King Edward Avenue Renewal

In the 1990’s, a community improvement plan was created for King Edward Avenue. This plan is still available in the Ottawa Room at the main branch of the Ottawa Public Library. It contained options for reducing King Edward Avenue to 4 lanes and a T-intersection to replace the on and off ramps of the Macdonald-Cartier Bridge. From 2000-2002, Delcan Corporation was hired to do an environmental assessment. By the end of the study, the community was no longer getting an improvement, but a renewal. It was misleading. The fact is that the renewal project is an infrastructure renewal exercise. The ramps are being rebuilt, and both the underground utilities and pavement are being replaced. The improvements to the avenue are at minimal. All of the problems that plagued King Edward Avenue will still be present once the project is complete. It is for this reason that the task force has been reactivated as of 2007. Lowertown deserves better.