Ottawa's decision to replace the Alexandra Bridge dates back to the 2019 budget. Since then, Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) has been working with the National Capital Commission (NCC) to plan the project. Almost five years later and despite all the objections of those who want the old bridge to be restored and preserved, the government has chosen to replace it despite its recognized “national historic significance”.
Gatineau Mayor France Bélisle accepts this decision. “It's a safety issue,” she said, echoing the sentiments of the engineers responsible for the file. However, this also entails the burden of rebuilding a symbolic bridge, because it connects the two inner cities of the federal capital.”
This claim that the condition of the time-honored steel bridge no longer allows its preservation is due to the fact that the federal government wants to maintain car traffic on the bridge, countered several speakers. “There is certainly a cost involved in fully restoring the bridge,” said David Jeanes, a member of Heritage Ottawa’s board. We were not convinced that this was not possible. They said it would be costly and the lifespan of the bridge would be limited after this work. These estimates are based on current car traffic, but we see little need for car traffic on this bridge. We have the example at the moment, it has been closed to car traffic for a year and has no major impact.
Mayor Bélisle disagrees. The impact of the Alexandra Bridge closure is being felt every day, she said. The president of the Gatineau Chamber of Commerce, Stéphane Bisson, does not hesitate to talk about “monster traffic jams” on Maisonneuve Boulevard on weekday mornings. “Are we removing lanes on the Alexandra Bridge when we are already seeing the congestion it is causing? I’m not sure,” says the mayor of Gatineau.
Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe did not respond to our request for an interview.
The Quebec spokesman for the Coalition for the Alexandra Bridge, Claude Royer, remains convinced to this day that eliminating vehicle capacity on the Alexandra Bridge and reserving the infrastructure only for active and collective transport would allow its preservation. “It is an almost political project,” he says. People don’t want to see this option, even if it is the way of the future and the most effective.”
Lack of imagination
If open [il a été fermé 25% du temps depuis 2009]The Alexandra Bridge accounts for 9% of interprovincial car crossings. Making it an effective connection reserved for public and active transport would allow many more people to get there than the 10% stuck in traffic, Mr Royer believes. “The current project feels like a missed opportunity on several levels,” he says. There is a lack of imagination. We refuse to consider multiple options.
Downtown Gatineau City Councilor and Action Gatineau Director Steve Moran believes the information currently available does not allow him to rule on the impossibility of preserving the Alexandra Bridge. “We are told that all engineers agree, but have they asked themselves the real question? he asks. If we accepted less traffic on this bridge, could it continue? We have to ask ourselves whether we want to maintain vehicle capacity on this bridge. We have to know our regional needs. We're talking about two of 19 vehicle routes that cross the Ottawa River. There are only three that prioritize public transport. We want to make a green transition towards sustainable transport. Can you imagine Alexandra Bridge no longer accepting cars? We really need to ask ourselves this question.”
Ottawa's Rideau-Vanier district councilor Stéphanie Plante still had not read the articles of the law when asked for comment this week.
The director of the MOBI-O organization, Patrick Robert-Meunier, believes that the answer to this question has existed for a long time and that it is contained in the development plan of the city of Gatineau and the transportation master plan of the city of Ottawa. “Everyone agrees on reducing the share of traffic driven by cars,” he remembers. The problem is that when it comes to concrete decisions, there is a discrepancy between the regional vision and the decisions. It's a lack of consistency. We give ourselves plans and goals that we want to achieve, and when it comes time to be consistent, we aren't. Is it fear of the population's reaction? We won’t be able to change the way people do things without provoking reactions.”
Mr Robert-Meunier doesn't go so far as to say that the federal government's planned replacement of the Alexandra Bridge is a bad project, “but it is clearly not the project we need for the 21st century,” he says. He says this project in the heart of the federal capital is the perfect opportunity to ask ourselves whether Ottawa and Gatineau really need to maintain this vehicle capacity. “If we want to reduce the number of cars on our roads in the future, we cannot achieve this by dedicating lanes to cars.”
Unavoidable construction site, inadequate water taxis
The possibility of building a temporary active transport connection parallel to the Alexandra Bridge during the duration of the work appears to have been abandoned by those responsible for the project. Instead, they are exploring the possibility of expanding this connection along the Cartier-Macdonald Bridge further east. Gatineau's mayor believes this is not an effective option and that the federal government must ensure an active connection between the two city centers.
The head of Action Gatineau agrees. “Let’s see,” he says. I do active transports. I walk. I'll take my bike. People won’t triple their distance to connect to the Macdonald-Cartier Bridge, that’s not true.”
There is no consensus about the proposed water taxis that would commute between the two banks. “It is an entertainment solution to entertain casual tourists,” says Claude Royer. This is not a mobility solution for employees and students. That’s far-fetched.” The MOBI-O organization is no longer enthusiastic about the idea of these water taxis. “I see no alternative to a real active connection,” says Robert-Meunier. We don't know what the frequencies would be or if it would be free. The current proposed plan will only reduce the attractiveness of active transport to cross the river.”
For Gatineau MP Steven MacKinnon, the solution to interprovincial congestion is largely a new bridge east of Gatineau. Since entering politics almost a decade ago, he has also been campaigning for this sixth bridge. “The replacement of the Alexandra Bridge will present many challenges in terms of traffic, public transport and others in the region,” he said earlier in the week. I know there is a plan that has been offered by Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) and there are many decisions that need to be made. I'm glad they're focusing on traffic relief measures, but I don't think that will be enough. The Government has acknowledged this in my colleague's mandate letter in its previous budgets [Jean-Yves] Duclos, the need to continue building a new connection in the National Capital Region. This is a topic that has been studied for decades, even 60 years. The government has to make a decision here too.”
Economic benefits and signaling
Gatineau Chamber of Commerce President Stéphane Bisson sees the replacement of the Alexandra Bridge as “good news from an economic perspective” for Gatineau. He acknowledges that the tourism industry could suffer in the years that the work continues, but adds that the economic activity that a project of this scale will generate will be significant.
“These are engineering offices that come to the region and want to rent office space,” he states. A crowd of workers will come to the region to work on this construction site. All of them will stimulate economic activity in the region. In addition, there are the projects for the hospital and the tram, which could be realized at the same time. The region will become a vacuum cleaner that will attract a lot of workers. They need to be accommodated. This housing issue needs to be addressed now.”
With Antoine Trépanier and Julien Paquette