The City of Ottawa officially welcomes residents and visitors back to the renewed Rideau and William streets, following the completion of a major reconstruction and renewal project.
Community members and local businesses celebrated the occasion today at an event hosted by Mayor Jim Watson, Councillor Tim Tierney, Chair of the Transportation Committee, and Councillor Mathieu Fleury (Rideau-Vanier).
The area has been under construction since April 2020 to renew streetscaping elements and improve transportation infrastructure, as part of the Rideau Street and William Street renewal project.
The renewed Rideau corridor includes improved underground infrastructure, wider sidewalks, new trees, increased pedestrian space around all entrances to the O-Train’s Rideau Station, and two new Para Transpo stops. It also includes new bike lanes and rack-style bike parking.
Improvements on William Street include new decorative pavers for patios and pedestrians, granite seats, a ‘ceiling’ of twinkle lights, and a historical timeline of the ByWard Market and Rideau Street set into steel panels.
Rideau Street opened to traffic, transit and cyclists and William Street reopened to pedestrians in December 2020. In the months since the reopening, the project team has completed landscaping and installed new streetlights, special effects poles, waste and recycling receptacles, and custom bus stops with digital signage. The project is now complete on schedule and within the approved budget of $13.5 million.
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