The National Capital Commission is opening up more of its parkways for active transportation this summer with an expansion to the popular pilot program.
The NCC is expanding its traditional Sunday Bikedays to a two-day affair in 2021.
From May 1 to Oct. 11, the following sections of NCC-owned parkways in Ottawa will be closed off to motor vehicles on weekends:
- both westbound lanes of the Sir John A. Macdonald Parkway between Vimy Avenue to Carling Avenue from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
- both lanes of the Sir George-Étienne Cartier Parkway between Aviation Parkway and St. Joseph Boulevard from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
- both lanes of the Queen Elizabeth Driveway between Fifth Avenue and Somerset Street from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
In addition to the Weekend Bikedays, the Crown corporation says it will close off certain sections of its roadways 24-7 this summer.
Between May 3 and June 30, the same section of Queen Elizabeth Driveway will be open for active transportation only every day from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Similarly, from July 2 to Sept. 6, a section of Colonel By Drive will open between Daly Avenue and Canal Woods Terrace for 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The typical Bikedays services, such as tune-up stations and water refills, will not be offered this year amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
A similar pilot project in Gatineau Park will see the Champlain, Gatineau, Fortune Lake and Mackenzie King parkways also reserved for active use this summer, starting May 1.
These parkways will be closed off to motor vehicles all week except for Wednesdays, Sundays and Saturdays after 1 p.m., at which point cars will share the road with cyclists and pedestrians until half an hour before close.
There will still be 21 parking lots and 10 picnic sites accessible by cars in Gatineau Park at all times during the pilot project.
A full schedule for Gatineau Park closures is available on the NCC’s website.
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