Abstract Manager

Walkley Road in the City of Ottawa is a 4-lane east-west arterial road through an established residential area. It was widened to 4-lanes in the late 1960’s to respond to rising residential development growth. As an east-west arterial, it provides connections to residential communities and several notable north-south roadways such as Riverside Drive, Airport Parkway and Bank Street.

The City of Ottawa embarked on the Stage 2 Light Rail Transit project and the O-Train South Extension. Slated to open in 2024, the South Extension of Line 2 formalized a new transit station at Walkley Road for the Line 2 LRT. Supported by the adjacent Sawmill Creek Pathway, the planned Bank Street Renewal as a complete street, and the Rideau River pathway to the west, numerous alternative transportation choices are available for north-south travel.

Through the Airport Parkway Widening process, a need was identified for east-west cycling connectivity. This project provided the opportunity to implement the vision of Walkley Road as a crosstown bikeway, connecting Mooney’s Bay to the LRT Line 2 and Bank Street. Working within the available curb-to-curb space, cost-effective unidirectional buffered cycle lanes were conceived for a 1.6km segment of Walkley Road from Riverside Drive to the Airport Parkway. The design re-designates one lane vehicle lane in each direction to support cycling. A combination of bi-directional bike lanes and MUPs are proposed for the 0.6km-long segment from the Airport Parkway to Bank Street, which has significant challenges as it crosses three bridges and faces higher traffic demands. The Walkley Road design has advanced to include protected intersections, a roundabout with multi-use pathway connections, pinned curb and flex posts in the bike lane buffers, ride-behind bus stops to support transit. Notable public consultation and a cycling pilot project has taken place with many lessons learned.

The City of Ottawa and Parsons has led detailed design of the Walkley Road segment, from McCarthy Road to the Airport Parkway, which is to be completed in 2025. Construction is also to begin in 2025. The west segment of Walkley Road has completed its preliminary design.

We wish to share lessons learned on the overall process, including finding allies, stakeholder coordination, overcoming spatial challenges and implementation challenges.