Functional design of Richmond Road

The City of Ottawa has initiated the Functional Design of Richmond Road to recommend a context sensitive design for the roadway between Bayshore Drive and Pinecrest Road as shown in the figure below following a complete streets approach. The City of Ottawa will be undertaking roadway resurfacing works and sidewalk renewal with the precise limits determined at the time of detailed design. The study process will involve developing, assessing and evaluating alternatives for the corridor for this roadway segment including the enhancement of existing pedestrian facilities and the addition of new cycling facilities.

The existing configuration of Richmond Road is generally a two-lane arterial road with sidewalks on both sides. There is a missing sidewalk link on the north side of Richmond Road between Bayshore Drive and Ridgevalley Drive. The existing sidewalks do not meet current standards in a variety of regards, including surface material (a number of segments are asphalt instead of concrete), width, lack of concrete curb to divide it from the roadway and detailing at side streets (lack of TWSIs and non-compliant depressed curb details). There are currently no dedicated cycling facilities at present however, paved shoulders exist in certain segments, which may be used by cyclists.

The study is being undertaken in consideration of Ontario’s Environmental Assessment Act, fulfilling the requirements of the Municipal Class EA process that may apply. Interested persons can provide comments throughout the study process. Any comments received will be collected under the EA Act, with the exception of personal information, will become part of the public record.

For further information or to provide comments, please contact:

Andrew Eagen, P.Eng.
Project Manager, Cycling and Walking Programs
Active Transportation Planning Department
City of Ottawa
110 Laurier Avenue West
Ottawa, Ontario K1P 1J1
Email: andrew.eagen@ottawa.ca
613-580-2424, ext. 13256

A virtual public open house was held Monday December 13, 2021 at 6:30 pm. Comments were received during the open house and also via email following the open house.

Support for the project centred on:

• Safer cycling facilities
• New sidewalks and safer pedestrian facilities
• Reduced lane widths
• Speed management on Richmond
• Protected intersection at Grenon Avenue

The main concerns associated with the project and the project team’s responses are as follows.

The design features on-street cycling facilities (bike lanes) as opposed to raised cycle tracks in some segments. 

The design will be revised, including the conversion of a number of segments of buffer bike lane to cycle tracks where sufficient width is available. It is estimated that 72% of the corridor within the project limits (Bayshore Drive to High Street) will have cycle tracks. The revised design will be posted here in the coming months.

The cycling facilities do not extend through the intersection of Richmond Road and Pinecrest Road and instead sharrows are used immediately west of Pinecrest Road.

Planning is underway for future connectivity to the east, including cycling facilities crossing Pinecrest Road and Carling Avenue, with the goal of connecting to the existing bike lanes on Richmond Road east of Carling Avenue.

The design does not include a mid-block pedestrian crossing between Grenon Avenue and Pinecrest Road.

The desire for a pedestrian crossing between Grenon and Pinecrest has been heard. The funding for this project is identified specifically for renewal of the existing road and sidewalk surfaces and the addition of cycling infrastructure. A separate City program exists to add new traffic signals which prioritizes locations on a warrant basis. It was determined that a PXO is not suitable for this location, and that pedestrian volumes at this location are currently too low to warrant a traffic signal pedestrian crossing. An updated pedestrian count will be requested in the coming year to see if pedestrian volumes have increased sufficiently to meet the warrant.

The design has limited signalized crossing opportunities for cyclists throughout the 1.3km stretch of Richmond Road.

The proposed partially protected intersection at Grenon Avenue includes features to accommodate cyclist crossing in the middle of this segment. Planning is underway for improvements at Bayshore Drive and Pinecrest Road which will provide additional crossing opportunities at each end of the segment.

The posted speed limit of 60km/h should be lowered.

The design includes speed management measures that are appropriate for an arterial road, with the goal of reducing operating speeds. Post-construction speed data will help determine the appropriate posted speed limit in accordance with City’s Speed Zone Policy.

The design has been revised, taking into account feedback received during and after the open house. This concludes the functional design process. Further public consultation will take place during the preliminary and detailed design process.

Roll plan revised design - Bayshore to Pincrest [ PDF 12.815 MB ]

Modifications to the intersection of Richmond Road and Bayshore Drive are being undertaken separately by the Stage 2 LRT project.

Further study has been performed to determine the stormwater management enhancements required to support the proposed functional design. The functional design roll plan has been updated to reflect the proposed storm sewers and to show the Stage 2 LRT project’s current planned modifications to the intersection of Richmond Road and Bayshore Drive. In the next design stage of the project, opportunities to phase the work will be evaluated in order to maintain the best possible active transportation connections while staying within available budgets. To mitigate project costs associated with changing drainage patterns of the existing roadway, the use of interim measures such as maintaining paved shoulders with new pinned curb separation will be considered for the section of Richmond Road south of Highfield Crescent.