A pilot project to give Ottawa residents extra space to walk or cycle along some of the city’s most scenic roadways will continue through to Labour Day, the National Capital Commission announced Tuesday.
The Crown corporation, which oversees numerous roads, parks and other recreational sites in Ottawa, first said it would daily close off a portion of the Queen Elizabeth Driveway (QED) to vehicle traffic in April amid calls from residents seeking more space to physically distance outdoors during the novel coronavirus pandemic.
The success of that pilot project gave rise to partial weekend closures on the westbound Sir John A. Macdonald and Sir George-Étienne Cartier parkways starting in May.
Closures of both the QED and the two parkways will now stretch until Sept. 7, keeping the same hours as before: Daily from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on the Queen Elizabeth and weekends from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the parkways.
The NCC notes the QED closures will remain in effect over holidays, though the closures of the Sir John A. Macdonald and Sir George-Étienne Cartier parkways will not be in place over Canada Day.
The NCC sent out another tweet Tuesday afternoon confirming closures of three parkways in Gatineau Park would also extend until Labour Day.
The NCC says the combination of these closures now reserves as much as 54 per cent of its total parkways for pedestrians, cyclists and other active transportation users on weekends.
Beaches at Lac Leamy and in Gatineau Park are also now open, the NCC announced via Twitter on Monday.
Lifeguards will be on duty from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. at Gatineau Park’s beaches and for an extra hour at Lac Leamy. The Parent and Smith beaches remain closed to anyone not camping at Lac Philippe this summer.
Parking fees at these beaches will be in effect as of July 2.