Danger on Ralph Street
Danger on Ralph Street
By Michael Tiger
Heavy snowfalls in February are no surprise in Ottawa, so the City should be doing a better job of clearing them away faster so traffic squeezing around snowbanks on the way to hockey games and other events at Lansdowne doesn’t paralyze neighbouring streets with dangerous gridlock.
It was a big problem this winter. On February 22, five days after the second of two big dumps of snow, the Ottawa Charge were playing the Montreal Victoire at TD Place arena at 2 p.m. An hour before the game, there was traffic gridlock on Ralph, Fifth Avenue, Thornton, Holmwood and other nearby streets.
I assume most cars were headed for the game and looking for a place to park on nearby streets that had not been cleared of snow. Many had an initial plowing, but that wasn’t enough to allow for two-way traffic.
The crowd for the game was close to a sellout, which is not unusual for the Charge, and the resulting gridlock meant there was no effective public safety and security for residents in this quadrant for several hours. No fire truck or ambulance could have reached my home on Ralph Street, for example, in a reasonable time, as there was nowhere for cars to move aside. I guess it would have taken about half an hour for a fire truck to get here from the nearest station at Fifth Avenue and O’Connor.
The City has to wake up before there is a serious incident and lives are lost. Events of this nature require snow removal on key connecting and residential streets close to Lansdowne. In the absence of snow removal, such events should be rescheduled or cancelled on public safety grounds.
To be fair, City staff eventually did an outstanding job clearing major arteries and commercial streets – but not residential streets, not for weeks.
Ralph Street emergency
The importance of easy access was illustrated again on March 31 when an emergency unfolded across from my home at a multiple-dwelling house on Ralph Street. A ParaMed van arrived, and the team identified possible carbon monoxide poisoning. Within 10 or 15 minutes, numerous fire trucks, police and other emergency services arrived, and the street was cordoned off. Firefighters entered the building wearing gas masks and evacuated all residents in the four units. The furnaces and electricity were shut down, and gas experts were called. The City provided a welcome bus for temporary shelter for residents.
The street was reopened later that day, and residents returned but without heat and electricity at first. Low-level carbon monoxide gas had been identified in a number of locations. Three furnaces were subsequently replaced, and new carbon monoxide alarms installed. Given that carbon monoxide is a silent killer, it was fortunate that there were no injuries or deaths.
The performance of City staff and first responders was stellar. Fortunately, a happy ending. It was lucky there were no snowbanks to impede their access. And easy access is why I and some of my neighbours are opposed to parts of the plan to rebuild Ralph Street this spring and summer.
Ralph Street renewal
The City plan includes narrowing Ralph Street and installing totally unnecessary curb extensions. This will make the street less accessible and navigable, especially in winter with snowbanks. If the City goes ahead with planned curb extensions at Fifth and Ralph and Holmwood and Ralph, an even greater public safety issue will be created. Curb extensions make it far more difficult for cars to turn onto Ralph. Imagine a fire truck or ambulance or school bus trying to navigate around huge snowbanks during gridlock. Had Ralph Street already been narrowed and had curb extensions been added in February, the gridlock before that hockey game would have been far worse.
And had that serious carbon monoxide emergency arisen at the same time as the hockey game, the outcome may well have been tragic. The design of the Ralph Street Renewal Project will only exacerbate the problems and increase the risks.
Issues and questions
The City does not appear to take this situation seriously. There has been no public communication on it, and no indication as to what changes will occur in future.
The City has well-established priorities for snow clearance and removal. However, hockey games at Lansdowne don’t seem to have been part of its planning. The simple solution is to haul away snow in the area prior to any sizeable event – the alternative is two hours of traffic gridlock and a threat to public safety and security.
I strongly encourage the City to scrap its plans for curb extensions on Ralph Street. The safety and security of residents is far more important than a minor streetscape feature that ostensibly improves street life – which it won’t.
Michael Tiger is a resident of Ralph Street.