Transportation and Mobility Strategy and Action Plan

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The City is getting ready for an expected increase in traffic this fall as federal employees increase their in-office presence, regular traffic patterns return post-summer, and students resume at all levels throughout the region.

To help people manage where they need to go, pending Council approval, the City has developed a plan to enhance transit, manage traffic, expand parking options and make it easier to choose other ways of getting around. The focus is on practical, targeted actions to help reduce congestion, improve travel choices and keep people moving.

The plan includes:

  • Transit Enhancements: Implement Express routes serving key locations and employment nodes and improve reliability and capacity while encouraging alternative modes such as cycling, shuttles, and Park & Ride.

  • Traffic Management and Construction Coordination: Optimize traffic flow through signal timing, monitoring, incident response, enforcement, and coordinated construction activities

  • Parking Measures: Expand and optimize parking, including Park & Ride options, to improve transit access and reduce congestion

  • Active Transportation: Promote walking and cycling through improved access, connectivity, and awareness

  • Communications and Public Information: Provide timely, clear travel information to support trip planning and system navigation

Visit this page for updates, tools, and information to help you plan your commute and stay up to date as the plan is rolled out.

The City is getting ready for an expected increase in traffic this fall as federal employees increase their in-office presence, regular traffic patterns return post-summer, and students resume at all levels throughout the region.

To help people manage where they need to go, pending Council approval, the City has developed a plan to enhance transit, manage traffic, expand parking options and make it easier to choose other ways of getting around. The focus is on practical, targeted actions to help reduce congestion, improve travel choices and keep people moving.

The plan includes:

  • Transit Enhancements: Implement Express routes serving key locations and employment nodes and improve reliability and capacity while encouraging alternative modes such as cycling, shuttles, and Park & Ride.

  • Traffic Management and Construction Coordination: Optimize traffic flow through signal timing, monitoring, incident response, enforcement, and coordinated construction activities

  • Parking Measures: Expand and optimize parking, including Park & Ride options, to improve transit access and reduce congestion

  • Active Transportation: Promote walking and cycling through improved access, connectivity, and awareness

  • Communications and Public Information: Provide timely, clear travel information to support trip planning and system navigation

Visit this page for updates, tools, and information to help you plan your commute and stay up to date as the plan is rolled out.

  • Technical Briefing on the City's Fall Mobility Update

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    City staff will provide an overview of measures in the Transportation and Mobility Action Plan to support commuters this fall, including transit service and mobility improvements, anticipated traffic impacts and the tools and information available to help residents plan their travels.

    Following a presentation, Mayor Sutcliffe and City staff will be available to answer questions. Media will be able to ask questions after the technical briefing ends and Councillors have asked staff their questions.

    Date: Friday, August 21, 2026

    Time: 8:30 am

    Location: Andrew S. Haydon Hall, City Hall, 110 Laurier Avenue West

    Residents will be able to watch the technical briefing and media availability on the City’s YouTube channel.

    City staff will provide an overview of measures in the Transportation and Mobility Action Plan to support commuters this fall, including transit service and mobility improvements, anticipated traffic impacts and the tools and information available to help residents plan their travels.

    Following a presentation, Mayor Sutcliffe and City staff will be available to answer questions. Media will be able to ask questions after the technical briefing ends and Councillors have asked staff their questions.

    Date: Friday, August 21, 2026

    Time: 8:30 am

    Location: Andrew S. Haydon Hall, City Hall, 110 Laurier Avenue West

    Residents will be able to watch the technical briefing and media availability on the City’s YouTube channel.

  • Transportation and Mobility Strategy and Action Plan: Recap

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    This fall, more people are expected to be travelling across Ottawa as schools, workplaces, post-secondary institutions and other activities return to their regular schedules. Up to 65,000 additional weekly trips downtown are anticipated by fall 2026, leading to busier roads, higher transit demand and longer travel times for some trips. The Transportation and Mobility Action Plan was developed to help people move around the city as smoothly as possible. The plan focuses on practical actions to improve travel choices, reduce congestion and help people and goods move reliably across Ottawa.

    It’s designed around four key themes:

    • Prioritizing transit

    • Keeping traffic moving

    • Promoting more ways to move

    • Keeping you informed

    Prioritizing transit

    Reliable, convenient transit helps you get where you need to go every day. OC Transpo is introducing a range of service enhancements to improve reliability, increase capacity and support growth in ridership.

    Key actions include:

    • More frequent O-Train service and increased capacity on Line 1

    • Earlier morning service on O-Train Line 2

    • New express bus routes connecting Park & Ride locations, O-Train stations and major employment areas

    • More frequent service on key bus routes across Ottawa

    • Enhanced Para Transpo service

    • Additional customer support staff

    These improvements will provide faster, more reliable travel options and make transit a more convenient choice for your daily trips.

    Keeping traffic moving

    As more people travel across the city, we're continuing to strengthen coordination between traffic, transit and construction activities to help keep Ottawa moving. The goal is to further reduce disruptions, improve traffic flow and help you make informed travel choices.

    Key actions include:

    • Enhancing coordination among construction projects to minimize travel impacts

    • Restoring or increasing road capacity where possible before peak travel periods

    • Scheduling construction activities during evenings and off-peak periods, when feasible

    • Limiting lane closures during busy travel times when possible

    • Increasing real-time traffic monitoring, incident response and enforcement

    • Continuing to optimize traffic signal timing to respond to changing conditions

    • Improving pick-up/drop-off, and short-term loading near major employment areas

    Together, these measures will help you move around Ottawa more safely and efficiently, whether you're driving, taking transit or moving goods.

    Promoting more ways to move

    We're making it easier to combine transit, walking, cycling and Park & Ride options so you have more choices for your daily trips.

    Key actions include:

    • Improving active transportation information, mapping and trip-planning resources

    • Supporting connections between cycling and transit through OC Transpo's Rack and Roll program

    • Expanding awareness and use of Park & Ride facilities across Ottawa

    • Improving connections between parking areas and transit services

    • Introducing more flexible parking options and additional parking opportunities that support access to transit and major employment areas

    By providing more travel choices, we're making it easier for you to get where you need to go while helping reduce pressure on Ottawa's roads.

    Keeping you informed

    Knowing what to expect before you travel can help you save time and choose the best route. We will provide regular updates, resources and tools to help you plan your trips and stay informed about travel conditions across Ottawa.

    Key actions include:

    • Sharing updates through Engage Ottawa, social media channels, newsletters, and public service announcements

    • Providing trip-planning tools and resources for transit, walking, cycling and carpooling

    • Delivering up-to-date information about roads, parking, transit services and construction activities

    • Monitoring results and adjusting actions as travel patterns continue to evolve

    The City will continue working with residents, employers and regional partners to support informed travel choices and help keep Ottawa moving.

    Additional resources

    Check this page regularly for travel updates, trip-planning tools and information about changes that may affect your commute.

    To subscribe for updates, enter your email address under Stay Informed section of this webpage. You will receive regular updates on transit, traffic, construction impacts and other mobility-related information.

    For further information about the City's action plan, you can read more in our fact sheets. You can also read the full Transportation and Mobility Strategy and Action Plan report that Council approved on July 15, 2026, or watch the presentation to Council.

    This fall, more people are expected to be travelling across Ottawa as schools, workplaces, post-secondary institutions and other activities return to their regular schedules. Up to 65,000 additional weekly trips downtown are anticipated by fall 2026, leading to busier roads, higher transit demand and longer travel times for some trips. The Transportation and Mobility Action Plan was developed to help people move around the city as smoothly as possible. The plan focuses on practical actions to improve travel choices, reduce congestion and help people and goods move reliably across Ottawa.

    It’s designed around four key themes:

    • Prioritizing transit

    • Keeping traffic moving

    • Promoting more ways to move

    • Keeping you informed

    Prioritizing transit

    Reliable, convenient transit helps you get where you need to go every day. OC Transpo is introducing a range of service enhancements to improve reliability, increase capacity and support growth in ridership.

    Key actions include:

    • More frequent O-Train service and increased capacity on Line 1

    • Earlier morning service on O-Train Line 2

    • New express bus routes connecting Park & Ride locations, O-Train stations and major employment areas

    • More frequent service on key bus routes across Ottawa

    • Enhanced Para Transpo service

    • Additional customer support staff

    These improvements will provide faster, more reliable travel options and make transit a more convenient choice for your daily trips.

    Keeping traffic moving

    As more people travel across the city, we're continuing to strengthen coordination between traffic, transit and construction activities to help keep Ottawa moving. The goal is to further reduce disruptions, improve traffic flow and help you make informed travel choices.

    Key actions include:

    • Enhancing coordination among construction projects to minimize travel impacts

    • Restoring or increasing road capacity where possible before peak travel periods

    • Scheduling construction activities during evenings and off-peak periods, when feasible

    • Limiting lane closures during busy travel times when possible

    • Increasing real-time traffic monitoring, incident response and enforcement

    • Continuing to optimize traffic signal timing to respond to changing conditions

    • Improving pick-up/drop-off, and short-term loading near major employment areas

    Together, these measures will help you move around Ottawa more safely and efficiently, whether you're driving, taking transit or moving goods.

    Promoting more ways to move

    We're making it easier to combine transit, walking, cycling and Park & Ride options so you have more choices for your daily trips.

    Key actions include:

    • Improving active transportation information, mapping and trip-planning resources

    • Supporting connections between cycling and transit through OC Transpo's Rack and Roll program

    • Expanding awareness and use of Park & Ride facilities across Ottawa

    • Improving connections between parking areas and transit services

    • Introducing more flexible parking options and additional parking opportunities that support access to transit and major employment areas

    By providing more travel choices, we're making it easier for you to get where you need to go while helping reduce pressure on Ottawa's roads.

    Keeping you informed

    Knowing what to expect before you travel can help you save time and choose the best route. We will provide regular updates, resources and tools to help you plan your trips and stay informed about travel conditions across Ottawa.

    Key actions include:

    • Sharing updates through Engage Ottawa, social media channels, newsletters, and public service announcements

    • Providing trip-planning tools and resources for transit, walking, cycling and carpooling

    • Delivering up-to-date information about roads, parking, transit services and construction activities

    • Monitoring results and adjusting actions as travel patterns continue to evolve

    The City will continue working with residents, employers and regional partners to support informed travel choices and help keep Ottawa moving.

    Additional resources

    Check this page regularly for travel updates, trip-planning tools and information about changes that may affect your commute.

    To subscribe for updates, enter your email address under Stay Informed section of this webpage. You will receive regular updates on transit, traffic, construction impacts and other mobility-related information.

    For further information about the City's action plan, you can read more in our fact sheets. You can also read the full Transportation and Mobility Strategy and Action Plan report that Council approved on July 15, 2026, or watch the presentation to Council.

Page last updated: 19 Aug 2026, 05:13 PM