If the city approves a plan to widen sidewalks such as this one at Gilmour Street would make it safer for pedestrians.
“Segregated bike lanes” is the latest buzz phrase in Centretown, but the controversial cycling amenity may have to move over for wider sidewalks if a push for improved pedestrian infrastructure gains traction at city hall.
The Centretown Citizens Community Association is recommending that sidewalks be widened in areas along Wellington Street, Somerset Street and Elgin Street to ensure better access for pedestrians and safer walking for an aging population in an era when Ottawa residents are being urged to walk instead of drive.
CCCA transportation chair Robert Dekker says the infrastructure of Centretown has to change to keep pace with the increasing number of older residents moving into the area.
“Centretown is undergoing a change in demographics with empty nesters moving to the city core in smaller homes,” says Dekker. “And as the population ages, other modes of transportation will be utilized that do not belong on the roads or on bike lanes. Wider sidewalks will accommodate these.”
The young as well as the old of Centretown have raised the issue at CCCA meetings, says Dekker.
“A member of the CCCA is in a wheelchair and often comments on accessibility issues at board and committee meetings,” says Dekker.
“Also, we have many young families that live in Centretown where strollers are used and do occupy much of the current width of sidewalks,” he adds.
CCCA president Charles Akben-Marchand says the recommendation for wider sidewalks is not just about having more room for people to get around.
“I often walk along Bronson and it is not fun to have trucks drive by you at 60 km/h with their side mirrors passing inches by your head,” says Akben-Marchand.
“One of the major reasons behind the Rescue Bronson Avenue initiative is to improve the walking environment with wider sidewalks and landscaping buffer between cars and pedestrians.”
The recommendation comes in the midst of a deadly accident in mid-February when 64 year-old Roland Weiss was struck and killed by a dump truck at the corner of Laurier Avenue and Metcalfe Street.
The incident has heightened concerns about pedestrian safety in Centretown.
This is not the first time sidewalks in Centretown have been targeted for being too narrow. Last year the city’s pedestrian and transit advisory committee pushed to widen a portion of the heavily used sidewalk on Metcalfe Street between Albert and Slater.
While wider sidewalks would make the streets safer for walkers, more pedestrian-friendly streets would also help businesses, says Dekker.
“(The CCCA) believes that the future of many businesses downtown is in the accommodating of the pedestrian and cyclist consumer,” says Dekker. “Target those consumers and watch in-store traffic increase and revenue grow.”
While wider sidewalks may signal a surge in business for stores in Centretown, local businesses are not sure they could survive the construction it would take to make it happen.
Bank Street Promenade BIA executive director Gerry LePage knows first hand how construction can hurt a business. He says road reconstruction along the busy street has hurt many small businesses in the last few years with some store owners seeing as much as a 40-to-50-per-cent loss of revenue.
Despite the potential setbacks to businesses, Dekker says the CCCA will push forward with the recommendation for wider sidewalks in Centretown to make sure the goal is factored into all future downtown road upgrades.