The City of Ottawa is no longer considering building a freeway that would have run through an expansive greenspace along Lees Avenue next to Springhurst Park, often referred to as the “People’s Park.”
The open space in the Old Ottawa East neighbourhood across from the Lees LRT station has been slated for development as a highway corridor since 1966.
This was part of the Alta Vista Transport Corridor (AVTC) to connect Walkley Road to the Queensway, with an expressway aimed at easing congestion in the central-east part of Ottawa.
Over the years, community members and activists have urged the city to remove the proposal from the official transportation plan.
On March 31, the City of Ottawa released a Transportation Master Plan update in which it was announced that the northern section of AVTC proposal – where the People’s Park is located – was recommended to be removed. Formal approval of the proposal is expected to follow soon.
“A road connection within this segment would provide no effective congestion relief, primarily due to downstream capacity constraints,” the update states, noting that Nicholas Street and Highway 417 at Nicholas are over-capacity.
Capital Coun. Shawn Menard, among those most vocal about not wanting a freeway running through the greenspace, recently spread the word that People’s Park was no longer in consideration for the AVTC.
“This good news comes after months and years of advocacy from residents, the local community and the councillor’s office.”
Changes to the plan would run the AVTC from Walkley to Hurdman Station, south of the People’s Park on the other side of the Rideau River.
In an interview with Capital Current, Menard said the best word to describe how people are feeling is “relief.”
“People are feeling relief that they’re not going to have a roadway through their park.”
He commended residents who have been speaking up against the proposed freeway, saying the announcement has been a “community victory.”
John McCrea, now retired, grew up in Old Ottawa East. He and his wife moved back to the neighbourhood in 2020 to retire.
As the couple were out on one of their frequent walks in the park on a sunny Sunday afternoon, McCrea told Capital Current the park is an important asset to the community which is seeing residential intensification.
He said the area has a series of parks that go along the Rideau River — including Brantwood Park upstream and Strathcona Park downstream — that are a part of a chain of greenspaces.
“And I think that’s worth preserving,” McCrea said. “If you spend any time along here, you’ll see hundreds of people doing different things in this area.”
Menard also emphasized the importance of keeping greenspace available. He said the park and a nearby play structure are used by children, runners and bikers move along the riverside path and people are out in the field for picnics — and even javelin practice.
If you spend any time along here, you’ll see hundreds of people doing different things in this area.
— John McCrea, local resident and People’s Park user
“Where do you ever see javelin being played?” Menard asked. “They (practice) there in an open field safely and it’s that sort of thing that you just wouldn’t see normally across the city. And this field offers that opportunity for people.”
He said the People’s Park serves as one of the only remaining greenspaces directly available to those in the area.
In addition to the value of maintaining greenspace, Menard cited high costs and updated priorities for why the AVTC would not have been beneficial.
“It would have meant a $150-million cost to get the bridge over the Rideau River, and then the associated interchange,” Menard said.
He says urban planning principles for the city are different today.
“The city has obviously evolved and better understands the value of a 15-minute neighbourhood,” Menard said.
The 15-minute neighbourhood concept allows residents the ability to access amenities within a 15-minute walk, bike ride or public transit commute. Menard said the original freeway idea would not have improved commutes and would only have had negative effects on the community.
“Building a freeway with associated emissions next to a playground, school and community centre would have been poor air quality, more public health risks and then, further dividing of our community.”
Menard said he hopes the city will continue to find alternatives to losing valued public greenspaces and increasing car traffic.
City consultations will continue through the spring before expected approval by council.
