Overview
The City of Ottawa is conducting a Local Neighbourhood Traffic Calming (NTC) study along North River Road (between Donald Street and south of Wright Street) due to concerns raised by the residents about speeding, pedestrian safety, and aggressive driver behavior.
The purpose of an NTC study is to address community concerns related to traffic on existing local and minor collector streets within neighborhoods. The NTC studies do not involve the redesign and/or reconstruction of an entire street but focus on key localized roadway modifications and/or spot retrofits. Previous NTC studies have resulted in the implementation of various traffic calming measures and/or other permanent roadway modifications.
There are three phases of the NTC study process: the pre-study phase, the study phase, and the implementation phase.
Pre-study
- Identify request's chief concern
- Screen request
- Prioritize request
Study
- Determine community support and confirm concerns (we are here)
- Preliminary investigation
- Develop a traffic calming plan
Implementation
- Confirm funding
- Design and construction
- Monitoring and evaluation
North River Road is currently in the “study phase". It passed screening (i.e. qualification criteria for this type of project based on existing traffic data) and is now currently at the top of the NTC program’s priority list. If it is deemed that there is enough community support, the study would proceed with further analysis of the feedback obtained through the online survey and current traffic conditions. Together, with community participation, the city would typically make recommendations for various types of permanent traffic calming measures suitable for the character and constraints of the street. Some potential traffic calming measures include speed humps, speed cushions, speed tables, bulb-outs, intersection narrowing, mini-roundabout etc. Potential impacts, both positive and negative, of the proposed options would be discussed before a recommended plan is selected. Please note there is potential that some on-street parking could be removed adjacent to some types of proposed traffic calming measures.
Once the study recommendations have been finalized and funding secured, the approved traffic calming plan would proceed to design and construction in the “implementation” phase. It should be noted that the entire process from study initiation to final construction can take several years to complete.
Existing Traffic Calming Measures
There are some existing permanent traffic calming measures (speed humps, road narrowing) along different sections of North River Rd as shown on the image below. These measures were implemented in the past through the other City programs.
- Speed hump between Donald St. and Columbus Ave. (implemented in 2022)
- Speed hump between Glynn Ave. and King George St. (implemented in 2022)
- Speed hump between Drouin Ave. and West Presland Rd. (implemented in 2007/2009)
- Speed hump between West Presland Rd. and Wright St. (implemented in 2007/2009)
- Narrowing at the intersections of North River Rd / Drouin Ave. , North River Rd./West Presland Rd. (implemented in 2007/2009)
- Narrowing on a section between Wright St and West Presland Rd., West Presland Rd. and Drouin Ave (implemented in 2007/2009)
Online Survey
In order to evaluate whether there is a reasonable level of support to proceed with the NTC study that could recommend additional traffic calming measures and/or to gather feedback on your concerns related to traffic along North River Road, we strongly encourage you to complete the Online Survey by September 29, 2023. This feedback will help us identify specific areas of concern along North River Road and will help us develop potential solutions to address these traffic concerns.