Northlands Drive Accelerated Neighbourhood Traffic Calming

Following concerns from residents regarding speeding on Northlands Drive, a traffic calming study was conducted by the City of Ottawa in 2023. Review of traffic survey results and the traffic calming study have confirmed that Northlands Drive satisfied the criteria outlined by the City to begin the accelerated process of design and construction of the traffic calming measures.

In September 2023, online surveys were conducted to gather feedback about the conceptual plans and to ensure that there was a reasonable level of community support to initiate the study. A flyer was mailed to residents and the surrounding neighbourhoods to notify them about the upcoming study and about the online survey. The online surveys were available from September 11 to September 29, 2023 and 105 responses were received from Northlands Drive. The results of the online surveys are summarized in “As We Heard It Reports” and can be found below.

Based on the survey results and after receiving concurrence from the respective Ward Councillor, the decision was made to proceed with the design and construction phase of the project for Northlands Drive.

What: Work will involve the implementation of three (3) speed humps along Northlands Drive between Valin Street and Gardenway Drive. 

Why: The traffic calming measures will be installed to address vehicular speeding along Northlands Drive.

When: Construction is planned to begin in late fall 2024 and final completion is anticipated in spring 2025.

Where: Speed humps will be installed on Northlands Drive, between Valin Street and Gardenway Drive. Plans showing the locations of the proposed traffic calming measures can be found by following the website link provided above.  

Who: The City of Ottawa will be retaining a Contractor via a Request for Tender process. Additional information will be provided to residents closer to construction.  

Accessibility

Accessibility is an important consideration for the City of Ottawa. The City makes every effort to provide access through and around construction sites. If you require a disability-related accommodation, please contact the project manager. Accessible formats and communication supports are available, upon request.

Traffic management

Northlands Drive will have information and construction signs installed and maintained throughout the construction site for the duration of the work to keep you informed of the changing conditions. Expect some delays in your travel time over the course of the work. Significant effort is being made to reduce the duration of the construction impacts in your community. Access to local businesses and private properties will be maintained throughout the construction period. Access for pedestrians and cyclists will be maintained.

Impact on the right of way and adjacent private properties

The reconstruction is within the City’s right of way but may result in some disruption to part of the private property directly adjacent to the work. The City will reinstate sections of landscaping, driveways and walkways that are disturbed by construction; however, if you have plants or any other assets located within the City’s right of way that you want to preserve, we suggest that you may want to move them in preparation for the construction work.

Construction disruptions

The Contractor will take every precaution to minimize interruptions to the everyday life of your family and/or operation of your business, but as you can appreciate, there may be some inconvenience during the course of the construction work. We would like to thank you for your patience and co-operation. For construction activity hours of work, the City of Ottawa follows provincial requirements and the City’s Noise By-law (2017-255).

Safety

The City of Ottawa is committed to safety in and around project sites. The project team continues to work closely with the industry and to comply with recommendations provided by municipal, provincial and federal health officials, as well as the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development.

To obtain any additional information on this project, please contact the City’s Project Manager:

Joseph Lolli, P.Eng. 
Senior Engineer, Infrastructure Projects
Infrastructure and Water Services
Design and Construction - Municipal
100 Constellation Drive, Ottawa, ON K2G 6J8
T: 613-580-2424, ext. 21679

Northlands Drive between Valin Street and Gardenway Drive is currently on the City of Ottawa’s waiting list for a Neighbourhood Traffic Calming (NTC) study to address speeding concerns raised by residents. This location qualifies for an accelerated study that the City is piloting since it is classified as a local road and is not on a key emergency response route (as identified by Emergency Services) or on a transit route.

The accelerated NTC study process only considers simple measures such as speed humps which are among the most effective measures to reduce vehicle speeds along a roadway and can also be implemented relatively quickly compared to other types of traffic calming measures. For this reason, the benefit of the proposed accelerated NTC study process is that permanent roadway modifications to address speeding concerns can be implemented more quickly when compared to the regular NTC study process.

After reviewing the results of the online survey conducted in the fall of 2023, the decision was made to proceed with the detailed design and construction of this project. More information, including the “As We Heard It” report outlining the results of the survey is available in the “Online Consultation” section of this webpage.

Speed Humps

Speed humps are raised areas of the roadway, which cause vertical upward movement of traversing vehicles.

Pros

• Reduces vehicle speed at/near measure
• Relatively cost-effective and simple to design and implement
• Minimal modification of existing roadway geometry, less construction disruption
• Self-enforcing

Cons

• May increase traffic induced noise and vibrations
• May impact emergency response activities
• May increase vehicle travel time
• May cause discomfort to some drivers

Proposed Plan

The City has proposed the following conceptual plan to address the concerns raised along Northlands Drive and can be viewed in the image below or Proposed Plan [ PDF 2.992 MB ].

An online survey was conducted from September 11 to 29, 2023 to help determine the level of comfort within the community about the proposed plan on Northlands Drive.

The results of this survey can be viewed in detail in the As We Heard It (AWHI) report linked below:

Northland Drive As We Heard It Report [ PDF 1.213 MB ]

Overall, 60 per cent of respondents indicated they were very or somewhat comfortable with the proposed plan while 35 per cent indicated they were very or somewhat uncomfortable and 6 per cent indicated they were neutral. Based on these results, it was decided to proceed with the detailed design and construction phase of this project.