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Traffic lights return as Wellington Street reopening likely just weeks away

Blocked off to most motorized vehicles since the 2022 convoy protests, the busy street in front of Parliament Hill could see regular traffic return by the end of April or early May, the City of Ottawa says.

Barricades have kept most traffic away since 2022 convoy protests

CBC News ·
A white truck equipped with a lift so crews can do work above the ground is parked on a downtown street on a sunny day.
City of Ottawa crews work on the traffic lights on Wellington Street at Metcalfe Street on Thursday. Wellington has been shut down to most vehicles in front of Parliament Hill since last winter's convoy protests, but a plan is underway to reopen it. (Trevor Pritchard/CBC)

A blocked-off stretch of Wellington Street in front of Parliament Hill could reopen to motorized vehicles by the end of this month, the City of Ottawa says.

Barricades have kept most vehicles off of Wellington for more than a year, ever since hordes of large trucks and other vehicles descended on Ottawa's downtown core during the 2022 convoy protests.

But this week, crews were out reinstalling traffic lights — one of the necessary steps to get the road completely reopened, according to Phil Landry, the city's director of traffic services.

"At this time, the city anticipates that Wellington Street will reopen to vehicular traffic sometime in late April or early May," Landry said in a statement Thursday.

"As there are factors outside of staff's control, primarily weather conditions, we are not in a position to provide an exact date at this time."

Two men in orange construction gear work on traffic lights.
Two men work on the traffic lights on Wellington Street on Thursday. (Trevor Pritchard/CBC)

Bike lane part of plan

City council voted in February in favour of reopening Wellington to traffic, while also giving themselves leeway to convert it back to its current pedestrian-only status for special events — potentially as soon as this summer.

At that time, council was told the earliest the barricades could come down was March 1.

The plan also involves adding a temporary bike lane on Wellington between Sussex Drive and Lyon Street, using painted lines and flex stakes.

The street will likely lose two lanes to accommodate the resulting bike traffic, transportation committee chair Coun. Tim Tierney said in February.

Landry said if the weather co-operates, crews could begin installing pavement markings as soon as next week.

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