As discussion continues about the future of part of Wellington Street, some Centretown businesses say removing vehicles from in front of Parliament Hill could actually help their businesses.
A recent National Capital Commission board of directors meeting discussed scenarios under which the federal government would acquire three blocks across from the Hill.
The federal government offered to buy that part of the street in 2023 after the “Freedom Convoy” protest, when it was closed to vehicle traffic for security purposes, but the city turned down the offer.
Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe has said the city has “no plans” to remove vehicles from Wellington Street.
Still, the federal government is mulling several proposals for how that section of road might be reimagined.
“(The plan) aims to create a modern, integrated and secure Parliamentary campus,” Jeremy Link, with Public Services and Procurement Canada, told Capital Current. “A roadway dividing the Parliamentary Precinct campus presents operational and security challenges; therefore, the future vision of Wellington Street is a key element in these plans.”
Discussions between the federal government and the City of Ottawa have focused on the federal government acquiring three blocks of Wellington Street between Elgin and Bank streets. [Map © Simon McKague]
PSPC is in discussions with the city and other partners about acquiring the street, he said, adding, “any decisions will be made in collaboration and partnership with the City of Ottawa and its residents.”
Ottawa Sen. Andrew Cardozo said it would make sense for the federal government to ban vehicles if it acquired Wellington. “If the purpose is to improve security, then it is important to remove automobiles from the street,” he said.
Cardozo said this would also leave potential for pedestrianizing Wellington Street, which would include a “beautification” of Parliament Hill.
“You start with removing the asphalt and you replace it with either interlock brick or grass, and trees and plants, benches, planters, that kind of thing.”
Some nearby businesses say such a redesign could help them.
“I feel like it will affect us positively, if it affects us in any way,” said Kim St-Lauren, the manager at Little Victories Coffee Roasters at 209 Queen St. St-Lauren compared the potential removal of vehicles on Wellington Street to when other downtown streets have temporarily been shut down for events or demonstrations.
“With Queen Street closing sometimes (for) march protests … it makes us busy.”
Staff at the Ottawa Bike Cafe on Sparks Street, a pedestrian-only street downtown, also said removing vehicles from Wellington Street would likely help local businesses.
“I feel like if Wellington was shut down to cars, it would definitely bring a lot more foot traffic,” said Amrita Rair of the Ottawa Bike Cafe. “I feel like businesses would flourish.”
Sarah Komendat, another Ottawa Bike Cafe staffer, said there has been a recent push from local businesses to pedestrianize downtown Ottawa. “The owner of this coffee shop really wants to extend the patio and make this street more pedestrian-centric.”
Michael Mulvey, a marketing professor at uOttawa, said, since there aren’t any private businesses on the affected blocks of Wellington Street, the impact of potential pedestrianization may be limited. He said while it could affect businesses on Sparks Street, that street’s success as a pedestrian-only road is already limited.
“It’s had a long, long history of 40 years plus, but it has a hard time getting enough traffic to keep some of those businesses going,” he said. “It’s partly because it’s really cold in the wintertime. Nobody wants to go for a walk down there at that time of year.”
While Mulvey said most locals would hardly notice if Wellington Street were pedestrianized, he added that a more creative vision for the street might still have a positive impact on businesses.
“If you thought about it as tied in to tourism and the tourism experience, that might generate some traffic, but again, it’ll probably be very season-specific.”
Cardozo said the right vision to pedestrianize Wellington Street could help improve a downtown Ottawa that is on a “downturn” and struggling to keep businesses alive.
“It helps in the revitalizing of downtown and helps make family-friendly spaces, people-friendly spaces, where people can walk around in a relaxed way.”
