In response to plans by the city to increase traffic on Rochester Street, residents of the area are petitioning for a safer, more livable street.
Churchill Avenue in Westboro and Main Street in Old Ottawa East are examples of complete streets – the term given to streets with wide sidewalks, segregated bike lanes and tree-lined edges.
Residents of Rochester Street are asking that their street become one, too.
Residents were already concerned with the increase in traffic that will result from a new 18-storey condominium that is going up at the corner of Rochester and Pamilla streets and will be completed in 2016.
But residents fear an ongoing “Public Realm and Mobility Study” for the area could lead to an even greater increase in vehicular traffic.
Randolph Wang, a City of Ottawa planner and the project lead for the study, says there is a possibility that the median at Carling Avenue and Rochester Street will be opened, giving commuters along the Carling easier access to turn onto Rochester.
“The purpose of the median opening is to improve vehicle mobility in the area, to make better use of the Highway 417 ramps to and from Rochester, and to reduce cut-through traffic on the local streets between Preston and Rochester,” says Wang.
Wang says this may not be included in the plan, but is one of many ideas being considered.
Although it is not definite, residents took action after learning about the possibility of opening the median.
Residents have signed a petition to make Rochester a complete street that is safer for pedestrians and cyclists.
“Complete Street for Rochester” is an online petition and has more than 200 signatures so far.
Linda Belanger, a resident on Rochester Street who has signed the petition, says the street is safe now, but thinks opening the median will change that.
“I think it’s going to get very busy on Rochester Street,” says Belanger. “It’s going to cause more chaos and more traffic.”
Belanger says she wants the traffic to be directed to Booth Street.
She says it would keep Rochester safer and since Booth continues to Quebec, it would be more convenient for commuters.