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A contentious plan to build sidewalks in Ottawa’s Manor Park neighbourhood will go ahead after the area’s city councillor lost his last-ditch attempt to pare back the project.
City staff have long recommended building sidewalks on four quiet residential streets west of St. Laurent Boulevard as part of planned sewer, water and road work.
That follows city policy to add sidewalks to local roads in tandem with other work to save money and gradually build out a pedestrian network.
But a group of residents have opposed the plan, saying the sidewalks are unnecessary on safe roads with little traffic. They say sidewalks will harm trees and are more urgently needed elsewhere on busier roads and near a local school.
Rideau-Rockcliffe Coun. Rawlson King managed to get the sidewalks repeatedly delayed, but the plan passed at a public works and infrastructure committee last week.
Wednesday’s council meeting was King’s last chance to weigh in on the plan, and he didn’t waste it. He introduced a motion to remove sidewalks from sections of Arundel Avenue and Kilbarry Crescent that he called lower priority.
“The question for the community has always been around sequencing and prioritization,” he said, arguing that the area’s traffic needs have not been sufficiently studied.
But council shot down the motion in a 16-7 vote.
Rideau-Rockcliffe Coun. Rawlson King attends a committee meeting on Sept. 24, 2024. (Francis Ferland/CBC)
Kitchissippi Coun. Jeff Leiper said the chance to fold sidewalks into larger projects comes rarely, and councillors may regret failing to seize it now.
“If we don’t take the opportunity to put sidewalks in when we do the street rebuilds, we are not going to have that opportunity again for 70 or 80 or 90 years,” he said.
Alta Vista Coun. Marty Carr spoke of the importance of accessibility.
“We try to build things for everyone, so if we can build things that make a difference in one or two people’s lives, that is what is important here,” she said. “I do think when there are people representing to us and telling us what their needs are, we need to listen.”
Mayor Mark Sutcliffe supported King’s motion. He called it a difficult decision and said he understands both sides of the debate.
“I do understand the points that were made by my other colleagues on council who were saying, ‘Look, we can’t make an exception here, we have rules,'” he said. “We apply them universally and we don’t want a situation where every neighborhood is different.”