A decade of Lansdowne construction, starting now 

A decade of Lansdowne construction, starting now

By June Creelman

Brace yourselves neighbours! We are in for about 10 years of construction traffic and noise now that the City has approved Lansdowne 2.0. 

At the time of writing, the City had not yet signed the construction contract with EBC Inc. so the final construction schedule is not known. But we do know that the project will be carried out in three stages: 

Now to 2028: Excavation of the toboggan hill and construction of a new arena/event centre. 

2028 to 2030: Demolition of TD place and construction of new north-side stands.

2030 onwards: Construction of a retail podium, residential towers, grand entrance and parking. 

In the immediate future, we can expect fencing to go around much of the great lawn and toboggan hill, and some seats will be removed from the south-side stands. Excavation will begin shortly.

Increased truck traffic on Bank Street will be one of the biggest impacts of Lansdowne construction. During peak periods, we will see up to 20 trucks an hour. The truck route is expected to be south from the 417 on Bank Street, right on Wilton Crescent, left on Queen Elizabeth Place and then left under the Bank Street Bridge, circling behind the south-side stands. When trucks are exiting the site, they will return to Bank Street via Wilton and head south on Bank Street through Old Ottawa South. 

It goes without saying that the busy Bank-Wilton-Queen Elizabeth Place loop is already tricky to navigate. There will be flag people to direct traffic during construction hours, but there is no doubt that this route will cause a significant safety concern for pedestrians and cyclists and will be a pain point for drivers. 

The City will provide more detailed information on the construction schedule and truck route once the construction contract is in place. A drop-in public information session will be held on Wednesday, December 17 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the TD Place Arena Concourse between Gates 2 and 3. Enter via Gate 2 off Exhibition Way or via the accessible entry at Gate 1 on Bank Street. Information will be posted on the Engage Ottawa website as it becomes available. If you have immediate questions, please contact LansdowneRenewal@Ottawa.ca.

June Creelman is chair of the Glebe Community Association’s Lansdowne Committee. She has followed the Lansdowne saga for many years.