether alternative routes are viable. The review is expected to begin next year, he said.
Brown said the changes have been a long time coming.
“We haven’t looked at the truck route comprehensively since amalgamation,” he said.”This is the first opportunity that we’re taking to do this work and we’re going to get it right.”