Illumination underway at last

Specialized machines allow the installation of new electric cables without digging lengthy trenches.

Photo: National Capital Commission

Canal lighting

By John Dance

Finally, after years of complaint by Rideau Canal pathway and roadway users, the upgrading of the dysfunctional and obsolete lighting along both sides of the Rideau Canal from Wellington Street all of the way to Hog’s Back has begun.

As Glebe Report letters to the editor have noted, the existing lighting situation along the Canal has been dangerous and frustrating. As asked by letter-writer J. Spiteri, “How long does it take bureaucrats to change a lightbulb?”

The National Capital Commission’s answer is about a year and a half. However, it’s not a matter of “changing a lightbulb,” but rather rebuilding and improving the entire roadway and pathway lighting system on both sides of the canal.

Overall, at the end of the project in 2025, the number of lights will increase by 50 per cent for a new total of 1,224 roadway and pathway lights.

Currently, the Glebe’s four-kilometre section of Queen Elizabeth Driveway has many roadway lights that are not working, and there are sections of the pathway where more lights are required to improve visibility for pedestrians and cyclists.

The massive project with its 15-kilometre-long construction zone is necessary because the existing system is “beyond repair.” The work will respect the heritage of the Canal while allowing updates to new lighting technology, says the NCC.

Key changes in the Glebe/Dow’s Lake portion of the project are: modernized street lights along all of the roadway between Pretoria Bridge and Dow’s Lake with additional lights being added where necessary; additional lights where needed on the pathway between Pretoria Bridge and Bank Street; modernized “railing-mounted” globe fixtures around Patterson’s Creek; modernized globe fixtures on the lower pathway between Bank and Bronson; and the addition of supplemental and modernized lights on the pathway along Dow’s Lake.

Although new underground wiring will be primarily installed with “directional drilling” rather than by digging lengthy trenches, there will be pathway detours. At a stakeholders’ session in November, NCC staff said there will be “relatively low impact on users” but it’s “too early” to provide a traffic plan.

The horizontal drilling phase for the roadway lights is largely completed, and the drilling for the pathway lighting is targeted for completion in May. This summer, some of the old lights will be removed and the new ones installed with targeted completion “winter 2025.”

The good news is that the new lights will be energized as the various sections are completed. It will not be a matter of waiting until the end of the project for a switch to be thrown to energize the entire system. Reinstatement of landscaping and additional planting should be done after the lights are energized and construction is completed. Old Ottawa East residents have been requesting that many more trees be planted on the eastern side of the canal so that its tree coverage is comparable to what’s found on the Glebe side. However, the NCC has responded that trees cannot be planted until the lighting project is complete.

One outstanding question is what obstacles will be found as the horizontal drilling occurs. There are no engineering drawings for much of the area where the drilling must be done. Rocks and other obstacles may delay the schedule.

The NCC was asked what the budget of the project was and whether lights on the ends of the Patterson’s Creek bridge were going to be reinstalled, but the information was not available at press time.

John Dance is an Old Ottawa East resident and an almost-daily visitor to the Glebe.

This article originally appeared in The Mainstreeter and is used with its permission. The article has been revised by the author to reflect the lighting project’s progress in the Glebe.