Andy Haydon envisions Wellington Street without buses, he said in his “vision of Ottawa's future” blog on Wednesday.
The mayoral candidate said he wants to expand Prince of Wales Bridge, making it possible to move heavy traffic off of the Macdonald-Cartier Bridge, King Edward Avenue and Wellington Street.
Haydon called the current traffic situation on King Edward Avenue “accident inducing” because of all the trucks and buses running from Quebec.
The Prince of Wales Bridge, he said, could be altered in order to build more lanes beside the existing rail tracks. In addition, the bridge, which is just west of LeBreton Flats would have to be upgraded to meet earthquake standards.
It would provide a connection between Gatineau's transit system and Haydon’s proposed bus rapid transit tunnel. These two projects would eliminate all transit buses from Wellington Street in front of Parliament.
Gatineau is already building its own bus rapid transit, he said, which will join at Alexandre-Taché Boulevard, close to Prince of Wales Bridge.
A terminal located at LeBreton Flats would also be built, he added. According to Haydon, this would make transfers and connections easier between the two bus systems.
Haydon also claimed there is no need to build a downstream bridge to Quebec, and the money for Kettle Island Bridge should be used for the Prince of Wales Bridge project instead.