footbridge
34 Glebe Report February 10, 2017
Footbridge proceeding apace, except for winter stairs Almost all is rosy on the Fifth-Clegg footbridge front: the detailed design is nearing completion, funding has been approved and construction is scheduled to begin this year. But there is one little hitch: the city is not planning on clearing snow from the stairs on the Old Ottawa East side. The Glebe side of the footbridge will have no stairs – there will be simply a ramp that runs essentially from Fifth Avenue up to the span going over the canal. In Ottawa East in the winter, pedestrians will have to walk about 120 metres around the switchback ramp that will be built between Echo and Colonel By Drive, rather than being able to quickly use the stairs right at Clegg Street directly across the Rideau Canal from the Glebe’s Fifth Avenue. Blocking off the stairs and forcing use of the ramp is the same practice as exists with the Corktown footbridge linking Sandy Hill and Centretown. “Stairs are only maintained when there is no alternate route in close proximity,” says Luc Gagné, the city’s director of road services. “In the case of the Corktown bridge, there is a ramp immediately adjacent to the stairs and it is a more efficient use of resources, more cost effective, creates less liability and ensures accessible access for everyone when the ramp is maintained.” The winter detour for pedestrians is ignored by many at the Corktown footbridge where pedestrians often climb over or under the chains that
Photo: john dance
by John Dance
As with the Corktown footbridge, the city intends to not clear snow from the future Clegg-Fifth footbridge stairs.
hold the signs reading, “Stairs NOT Winter Maintained.” The proposed winter closure of the new bridge’s stairs has not been well received by users. “Either the city wants to encourage pedestrians or it doesn’t. My impression is that it doesn’t!” says Old Ottawa East
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resident Heather Jarrett. Others commented on the city’s double standard of ensuring all roads are cleared but not pedestrian routes. Capital Ward Councillor David Chernushenko acknowledges the “significant additional cost to having the literally dozens or perhaps hundreds of public staircases cleared of snow manually and constantly, and the liability risk and track record involved in not keeping them perfectly cleared.” For example, the stairs leading down to Central Park on both sides of Bank Street are chained off and left snow-covered in winter. However, Chernushenko notes, “For some important staircases where the detour is significant, I would be willing to raise this subject at Transportation Committee so as to revisit the policy both in general and in the specific case of this new bridge.” Several Ottawa East residents have proposed that community members shovel the stairs and Ed Janes, community association vice president, says, “As a regular user of the Corktown bridge, I’d be happy with a sign saying ‘Steps not
maintained: Use at own risk.’” “As a bonus, they could make use of the existing chain that everyone walks over to secure a shovel to the steps to let passersby shovel if they want to,” says Janes. “Heck, they could even add a sign to the shovel that says, ‘For use by you: Use at own risk.’ I suspect people will clear the steps if there is an easy way to do it.” Sandy Hill Councillor Mathieu Fleury describes himself as “not happy” with the chained-off Corktown stairs. “I think the issue here is funding and the willingness of staff to get out of their vehicles goes against their values. To be clear I am stating a fact. Certainly we have heard and seen neighbours bringing their own shovels to the area. Unfortunately, city officials warn that they would be forced to take on the liability if incidents were to happen. There is no easy way to resolve this.” John Dance is an Old Ottawa East resident and Fifth-Clegg footbridge enthusiast who keeps Glebe Report readers updated on its progress.
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