Every level of government seems to agree that a new footbridge over the Rideau Canal between Fifth Avenue and Clegg Street is a good idea, but so far only the City of Ottawa is committing cash to the project.
“It’s a priority of mine, it’s a priority of the city’s, the province is also interested, so now the question is finding the funding so we can make it go forward,” Ottawa Centre MP Catherine McKenna said Wednesday after emerging from a meeting with Mayor Jim Watson and three other local Liberal MPs.
McKenna, who’s also the Minister of the Environment and Climate Change, said the $17.5-million bridge would be a “huge addition” to the Old Ottawa East, Glebe and Old Ottawa South neighbourhoods, and could encourage more people to walk or cycle to events at Lansdowne Park.
Ottawa Centre MPP Yasir Naqvi pledged in a statement that he would continue advocating for the bridge and work with McKenna and Watson “to make it a reality.”
The enthusiasm for the project comes after the city diverted $2.1 million from another project to the Fifth-Clegg bridge, which the mayor described as “our No. 1 priority” for a foot bridge.
The cash had been earmarked for a multi-use pathway on the Prince of Wales Bridge, a decommissioned rail bridge spanning the Ottawa River just east of Lemieux Island. The project, with an estimated price tag of $10.5 million, was more expensive than anticipated and the city never reached an agreement with the National Capital Commission or the City of Gatineau to split the costs of construction.
In the 2016 budget, the city chipped in an additional $2.7 million for the Fifth-Clegg bridge, for a total of $4.8 million earmarked for the canal crossing. “We think that’s a higher priority and it’s more shovel-ready than the Prince of Wales Bridge at this point,” Watson said, adding he’d like to see construction begin as early as 2017 or 2018.
Interest in both bridges is not new.
Emails sent by an NCC official to Canadian Heritage in September 2014, obtained through an access-to-information request by researcher Ken Rubin and shared with the Citizen, include both on NCC’s list for Canada 150 government initiatives.
The email also suggests a possible name for the proposed new canal crossing — the Queen Elizabeth Bridge.
Capital Coun. David Chernushenko says he’d like to see a public and transparent process used to decide on a name.
“We’ve often seen that names imposed on people in communities can ruffle a lot of feathers if they don’t feel like they’re the right fit,” he said.
“That’s one great suggestion, (but) let’s make sure we have a proper process (to name the bridge).”
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