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Should we kill the Ottawa Queensway?
 Not all of it, just the section between the 416 and the 17/417 split.
The Queensway was conceived in the '50's and constructed in the '60's. It is a relic of a by-gone era - a good idea at the time but, now hopelessly outdated.
It slices through established neighborhoods, cutting them off from each other, in a manner akin to the Berlin Wall...should it suffer the same fate?
It creates massive pollution in the centre of the city. Air pollution and light pollution all year round, salt pollution during the winter.
It creates serious noise pollution. A steady din can be heard, up to a mile away, all year round.
It is a massive misuse of that most valuable of resources...time. Productivity is savaged by daily commutes of upwards of 2 hours, more if anything other than the usual overcapacity is involved.
A very strong case can be made that, during "rush hour" the road is completely dysfunctional. It only works when people aren't using it.
What should we do with it? Some say, "add more lanes." Nope, been tried in California, doesn't work. "Dedicate it to public transit only." Possibly but, it is total overkill for that and would still slice the city in half.
Since the Queensway did not use an existing Right-of-Way, why not return the land to its original use, reconnect existing neighborhoods, reinstate the Carling Ave. streetcar line and create a new Ottawa bypass south of Manotick.
What say you? |
