Manotick Village & Community Association

November 2023

Every year MVCA submits requests to our Councillors for consderation at budget time.  Here is this year's submission

2024 Budget Requests

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August 2023

In August, MVCA coordinated volunteers to study the truck traffic on both the Vimy Bridge and in Manotick to assess any changes that may have occurred since our original Truck Survey in 2021.  More details will be forthcoming.  For now, you can find preliminary findings through this link:

2023 MVCA Truck Study Preliminary Findings document

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Councillor Brown coordinated a meeting with Mayor Sutcliffe in Manotick to discuss concerns regarding truck traffic.  MVCA was invited to participate as well.  The document referenced above was shared as part of the conversation with the Councillor and Mayor.  

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February 2023

Councillor Brown conducted a Ward survey on the topic of public transportation.  Click here for a summary of the results of that survey.

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2023 Budget:  MVCA is given opportunity to submit requests for consideration for the annual City budget through our Councillor's office.  Budget requests to the City of Ottawa are required to relate to specific local funding items such as sidewalks, road extensions or resurfacing or crosswalks

Click HERE to read the 2023 submission

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January 2023

On January 10, Councillor Brown and a representative from the Mayor’s office dedicated to addressing Manotick’s truck traffic issues, joined the MVCA Board in our first meeting of 2023. The purpose of the conversation was to rekindle discussions concerning truck traffic in Manotick, and reaffirm election commitments from both offices to work on these issues. While there are no significant updates at this time, MVCA remains steadfast on this as one of our key priorities for 2023. Updates will posted here as available.

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September 2022

Status 

MVCA's Truck Study was released in the fall of 2021.  It reported MVCA observations of truck volume through the village.  The action was taken due to resident frustration over the lack of progress toward ways to mitigate volumes and the negative impact it has on students at Manotick Public school, seniors living on Bridge Street and residents in the area.  

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MVCA has been working for years to find solutions including lobbying for the extension of Earl Armstrong Road, ensuring any new warehouse projects included an assessment of traffic impacts on villages and starting the process of addressing this through the development of the new Transportation Master Plan.  

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In 2021, we sent our report to the Mayor, City Councillors and media. We also encouraged residents to write to the Mayor and many residents did that. The subsequent media attention also spurred action from Mayor Watson who asked City staff to work with Councillor Moffatt on solutions. 

 

Two actions came out of those discussions:

1. the City is looking at restricting truck traffic through the Village between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m.  

2. The City hired a consultant to do a functional review of the intersection at Bridge and Main to improve pedestrian safety. 

 

We have received no word to date on either of those projects. We are continuing to push for earlier funding of the extension of Earl Armstrong Road and to include our input on truck traffic in the Transportation Master Plan consultations.

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September 2021

MVCA releases the 2021 Truck Survey Report

About 800 large trucks go through the intersection at Bridge and Main every week day. Those are the results of a truck survey conducted last spring by the Board of the Manotick Village and Community Association.

The survey, taken over several weeks at different times of the day, tracked the volume of Class 8 trucks (flatbeds, dump trucks, transports, floats, container trucks and cement trucks). It did not count smaller trucks (vans, pickups or quarter tons) or passenger vehicles.

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The survey also tracked the number of pedestrians and cyclists using that intersection and the number of trucks who cut across the sidewalk at that intersection. The report shows that approximately 14 people per hour wait at that intersection to cross the street and approximately 8 large trucks cut across the sidewalk each hour.

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The MVCA decided to do the survey to convince the City to re-examine Bridge Street as part of the City’s truck route network due to the dangers to pedestrians and cyclists as well as the detrimental impact of the noise and noxious fumes on area residents and businesses. It has lobbied for years for changes to the truck route and has also conducted two walkability audits in the Village core which have highlighted the dangers to pedestrians at the Bridge/Main intersection.

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The report highlights the danger to the health of residents who live along the route, particularly the seniors living in two seniors’ buildings and the students at Manotick Public School. Studies have shown that people who live adjacent to truck routes suffer higher incidences of cancer, respiratory illnesses like asthma, and cardiovascular and respiratory mortality.

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The report also looks at alternative routes for trucks in the south end. For example, Earl Armstrong/Strandherd is a four lane road that is also designated a truck route as is Roger Stevens Drive which does not go through villages east of Highway 416. However, the survey showed that Manotick carries the majority of the truck volume. There were 90 trucks going through Manotick per hour as compared to 50 trucks at Vimy Bridge and 38 at Roger Stevens Drive at River Road.

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So, what are the next steps? The MVCA is asking the City to remove the truck route designation from Bridge and Main (other than for local traffic), install safety bollards on the corners of Bridge and Main to protect pedestrians, and improve access to Earl Armstrong for industrial trucks coming from the east end so they have a safer, more suitable route.

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If you have questions or comments, please send them to president@manotickvca.org

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Click HERE to read the full document

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March 2021

MVCA has been made aware of construction vehicles speeding on Bridgeport Avenue. We have been in contact with both Minto and the City regarding this issue. In addition to addressing the speed concerns, Minto will monitor and inform tradespeople that they are required to use the Century Road entrance to the work site.

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January 2021

Message from MVCA President, Grace Thrasher

Although we have been successful in getting the installation of the speed boards and a reduction in speed to 40 kmh on Bridge Street and Main Street, as well as a stop light at Bridge and Dickinson to make it easier for seniors to cross Bridge Street, we continue to deal with increasing truck traffic and wide load trucks that hang over the sidewalk and cut the northeast and south east corners at Bridge and Main endangering the lives of pedestrians.

 

Every year, we present submissions calling for implementation of solutions to reduce the truck traffic including addressing safety issues for pedestrians at the corner of Bridge and Main Street with the installation of bollards, moving forward with the Multi-use pathway on the south side of Bridge Street, and installing radar cameras on Bridge Street.

 

Our last submission for Budget 2021 resulted in the following response from City staff to reducing truck traffic by removing the truck route designation:

 

“Unfortunately, the City is unable to remove this link from the truck route network without first undertaking a comprehensive study to determine the impacts on the greater network. Changes of this magnitude can only be accomplished as part of a broader review of the overall Truck Route Policy at the Transportation Master Plan level.”

 

Although we can continue to lobby for the removal of Bridge Street as a truck route, it would require Council approval for a study of truck volumes. In the meantime, we continue to put forward this request as part of City consultations on budget and transportation.

 

The MVCA is also working with Councillor Moffatt to support a pilot project on ways to reduce the volume of trucks travelling across Bridge St. by implementing time of day or size of truck restrictions. For example, the volume of trucks is higher in off-peak hours when the number of pedestrians increase on our sidewalks. This project is in addition to ongoing discussions about instituting more safety measures at the intersection of Bridge and Main to prevent longer and wider trucks from cutting that corner, causing a safety issue for pedestrians. The City has indicated they will be reviewing this issue as part of the Pedestrian Safety Program.

 

We have already provided the City staff with studies that show the detrimental impact that truck traffic has on the health of residents living on or near to truck routes and have also noted the need to consider the impact of industrial development in rural areas as this increases the volume of trucks driving through rural villages. And we will continue to do so at every opportunity.

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March 2019

Earl Armstrong Road Extension EA 20 Mar /19 report from MVCA Board Member, John Harrison

On Mar 20, I attended the above meeting intended for community associations and those directly affected by the proposed extension.

In attendance were myself, Bruce Lindsay from the Riverside Community Association , Carol Ann Meahan, Councillor and two families directed affected by the proposed extension to Hawthorne Rd.

The following items are of note :

1. The EA is based on the Master Transportation Plan which calls for east -west extension of Earl Armstrong only to Hawthorne Rd. This extension is not budgeted until 2031 unless council directs otherwise.

2. There are two studies that indicating that the trucks from the proposed waste disposal site at Boundary Rd  won’t use this extension of Earl Armstrong as it is too far south.  It is the city’s view that any future  extension of Earl Armstrong will end at 417 north of Boundary Rd . Thus these trucks will use Mitch Owens. I’ve asked for copies of these two studies which I will share.

   Recommendations

1. The MVCA along with Councillor Moffatt need to get confirmation in writing that trucks from the proposed waste disposal site will avoid going through Manotick.

2. The MVCA continue to monitor this EA and once we receive these studies mentioned above, determine their validity.

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