A collection of intertwined road closures, lane closures and a motor vehicle exclusion zone planned for Canada Day means drivers need to plan ahead and expect delays. (City of Ottawa)
Are you thinking of heading to LeBreton Flats Park or the Parliament Hill area for Canada Day?
As police expect hundreds of thousands of people to come to the center on Friday, the following streets will be closed to vehicles from 6 a.m. Friday, July 1, until early Saturday morning.
Officials said plans could be changed if necessary, and that people could follow governments and local media for updates. People have been asked to leave extra time, expect delays and consider free public transport on July 1 to improve traffic.
Think about Ottawa’s Friday forecast: a mixture of sun and cloud and a high temperature of 29 C, with humidity that makes it feel like the mid-30s at its peak. Chance of a Thunderstorm in the afternoon and a 40% chance of precipitation during the night.
Ottawa
While Wellington Street is blocked between Elgin and Bank streets by the weekly winter occupation, the road in front of Parliament Hill will also be closed at several other intersections.
Wellington’s closure will now extend as far as Sir John A. MacDonald Boulevard, which will itself be closed to Parkdale Avenue.
Closed road signs across Wellington Street from Parliament Hill on Monday. (Sean Kilpatrick / Canadian Press)
Bronson and Bank, Kent, Lyon and Bay and Commissioner streets will be closed north of Albert Street. Like Wellington, Metcalfe and O’Connor streets have also been closed north of Queen Street for months.
Queen is locked between Bank and O’Connor.
The Chaudière bridge will be closed to all users, while the Portage and Alexandra bridges will be closed to drivers only. The Champlain and Macdonald-Cartier bridges are the two Ottawa-Gatineau bridges for drivers.
Booth Street is blocked between the Chaudière Bridge and the Albert. The entire Vimy Place, which wraps around LeBreton Flats Park, will be closed.
On July 1, many customers will leave LeBreton Flats at the same time. To make your journey home smoother and safer, we ask customers to line up on Booth St. depending on their direction of travel. The lines will be marked with signs and staff. pic.twitter.com/6DxDxFCYHf
– @ OC_Transpo
The nearby Fleet Street should be closed between Booth and Lett streets. The entire Lett, Lloyd and Onigam streets will be closed.
On Friday night, Albert will close between Preston Street and Bronson at 9:00 p.m. to July 2 at 2 p.m.
Other streets west of downtown Ottawa and south of Albert will remain open to local traffic only, unless otherwise noted. They are marked in blue on the map above.
Pedestrians and cyclists will find that the central parts of the Ottawa River and the Trillium trails will be closed after 4:30 p.m.
There are also local closures for events in Barrhaven, Kanata, Mooney’s Bay, Orléans and Osgoode.
As in previous days in Canada, OC Transpo will offer a free service on July 1.
Exclusion zone for motor vehicles
As more anti-government protests are expected, Ottawa police have set up a vehicle exclusion zone – similar to the one created for the Rolling Thunder motorcycle rally in April.
The area, which is already in force, prohibits any vehicles from participating in rallies or protests. Other drivers can pass but cannot park, and people can turn or enter.
It extends west on Albert Street to Bayview Station and east to ByWard Market only on July 1, as seen on the map at the top of the story.
The exclusion zone will last at least until 6 am on Monday, July 4.
People who park in the no-go zone can be ticked and towed. (Buntola Nou / CBC)
Gatineau
On the Ottawa River side of Quebec, celebrations are planned for Canada Day at the Place des festivals Zibi with more road closures for vehicles.
Rue Laurier closes between Alexandre-Taché and Maisonneuve boulevards, starting at 6 a.m.; and Alexander-Tasche between Montcalm and Lorie streets.
Parts of Rues Eddy, Saint-Jacques, Laval and Jos-Montferrand will be closed.
Like OC Transpo, the Société de transport de l’Outaouais offers a free service.
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