FAQs

There have been a series of plans looking at the Beechwood Avenue corridor over the years. A Community Design Plan for the area was completed in 2006 which proposed how development could occur in the area and identified potential improvements to the street. 

In 2016, a design was developed and implemented, adding buffered bike lanes along the street. The changes focused on pavement markings and signage changes only, making no changes to sidewalks or the public realm along Beechwood. A design was also developed looking at how improved cycling facilities could be implemented along the street in tandem with increased right-of-way space obtained through redevelopment. This design was refined in 2019 with updated design standards. Today’s project is designing holistic improvements for the street that could be implemented without the need to wait for further redevelopment along the corridor. 

At this time there are too many unknown variables related to the Vanier Parkway and Beechwood Avenue intersection to move a new design forward. Opportunities to improve the intersection were studied and discussed as part of the project, however a resolution has not yet been found that manages the vehicle traffic through the intersection. Future network impacts from the Eastern Interprovincial Bridge are also not yet known to be able to inform the traffic model. If improvements to the intersection are not possible as part of this initial project, there may be an opportunity for them to be included in a future phased project once a design solution can be achieved.  

Given the limited space within the existing right-of-way, there will be insufficient space to maintain all existing parking spaces while also widening sidewalks and implementing a raised cycle track for cycling. Opportunities to maintain or include parking and loading spaces along the street will be identified where possible through the functional design.  

We are working with emergency services staff through the study process to make sure that any changes to the street have minimal impacts on emergency service response times and access. 

Designs for bus stops with cycle tracks have evolved in recent years base based on experiences in the City of Ottawa, across Canada, and internationally. There are various design interventions that can be used to encourage cyclists to yield to people getting on or off a bus. These will be proposed through the design phase.