ottawa potus visit road closures

Biden visits Ottawa: Here are the road closures and traffic disruptions

Some Ottawa roads will be fully closed and others will experience temporary closures during U.S. President Joe Biden's visit on Thursday and Friday.

Biden and First Lady Jill Biden will arrive in Ottawa Thursday around 6:30 p.m. Thursday and, during the two-day visit, Biden is scheduled to meet with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Governor General Mary Simon.

Watch and listen to U.S. President Joe Biden's visit to Canada on CBC News: Special live coverage starts Friday at 1 p.m. ET on CBC TV, CBC News Network, CBC Gem, the CBC News App and YouTube, and at 1:30 p.m. ET on CBC Radio and the CBC Listen app. 

Biden will also deliver an address to Parliament.

The City of Ottawa said it is working closely with the RCMP, Ottawa police and other security partners to maintain safety throughout the visit.

Biden's visit likely won't affect the Thursday morning commute, the city said, but "the exact details and timing of road closures and other impacts to city services may be communicated at the last minute" for security reasons.

Roads, bridges and bus routes affected

The following roads will be fully closed from 4 p.m. Thursday to 11 p.m. on Friday:

Wellington Street between Metcalfe Street and Mackenzie Avenue.

Rideau Street between Mackenzie and Dalhousie Street.

Elgin Street between Queen and Wellington streets.

Mackenzie between Murray and Rideau streets.

Colonel By Drive between Daly Avenue and Rideau.

Sussex Drive between Rideau and George streets.

The Macdonald-Cartier and Alexandra bridges will also see temporary closures in both directions for all traffic, including cyclists and pedestrians. The Portage bridge will remain open. The Chaudière bridge is closed to vehicle traffic until the end of March for work related to the Union Bridge rehabilitation and Hull Causeway widening project.

People should avoid unnecessary travel around the affected locations during the visit, or plan possible alternate routes, the city said.

Some bus routes will also be affected, with all bus services detoured from Rideau Street to Mackenzie King Bridge on Thursday and Friday. Some buses and Para Transpo service will also experience delays because of road closures and detours. O-Train Line 1 service will operate as usual.

The city's online traffic map will have live updates on all closures, detours and traffic impacts.

Temporary road closures may last several hours

Traffic disruptions will be expected on the following roads on Thursday and Friday, and temporary closures could last several hours.

The following roads will have temporary disruptions on Thursday:

Airport Parkway between the Ottawa International Airport and Bronson Avenue.

Bronson Avenue between Findlay Avenue and Airport Parkway.

Colonel By Drive between Hog's Back Road and Daly Avenue.

Sussex Drive between George Street and Princess Avenue.

The following roads will have temporary disruptions on Friday:

Wellington Street (westbound) between Kent and Metcalfe streets.

Wellington (eastbound) between Lyon and Metcalfe streets.

Metcalfe between Queen and Wellington streets.

O'Connor Street between Queen and Wellington.

Bank Street between Queen and Wellington.

Sussex Drive between Rideau Street and Princess Avenue.

Princess Avenue between Sir George-Étienne Parkway and Sussex Drive.

Sir George-Étienne Parkway between Bearbrook Road and Princess Avenue.

Aviation Parkway north of Montreal Road.

Airport Parkway between the Ottawa International Airport and Bronson Avenue.

Bronson between Holmwood Avenue and Airport Parkway.

Colonel By Drive between Hog's Back Road and Daly Avenue.

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What you should know about U.S. president's visit to Ottawa this week

President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden are scheduled to arrive early Thursday evening and stay in the capital until Friday.

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United States President Joe Biden will visit Ottawa on Thursday and Friday to meet with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and to address Parliament, certain to draw crowds and attention and to impact traffic flow.

Here is what Ottawa residents should know ahead of the trip by Biden and First Lady Jill Biden.

Increased police presence

Security during Biden’s visit is being supervised by an integrated security unit (ISU) led by the RCMP in coordination with the Ottawa Police Service, Ontario Provincial Police, Gatineau police and the Parliamentary Protective Service, RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Kim Chamberland said. The ISU is also working closely with the Canadian Forces and the U.S. Secret Service, which travels with the president.

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“The role of the RCMP and its ISU partners is to ensure the proper functioning of the event and that President and First Lady Biden’s visit to Canada occurs peacefully and safely for everyone and that their protection is safeguarded at all times,” Chamberland write in an email to this newspaper.

“The public may see an increased police presence, as well as air operations in the coming days. There is no cause for concern.”

The Ottawa Police Service posted online on Monday that “a number of areas in the city, such as large parking lots,” would be used to facilitate staging and parking areas for police agencies during Biden’s visit and that resident might see an increased police presence this week.

Norad’s Canadian Region will support the RCMP in providing air security with military jets and helicopters as early as Wednesday and extending past the end of Biden’s visit on Friday.

Traffic disruptions

Biden’s visit is expected to slow traffic flow in various parts of Ottawa and cause gridlock in the downtown core.

On Tuesday evening, the City of Ottawa issued an extensive list of roads likely to experience disruptions. “ Some temporary closures may last multiple hours,” the advisory said.

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• Airport Parkway, between the Ottawa International Airport and Bronson Avenue

• Bronson Avenue, between Findlay Avenue and Airport Parkway

• Colonel By Drive, between Hog’s Back Road and Daly Avenue

• Sussex Drive, between George Street and Princess Drive

• Wellington Street (westbound), between Kent and Metcalfe streets

• Wellington Street (eastbound), between Lyon and Metcalfe streets

• Metcalfe Street, between Queen and Wellington streets

• O’Connor Street, between Queen and Wellington streets

• Bank Street, between Queen and Wellington streets

• Sussex Drive, between Rideau Street and Princess Avenue

• Princess Drive, between Sir George-Étienne Parkway and Sussex Drive

• Sir George-Étienne Parkway, between Bearbrook Road and Princess Drive

• Aviation Parkway, north of Montreal Road

• Bronson Avenue, between Holmwood Avenue and Airport Parkway

Roads experiencing full closure from 4 p.m. on Thursday to 11 p.m. on Friday.

• Wellington Street, between Metcalfe Street and Mackenzie Avenue

• Rideau Street, between Mackenzie Avenue and Dalhousie Street

• Elgin Street, between Queen and Wellington streets

• Mackenzie Avenue, between Murray and Rideau streets

• Colonel By Drive, between Daly Avenue and Rideau Street

• Sussex Drive, between Rideau Street and George Street

When the presidential motorcade is in motion, the Macdonald-Cartier and Alexandra bridges will have intermittent and temporary closures in both directions for all vehicular, cyclist and pedestrian traffic, the city added, but the Portage and Chaudière bridges should remain open in both directions.

“The morning commute on Thursday, March 23 is not expected to be impacted, however, for security reasons, the exact details and timing of road closures and other impacts to city services may be communicated at the last minute,” the city said.

For traffic updates, visit the interactive traffic map on https://traffic.ottawa.ca/map/ or follow @Ottawa_Traffic on Twitter.

The city also said O-Train Line 1 service would operate as regularly scheduled during Biden’s visit, but some OC Transpo bus routes and Para Transpo service will experience travel delays due to road closures and various routes will have detours. Bus service will be detoured from Rideau Street to Mackenzie King Bridge on Thursday and Friday.

Will it be televised?

CTV News Channel says it will start its live coverage of the visit on Thursday. CBC and CBC News Network will broadcast a news special on Friday from 1 to 4:30 p.m. The president’s address to Parliament on Friday will also likely be broadcast by other Canadian and U.S. news channels as part of their daily coverage.

Where to catch a glimpse in person

Biden is to be welcomed by Governor General Mary Simon at the Ottawa International Airport, then to meet with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and to address Parliament on Friday, according to an itinerary released by the White House.

The best way to see Biden in-person — from a distance — is likely to stay close to the downtown core, specifically by Parliament Hill. Anywhere between the Château Laurier hotel and the Senate of Canada building stretching westward along Wellington Street toward the Supreme Court of Canada would appear to be the best bet.

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Details of U.S. President Joe Biden's official visit to Canada announced

U.S. President Joe Biden will be making an official visit to Canada between March 23 and 24 to meet with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and his trip to the nation's capital will include an address to Parliament.

Details of the coming trip— Biden's first to Canada since becoming president in January 2021—were confirmed by Prime Minister's Office (PMO) and the White House on Thursday.

“President Biden will reaffirm the United States’ commitment to the U.S.-Canada partnership and promote our shared security, shared prosperity, and shared values,” said White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre in a statement.

Among the pressing cross-border issues that are set to be on the agenda: the role of Norad in defending North America including the Arctic in light of the recent takedown of unidentified aerial objects including a Chinese spy balloon that traversed both Canadian and American airspace, and modernizing the Safe Third Country Agreement amid irregular crossing tensions.

Other topics both sides say will come up: allies’ continued support for Ukraine and desire to see Russia held to account, the Canada United States Mexico Agreement (CUSMA), critical mineral supply chains, climate change’s prompting of the need to pivot to clean energy, the ongoing instability in Haiti, and the opioid crisis

“Canada and the United States are allies, neighbours, and most importantly, friends. As we face increasing global uncertainty, we will continue working together as we defend our continent and our shared values, create more opportunities for people and businesses on both sides of the border, and build strong economies as reliable suppliers as we move toward a net-zero world," Trudeau said in a statement.

• Capital Dispatch: Sign up for in-depth political coverage of Parliament Hill

"I look forward to welcoming President Biden to Canada.”

According to Jean-Pierre, Biden will use his speech to Parliament to "highlight the importance of the United States-Canada bilateral relationship."

Trudeau and Biden have met several times in recent years on the sidelines of various international summits, including recently at the North American Leaders’ Summit in Mexico City where plans for a visit were first confirmed. 

On this visit to Canada, Biden will be joined by First Lady of the United States Jill Biden, who may hold events of her own, though a detailed itinerary of the two-day trip, hasn't yet been provided.

According to a statement from the PMO, the visit will allow the two leaders to "continue working closely together to strengthen trade ties, create good jobs, grow the middle class, and drive economic growth that benefits everyone on both sides of the border."

While Biden's visit has been delayed in part by COVID-19 travel restrictions, the trip marks a return to a customary practice that newly-elected U.S. presidents make a visit north early in their term.

Former U.S. president Donald Trump did not make an official visit to Canada during his time in the White House, however he did come for a brief but memorable G7 Summit in Charlevoix, Que. in 2018. 

Biden was last in Ottawa on official business when he was the guest of honour at a state dinner in December 2016 -- just weeks before Trump took office -- where he exclaimed, "Vive le Canada."

Back in 2020 on the heels of their election, MPs unanimously agreed to invite Biden and Vice-President Kamala Harris to visit Canada as soon as the COVID-19 pandemic was under control in both countries.

At the time, MPs invited Biden to address Parliament. The last U.S. president to address Canadian parliamentarians was Barack Obama in June 2016. 

With files from CTV News Ottawa Bureau Chief Joyce Napier

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Downtown road closures, transit delays expected ahead of Queen’s funeral on Sept. 19

By CityNews Ottawa

Posted Sep 18, 2022 05:30:00 PM.

Several Ottawa downtown streets will be closed on Monday, Sept. 19 for the national funeral of Queen Elizabeth II.

The parade begins at 12:10 p.m. at Cartier Square Drill Hall, on Queen Elizabeth Driveway at Laurier Avenue, and will make its way to Christ Church Cathedral on 414 Sparks Street, where an invitation-only commemorative service will take place. Additional details are also available on the  Canadian Heritage website.

There will also be cannon salute and fighter aircraft fly-past.

In recognition of the Queen’s passing, there will be a gun salute with 96 shots fired, one for each year of the Monarch’s life. The shots will be fired from a secure area on LeBreton Flats, as the parade slowly progresses along Wellington Street, which is expected to last approximately 16 minutes.

The Canadian Armed Forces CF-18 Hornets will fly over downtown Ottawa at the end of the commemorative service in Christ Church Cathedral.

Downtown roads will be closed to all vehicular traffic in preparation for and during the parade and memorial service. Special event parking signs is installed with new restrictions.

Beginning tonight at midnight, Special Event parking restrictions will be in effect for the Queen's national commemorative ceremony. Vehicles parked in Special Event – No Stopping zones are subject to a ticket and tow. #otttraffic pic.twitter.com/cEQ1SCar21 — Ottawa By-law (@OttawaBylaw) September 18, 2022

The following street is closed until 5:30 p.m. on Monday, Sept.19:

• Queen Street westbound from Bay Street to Bronson Avenue

The following streets are closed from 6 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Monday, Sept.19:

• Bay Street from Wellington Street to Queen Street
• Queen Street westbound from Lyon Street to Bay Street
• Elgin Street from Wellington Street to Queen Street
• Queen Street eastbound from Bay Street to Bronson Avenue

The following streets are closed from 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Monday, Sept.19:

• Wellington Street from Elgin Street to Lyon Street
• Kent Street from Wellington Street to Queen Street
• Bank Street from Wellington Street to Queen Street
• O’Connor Street from Wellington Street to Sparks Street
• Metcalfe Street from Wellington Street to Queen Street

The following streets are closed from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Monday, Sept.19:

• Laurier Avenue West off-ramp onto Queen Elizabeth Driveway
• Lyon Street between Wellington Street and Queen Street
• Wellington Street eastbound between Portage Bridge and Lyon Street

The following are closed from 11:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Monday, Sept.19:

• Bay Street from Queen Street to Albert Street
• Queen Street eastbound from Bay Street to Lyon Street

The following rolling closures may occur between 11:45 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 19:

• Laurier Avenue West between Nicholas Street and Metcalfe Street
• Elgin Street between Gloucester Street and Queen Street
• Wellington/Rideau Street between Mackenzie Street and Elgin southbound

Ottawa's public transit is also expected to be impacted. 

OC Transpo will be operating on its regular weekday schedule to accommodate students and businesses.

However, there are minor changes:

• Route 15 will be detoured between 9 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. around Christ Church Cathedral, where the ceremony is taking place.
• Routes 10 and 16 will be detoured between 11 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. around Christ Church Cathedral.
• Routes 5, 6, 7, 14, 15, 18 and 19 will be detoured between 11:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. for the parade.

At 1 p.m., OC Transpo and Para Transpo buses will pull over to the side of the road, where it is safe to do so, and all trains will be held at stations platforms, to observe a moment of silence.

CityNews will have full coverage of Queen Elizabeth II’s state funeral in London  on all platforms  Monday.

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Ottawa residents should expect military aircraft during Biden visit

Ottawa residents should expect to see military aircraft in the sky before and during U.S. President Joe Biden's visit to the capital later this week.

Norad's Canadian Region will support the RCMP by providing air security for Biden during his visit on Thursday and Friday, the Department of National Defence said in a news release on Tuesday.

Residents may see or hear NORAD CF-18 Hornet fighter jets and CH-146 Griffon helicopters over the region as early as Wednesday and throughout the course of the visit.

Biden is scheduled to have a meet-and-greet with Governor General Mary Simon on Thursday. He will have a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and address Parliament on Friday, according to an itinerary released by the White House.

Ottawa police say they are using a number of large parking lots in the city as staging and parking areas during the president's visit.

• Where to watch live coverage of Biden's trip to Canada
• Policy primer: Wide range of topics to be discussed during Biden's visit

"Residents may see an increased police presence over the next week and should not be concerned," they said on Monday.

Biden is expected to arrive in Ottawa early Thursday evening and meet with Governor General Mary Simon. He will have meetings with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday and address Parliament before leaving Canada to fly to Delaware. 

Here's a detailed list of road closures expected during Biden's visit.

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Lola and Riley's Culinary Quest

Follow us as we cook, bake and eat our way through Ottawa and beyond

Monday, May 12, 2014

Moscow tea room (review).

I agree. It's a really fun place to go. Interesting, beautiful, great service and yummy food. Thanks Moscow Tea Room!

City wants 2-lane traffic on Wellington during South Block construction

Before issuing permits, councillors demanding promises from federal government.

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The federal government is about to embark on a nearly decade-long construction project that will force a partial closure of Wellington Street, and could once again upset traffic and frustrate businesses in Ottawa's downtown core. 

The South Block project will give federal properties across from Parliament Hill a dramatic facelift, beginning with the block bounded by O'Connor, Metcalfe and Sparks streets. 

Work on "Block 2," which includes office space for the Senate, the House of Commons and the  Indigenous Peoples Space at 100 Wellington , will begin next month and extend through 2033. 

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"You're going to make sure that you're going to maintain automobile traffic in front of there because we worked very hard to get that open back up as a corridor through at our city," said Tim Tierney, chair of Ottawa's transportation committee. 

Councillors passed two motions during Thursday's committee meeting: tying approval of a city permit to lessening the impact on traffic, and providing financial support for Sparks Street. 

Moving fast

Staff with Public Services and Procurement Canada who spoke to the city's transportation committee on Thursday would not provide a final project cost, but original estimates pegged it at $430 million. 

Their presentation did not mention plans to build a tunnel that would require tearing up sidewalk and digging 13 metres down.

When asked by Tierney, Roque Gameiro, director general for the project, said there's no word on exactly when the work to provide underground connections between government buildings would start. 

Public Services and Procurement Canada later told CBC in a statement that it is still designing and assessing possible effects of tunnelling along Wellington Street.

"I've never seen the federal government move this quick in my life," Tierney said. "We have to make sure we put the appropriate checks and balances to protect our citizens." 

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Several councillors appeared caught off guard by the project details. 

Court Curry, the city's manager of right of way, said that staff "have been encouraging the federal government to remember that they're building this project in downtown Ottawa." 

"It is a neighbourhood," he said. 

Good news for businesses

Kevin McHale, executive director of the Spark Street Business Improvement Association, expressed excitement over the project. 

"When completed, the South Block project will bring back to life several retail bays that have been vacant for many years, waiting for this project to start, and it will revitalize an empty office complex," he said. "This will be a good thing for Spark Street and downtown Ottawa." 

He said his organization's relationship and communication with the federal government has greatly improved over the last decade, noting that the days of workers "dumping dust into patios as people are trying to eat" are long over. 

But McHale also emphasized the need for the federal government to ensure Wellington Street remains open to traffic, saying its lengthy closure during the pandemic made the downtown "feel closed, even though it wasn't."

• FROM THE ARCHIVES: The heyday of Sparks Street's north side
• Sparks Street's great divide bad for business, merchants say  

Negotiations ongoing

In order to block the city's right of ways, the federal government needs to apply for a temporary construction encroachment permit. 

It comes with a $1,000 fee and a per-metre cost for renting city space, paid on a 90-day basis. 

Curry could not provide a definitive cost, but estimated the project will net the city a few million dollars over the next decade. 

The Wellington Street closure will not force lane closures until the third phase of construction begins in July 2025, giving the federal government's consultant time to work with the city to understand the effects on traffic and negotiate further. 

A motion from the area's city councillor also directed staff to negotiate a memorandum of understanding to ensure that the federal government:

• Pays its share of funding through the previously negotiated Sparks Street Public Realm Plan.
• Provides ongoing financial support to local businesses.
• Adjusts leasing terms to get tenants into vacant federal buildings.

The public realm plan went unfunded through the pandemic. Somerset ward Coun. Ariel Troster says it would pay to repair broken brickwork and upgrade amenities including the installation of public washrooms.

Gameiro said he couldn't comment on the feasibility of those demands before discussing them with his team. 

'A lot' of pain before gain

The debate comes amid renewed interest in the potential sale of Wellington Street to the federal government, with city staff contending they have received no "official" offer. 

• Feds frustrated by impasse with city over sale of Wellington Street
• NCC endorses Gatineau transit connection on Wellington Street

But the planning chief says that issue is completely separate. 

The same was said of the City of Gatineau's ongoing efforts to build a tramway either on Wellington Street or under Sparks Street. 

But Troster was perhaps most interested in whether the federal government will provide a break to public servants who will need to commute through an even more congested downtown, or funding to increase public transit options. 

"If there's going to be a particular period of time where traffic is going to be incredibly difficult because of this construction ... could you maybe ease up on some of the return-to-work protocols during that?" she asked.

There was no answer. 

"It's frustrating because this is a project manager for just one project, but we're looking at the big picture here," she told CBC after the meeting. 

"The final project will be incredibly beautiful, but there's a lot of pain before we get to the gain."

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Elyse Skura is a reporter based in Ottawa. Since joining CBC News, she's worked in Iqaluit, Edmonton and Thunder Bay. Elyse spent four years reporting from Tokyo, where she also worked as a consulting producer for NHK World Japan. You can reach her at [email protected].

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