Wellington Street could re-open by end of April: interim city manager

After being closed for just over one year, the street in front of Parliament Hill could re-open in a few months time.

At a city council media availability, on Wed, March 22, the interim city manager, Wendy Stephanson said Wellington Street could re-open by end of April or early May.

“Staff are working with the National Capital Commission (NCC) and the federal government in terms of the plan to re-open Wellington,” she said, adding that the barriers could also come down around the time, meaning the street could once again re-open to vehicle and pedestrian traffic. 

But before that can happen, Stephanson said there are still a few technical aspects that need be finalized. 

“And it's just dependent on the pieces of work that have to be put in place, and some of the functioning light standards as well as the pedestrian and the bicycle traffic pieces that have to go into place,”

After last year's 'Freedom Convoy' occupation that took over Ottawa's downtown core for nearly one month, Ottawa city council moved to keep Wellington Street closed to public vehicles between Bank Street and Elgin Street for the rest of the year to prevent similar incidents from happening again. 

Earlier this year, city council voted to re-open the street no later than the March 1.

The head of the Sparks Street Business Improvement Area (BIA) and Mayor Mark Sutcliffe were among those who called for the street to re-open, after hearing from downtown residents and businesses.