POLICY BRIEF: No More Trucks on King Edward Avenue

King Edward Avenue Task Force, 2012

Purpose
King Edward Avenue has been used as a temporary truck route by the City of Ottawa for over four decades. The time has come for consideration to be given to alternatives until a new east end interprovincial bridge is built. This document provides a number of innovative solutions. Use Delivery Sized Trucks Only
If Ottawa were a European city, then there would be no question about the size of trucks on our city streets. Most European cities have streets that are too narrow to accommodate the smallest of North American trucks. In Ontario, the provincial ministry of transportation has supported the approach of allowing larger and larger trucks on our roads. Unfortunately, those same provincial policies that work well for our highways between cities have completely disregarded the effects on trucks going through our cities. Large trucks delivering to cities should drop off their loads at regional distribution centers outside the city, while those moving through the city should be limited to smaller trucks until an urban bypass highway is built.

A Straight Truck Versus a Tractor-Trailor Combination Truck

Source: Ontario: Highway Traffic Act.

Ban Trucks During Certain Hours

Consideration could be given to reducing the hours during which trucks are allowed to travel along King Edward Avenue. They could be limited to outside the busiest hours of the day, during the night, or possibly even on weekends. Banning trucks during the busiest traffic hours of the day would reduce the potential of pedestrian incidents and reduce congestion. It would also promote the more efficient use of the roadway by diverting trucks to the less busy hours of the day.

Permit System
This option involves developing a permit system for trucks using King Edward Avenue. Currently, the City of Ottawa only allows trucks on certain streets, but trucks can use other streets if they have a special permit. A combination of approaches could be taken. For example, the designation of King Edward Avenue as a truck route could be limited to smaller trucks or removed completely from the truck road network. Truckers would only be allowed to use King Edward Avenue by obtaining a special permit. This would encourage truckers to use smaller trucks, look for alternative routes outside the city, help the city keep better track of the truck movements on King Edward, and provide funding to mitigate the negative effects of the trucks on residents and businesses in the downtown. Revenues collected could be used to improve the streetscape and safety along King Edward Avenue and Rideau Street.

Fact: Current City of Ottawa and National Capital Commission policies indirectly encourage the concentration of the entire regions interprovincial truck traffic onto residential streets in less affluent neighbourhoods.

Ban All Trucks Carrying Dangerous Goods

Every day, the City of Ottawa puts thousands of lives at stake by allowing trucks carrying dangerous goods through the city. A former City of Ottawa fire chief was once quoted as saying that as many as 100,000 people would need to be evacuated if one of these trucks were to overturn and spill their dangerous chemicals. If this is true, then how many people would die? We would rather not find out. While these trucks are a minority of the truck traffic using King Edward Avenue, we believe that they should be strictly managed or prohibited alltogether. Such trucks should be using bypasses around the city.

Set Strict Emissions and Safety Standards

The diesel pollution produced by the trucks using King Edward Avenue is an environmental hazard to the health of Lowertown residents. The high amount of particulate matter in diesel emissions is allowing for an undue amount of risk to the Citys most vulnerable people: homeless, elderly residents, and children. At the same time, safety concerns continue to be raised several pedestrians have been killed in the past few years. The City should pass stricter rules affecting the fuel emissions standards of vehicles using King Edward Avenue and apply a higher standard of safety for pedestrians and cyclists. A similar approach was taken at the Long Beach Port in California and led to a considerable decrease in local-area pollution affecting residents in that area.

ALTERNATIVE ROUTES
Among the most controversial but fair solutions is to more fairly distribute the heavy interprovincial truck traffic among Ottawas many communities. All people in Ottawa benefit from the products transported by large trucks. It is not fair to expect only one or a few communities and streets to take on the full responsibility of carrying all of these products. If the City of Ottawa chooses to continue allowing large trucks on streets like King Edward Avenue, then it should be pursuing ways to divert some of the traffic onto other streets.

Allow Trucks On More City Streets

Today, in Ottawa, there exist several roads that could accommodate heavier trucks, but that are not included in the current truck road network. For various reasons, in many cases due to political interference, these roads have been designated non-truck routes. In at least one case, the road is a faster and safer alternative to Rideau Street being used. These prohibited routes have resulted in a significantly higher amount of truck traffic along King Edward Avenue and Rideau Street. They have also put a much greater number of lives at risk by allowing trucks to continue moving in areas with higher volumes of pedestrians, cyclists, and cars.

Banning Trucks In One Direction

One fair alternative would be to ban trucks in one direction along parts or all of King Edward Avenue and Rideau Street. The same level of traffic would continue to move in one direction, while an alternative route would take on the other half of the truck traffic.

Allowing Trucks On NCC Parkways

Ottawa has an unusual transportation network in which the federal government owns many of the main roads and bridges. Unfortunately, the National Capital Commission has banned trucks from these parkways and some bridges despite the fact that most of them have no residential properties adjacent to them. The vision for the national capital does not include trucks. Unfortunately, this has had the indirect result of diverting trucks onto residential streets in densely populated neighbourhoods. This is both irresponsible and putting the lives of Canadians at risk. Is this truly our national vision?

Open All Bridges To Truck Traffic

Ottawa has five bridges, but only allows trucks to use two of these bridges. It might be a surprise to many to discover that there is not one west end bridge that allows truck traffic. As a result the entire regions interprovincial truck traffic is forced to go through downtown Ottawa.

SUMMARY: King Edward Avenue, a downtown residential street, has been used as a temporary truck route for over four decades. Would this be acceptable in any of Ottawas more affluent neighbourhoods? Residents and businesses along this truck route have paid a high price for this situation. Now, it is time to fairly share this burden. A failure to act on the recommendations in this report will only serve to reinforce that there are two kinds of people in Ottawa: the affluent and connected and the poor and forgotten. The negative effects of our prosperity should be mitigated or fairly shared. We all deserve a similar quality of life in our communities.

ANNEX 1 City of Ottawa Policy Policy Context The basis for designating a truck route originates in the Transportation Master Plan and the Official Plan. The following is an excerpt from the Transportation Master Plan from Section 6.10 Goods Movement: Ottawas truck route system is generally represented by arterial roads that can withstand use by heavy trucks, the sizes of which are legislated by the Province of Ontario. Designation of truck routes must consider noise, vibrations, emissions and safety impacts. In general, trucking impacts on residential areas can be minimized by providing several alternative routes, so that impacts are not concentrated in one area. Because reduced routing options also increase costs, trucking restrictions on arterial roads should be considered only where community impacts are significant, where the road in question serves exclusively non-commercial land uses, and where adequate alternative routes are available. The following sections are an excerpt from the Official Plan from the Strategic Directions chapter, Section 2.3.1 Transportation Goods Movement:
The City will minimize the impact of truck traffic on residential neighbourhoods caused by the presence of these vehicles and their noise, vibration and emissions by ensuring the availability of a comprehensive truck route network based on the arterial road system. The City will explore alternative means to accommodate interprovincial truck travel to minimize impacts on the Central Area, in particular along and in the vicinity of King Edward Avenue.

The Truck Route Designation Policy provides specific direction on the assessment of appropriate routes for designation. The following excerpts, in particular the bolded sections, are supportive to the purposes of this report:
Objectives The following objectives are to be used for the development and updates to the Truck Route System: efficient movement of trucks; safe movement of trucks; efficient movement of other traffic; minimization of environmental disruption to citizens; and, minimization of structural damage to roadways and structures.

a. b. c. d. e.

System/Network Criteria: a. identify a continuous truck route system with easy access to and from provincial highways, freeways, major through routes, and truck traffic generators and attractors; b. include sufficient network linkages to avoid over-concentration of truck movements and congestion; c. identify routes with good traffic flow to minimize stop and start occurrences; and, d. avoid high pedestrian corridors and areas with significant traffic conflicts.

Environmental Criteria: a. minimize impacts of truck traffic (vibration, noise and emissions) on sensitive areas such as residential neighbourhoods, hospitals, schools; b. avoid routes adjacent to heritage/weak structures; and, c. avoid bisecting communities/neighbourhoods. Source: Draft 2009 City of Ottawa Report

ANNEX 2 Five Largest Border Crossings for Trucks (2009) Description: If the Macdonald-Cartier Bridge, which connects to King Edward Avenue in Ottawa, was a Canada-U.S. border crossing, then it would rank 4 th highest in terms of annual two-way truck traffic.

Rank 1 2 3

Crossing point Windsor Ambassador Bridge, Ont. Sarnia Blue Water Bridge, Ont. Fort Erie Peace Bridge, Ont. KING EDWARD AVENUE, OTTAWA

Two-way traffic volume 2,250,000 1,450,000 1,070,000 928,000 670,000 640,000

4 5

Niagara Falls Queenston Bridge, Ont. Pacific Highway / Douglas, B.C.

2009 Canada - U.S. Two-Way Truck Traffic vs. King Edward Avenue
2,500,000
1 - Windsor Ambassador Bridge, Ont.

2,000,000
2 - Sarnia Blue Water Bridge, Ont.

Truck Traffic

1,500,000 1,000,000 500,000 0

3 - Fort Erie Peace Bridge, Ont. KING EDWARD AVENUE, OTTAWA 4 - Niagara Falls Queenston Bridge, Ont. 5 - Pacific Highway / Douglas, B.C.

Source: Transport Canada, adapted from Statistics Canada, International Travel section, and other unpublished statistics. Full table http://www.tc.gc.ca/media/documents/policy/addendum2009.pdf (page A96)

ANNEX 3 Ottawas Urban Truck Route Network (2008)

ANNEX 4 Truck Traffic Must Be Fairly Shared (Article Echo Newspaper, 2012) It has been 47 years since the Macdonald-Cartier Bridge opened. Since that time, King Edward Avenue and Rideau have been used by this City as the temporary truck route between Gatineau and Ottawa. In an Ottawa Journal article from the 1970`s, former president of the Lowertown community association, Lionel Hotte, boldly said the poor are fed up with being treated as leftovers. The article was entitled Passing the trucks and it is a stark reminder of how little times have changed in Ottawa. We still have no bridge despite hollow promises from a generation of politicians and bureaucrats. Even more troubling, there are rumblings that the current study and promised interprovincial bridge in the east end will be crushed by rich and powerful interests beyond our meagre influence here in Lowertown. We have more trucks, cars and buses every year as the region grows. Most disgracefully, over half a dozen people have been killed in recent years and most of the incidents involved trucks. Have we already forgotten the elderly man crushed to death at Rideau and King Edward or the elderly woman knocked over and killed by another truck? What little notice our Citys grand transportation planners take. What do they really value? Speed? Helping get as many people out of downtown into the hinterlands of Gatineau as efficiently as possible? The Task Force has taken up Mr. Hottes challenge. We will be releasing a report this spring entitled No More Trucks on King Edward Avenue. What we will reveal in that report is somewhat shocking. Despite having five interprovincial bridges between Gatineau and Ottawa, only two of the bridges allow trucks to cross. There are also several major roads in Ottawa that could help with dispersing truck traffic, but these roads often pass by rich and influential communities or are controlled by the National Capital Commission. Our report will challenge the status quo. The burden of truck traffic in Ottawa must be fairly shared. Some of us benefit much more than others from our prosperity in this City, but we all deserve a similar quality of life in each of our neighbourhoods. This community has paid a high price for this City`s truck traffic. Ottawa owes Lowertown, people like Mr. Hotte, and others like him, much much more. Marc Aubin, Chair, King Edward Avenue Task Force Possible images see following pages