Update: Construction and Traffic in Richmond
Many residents in Richmond have reached out to me to express concerns regarding traffic issues and community access, particularly in the Fox Run community. As a Richmond resident and someone who goes through the intersection of Perth and Meynell 4 times a day to attend to farm chores, I share in the community’s frustration with the delays that have been experienced, particularly at peak hours.
I wanted to provide a quick note on what is going on and what my office and I are doing to address it.
Why are there such significant traffic delays at Perth and Meynell? How long will the delays last?
Construction is occurring at Perth and Meynell to build a roundabout, sidewalks, streetlights, and other attendant infrastructure. Though I certainly recognize that the construction is disruptive, what is being constructed is vitally-needed infrastructure for the community and I am pleased that it is proceeding.
For some background, I prepared a few updates for the community last November:
In those updates, I discuss how this roundabout should have been built a long time ago. It is one part of a number of road modifications which will occur in the west-end of Richmond as part of the Fox Run development. The developer is ultimately responsible for its timely completion.
One of the major reasons why the project could not have been completed last year was due to a lack of available construction crews. I was successful in pushing for subterranean work to proceed last year, which has sped up this year’s timeline, and I pushed hard for construction to start early, which it did and which will limit the overlap of the concurrent work. When the roundabout was delayed, I engaged with City staff and partners like OSTA to make a number of alterations to the intersection to improve safety in the area too.
I remain engaged on the matter and will continue advocating for the safety of residents in the area and their predictable access to and from the community.
The roundabout is set to be completed by the end of June.
What is the Councillor doing to improve traffic delays in the area?
Working with City staff, I am exploring greater time of day restrictions for construction work near peak traffic hours. Though some of the site work may be able to be completed outside peak hours, I have been told that too many time of day restrictions will result in project delays, which ultimately does not serve the community’s interests as it will drag along the project for a longer period of time.
I have engaged again on this to see if there is any flexibility that can be applied.
Changes to the work schedule might sound good right now, but given the backlog of other infrastructure projects in the village and across the ward, changes are likely to create delays that only serve to create more of these kinds of pressures in the long run. Indeed, this issue with concurrent construction in the village is a consequence of delays. As a result, the best way forward is to endure this challenge in the short term, but as I said, I have asked the project lead to consider what measures can be undertaken to improve traffic flows during peak hours while the work proceeds.
Local traffic to and from Fox Run has no other access to the community. As a result, I would encourage non-local drivers who can avoid using the intersection to do so as this will ultimately improve speed for everyone. Those wishing to avoid the intersection when transiting through the village may consider detouring on Huntley, Garvin, and Joy’s Road.
Why is part Ottawa Street West closed and how long will that closure be for?
Ottawa Street West from Fortune Street to Sangeet Place will be closed from Monday, 13 May 2024 to Monday, 30 December 2024 for storm sewer and utility work as part of Mattamy’s development south of Ottawa Street. Due to the amount of work that is being done, a delay to this work is not possible.
Given the concurrent closures, are there concerns with respect to emergency vehicle access?
With respect to emergency vehicles, I have confirmed that they are able to by-pass the closure on Ottawa Street. Indeed, emergency services were consulted before the closures were approved and they signed off on the plan. Had they had concerns about their ability to access the community, the plan would not have been approved.
Why is there additional heavy vehicle traffic and parking on Queen Charlotte Street? What is the Councillor doing about it?
Some construction vehicles have been using Queen Charlotte Street for staging some of their equipment as they continue to work on the nearby projects. We have also seen some through-traffic of heavy vehicles on the street that are seeking to get around the intersection at Perth and Meynell.
The project lead on the file has been engaged on this and I have requested that it be communicated to the construction teams that Queen Charlotte not be used as a detour. I have also requested that the City look into resurfacing near the fall to correct the road given the damage that it has sustained from heavy vehicles.
What does the Councillor think about all this construction work?
I know that the traffic delays are frustrating. The silver lining is that, after years of infrastructure deficit, we are finally getting the infrastructure built that the village desperately needs; I have been pushing very hard on getting things built and was elected on that agenda. I am glad to see that this is coming to fruition, but I regret that the simultaneous growing pains of building this necessary infrastructure are creating issues for the community.
We will be better for it in the long run, but I completely understand that’s a small consolation prize when you’re stuck in traffic.
Changes to the work schedule might sound good right now, but given the backlog of other infrastructure projects in the village and across the ward, changes are likely to create delays that only serve to create more of these kinds of pressures in the long run. Indeed, this issue with concurrent construction in the village is a consequence of delays.
As a result, the best way forward is to endure this challenge in the short term, but as I said, I have asked the project lead to consider what measures can be undertaken to improve traffic flows during peak hours while the work proceeds.
I have additional questions that are not addressed here. Where can I reach out to?
My office and I are here to help. Please reach out any time via email at ward21@ottawa.ca.