Beechwood Avenue Public Realm Plan
The City of Ottawa has initiated a Functional Design Study for Beechwood Avenue from the Vanier Parkway to Beechwood Cemetery (as shown in map below).
The study will explore the following in developing a holistic design for the street:
- Improvements to sidewalks and cycling facilities
- Coordinating and updating streetscape elements (benches, streetlighting, bike parking)
- Identifying additional space for plants and trees, patios, and seating areas
- Investigating relocating electrical utilities underground (removing hydro poles)
- Reviewing opportunities for bus stop improvements
The design will use the existing public right-of-way to make these improvements without any property acquisition. The design will be informed by a traffic analysis that will enable planning for vehicle movements and a safety review to address the most common collision types along the corridor.
This project is the first step towards implementing improvements along the street. The intent is to integrate the improvements from this study into a full construction project, coordinating with planned road resurfacing and sidewalk repair work. The design developed as part of this project will be refined through the detailed design process which is expected to follow once this project is completed.
March 2026 - Engagement Opportunity
After reading through, we encourage you to fill out the survey available at the bottom of this page. Please share your thoughts on the elements being proposed as part of this project. as it will inform the next stages of the project.
The survey will be open until April 10.
Policy Direction
This project is informed by policies in the City of Ottawa’s Official Plan, Transportation Master Plan, Accessibility Design Standards, Road Safety Action Plan, and other transportation design standards. The project also builds on the Beechwood Community Design Plan which envisions Beechwood Avenue as the heart of an urban village with a mix of residential, commercial, and public uses.
Beechwood functions as a traditional mainstreet and a key transportation corridor. The public right-of-way must accommodate pedestrians, cyclists, transit vehicles, local traffic, deliveries, emergency access, and on-street parking that supports businesses. This study is evaluating how best to balance these competing needs within the existing right-of-way, while improving safety, accessibility, and the public realm. The available public right-of-way is limited, meaning that improvements for one user group may affect another. The goal is not to prioritize one mode exclusively, but to create a safer, more predictable, and more comfortable corridor for all users while supporting the economic vitality of Beechwood Village.
The layout of the roadway is guided by the City’s design guidelines. The goals for the design of street are to include:
Wider sidewalks (2 metres or greater)
Raised cycle track cycling facility
Protected intersection elements to improve pedestrian and cyclist safety
Limited changes to existing travel lanes
Public Realm Spaces
To create a more active, attractive streetscape, this project aims to create and enhance public spaces along the street. To achieve this, the project is proposing the potential to adjust vehicle access for some local streets at Beechwood Avenue. The following proposals are presented from west to east along Beechwood Avenue.
We recognize these changes may impact how people currently access their street by car. Given the limited right-of-way along Beechwood Avenue, these spaces at local streets present a significant opportunity where space for trees, plants and seating areas could be achieved along the street. The intent of engagement at this stage is to understand if this kind of change is something that residents and businesses along the street would like to see, preferences for what they could look like, and if it should be studied further.
Douglas Avenue, Commanda Way, and Champlain Avenue Partial One-ways
Partial one-way traffic would be introduced at these local streets intersecting Beechwood Avenue. Only the intersection would be one-way, the rest of the local street will remain as two-way traffic. All three local streets connect Putman Avenue in the north to Beechwood Avene and are close together in short blocks, only approximately 80 metres apart. Creating a series that only allows one-way access to or from Beechwood Avenue will create new opportunities for public realm improvements at each intersection along Beechwood Avenue. Approximately 100 m2 per intersection would be made available for public realm enhancements. This would also improve the experience for people walking along Beechwood Avenue by narrowing the road crossings from approximately 14 metres down to around 5 metres. The one-ways would also help improve the angle to which these streets meet Beechwood Avenue, improve sightlines, and reduce potential conflicts between people walking and driving.
The images below illustrate what the local street intersections with Beechwood Avenue could look like, with the proposed one-way curb line drawn in red.
Examples from Ottawa and other cities are provided below and show how these kinds of changes can be used to add greenspace and patio space by reducing the side street to allow only one-way traffic:
 | Clemow Avenue at Bronson Avenue, Ottawa (Google Maps) |
 | Fairmount Avenue E at Saint-Laurent Boulevard, Montreal (Google Maps) |
 | East 14th Avenue at Main Street, Vancouver (Google Maps) |
Chapleau Avenue
Chapleau Avenue is a short street (85 metres in length) that runs between Beechwood Avenue and Putman Avenue. Due to its short length, there is an opportunity to fully close access to general traffic from Beechwood Avenue. Vehicle access would be maintained from Putman Avenue. This would create a public space with the opportunity for planting trees, seating, and other possible public space uses.
Examples of other full closures in Ottawa are provided below. They show how these spaces can have seating and more greenspace, temporary events such as a farmers' market, and be designed to be flexible, enabling changing uses over time.
 | Winston Avenue at Richmond Road (Google Maps) |
 | Boushey Square – Waverley Street at Elgin Street (Google Maps) |
 | Bradley Avenue at Montreal Road (Google Maps) |
A series of preliminary concepts for Chapleau Avenue are illustrated below, including variations of permanent and seasonal closures:
Ste-Cécile Street
Optimist Park is located 40 metres south of Beechwood Avenue on Ste-Cécile Street. By creating a one-way vehicle access to the street from Beechwood Avenue, there is an opportunity to plant a boulevard of trees to extend the experience of the park and create a visual connection from Beechwood Avenue to the park. Creating an improved connection between the park and Beechwood Avenue was one of the recommendations from the Community Design Plan. 
Pedestrian and Cycling Facilities
Recognizing that Beechwood Avenue is a mainstreet, and a Cross-Town Bikeway route, it is important for there to be high-quality pedestrian and cycling facilities. They will enable people to use Beechwood Avenue to access local businesses or travel through the area by walking and cycling.
The goals for this project include widening sidewalks and having raised cycle track facilities on each side of the street replacing the on-street painted bike lane. This will provide a more comfortable space for people of all ages and abilities to walk and bike along the street. Creating consistent facilities will improve the experience for all road users.
Currently sidewalks include narrow sections that are a barrier for people using mobility devices and can make walking uncomfortable. This project aims to widen the sidewalk areas to provide more space for people to walk and pass each other, whether they are walking with a child, dog, or using a mobility device.
Protected intersections will help to reduce and manage conflicts between road users by improving sightlines and reducing crossing distances where possible.
