Reminder: Traffic restrictions on Rideau Street to start this Friday

As part of the O-Train Confederation Line project, traffic will be restricted on Rideau Street between Sussex Drive and Dalhousie Street from Friday, August 28 until Confederation Line opens in 2018, to allow construction of the Rideau Station entrances and vent shafts.

Businesses will remain open as usual. Construction hoarding and signage will mark off the construction area.

Restricting general traffic and bicycles from using this section of Rideau Street will ensure reliable transit service and protect the safety of pedestrians, cyclists, motorists and transit users during the construction.

One lane in each direction will remain open for exempt vehicles: OC Transpo and STO buses, taxis, delivery vehicles and light rail transit construction vehicles.

Motorists and cyclists will be detoured and detour signage will be in place. The taxi stand on Rideau Street will be relocated to George Street, east of William Street.

Pedestrians will be able to reach all businesses along Rideau Street. Pedestrian access will be maintained with the exception of the south sidewalk between Sussex Drive and the signalized pedestrian crossing at the Rideau Centre entrance/exit.

OC Transpo will continue to operate regular routes and schedules along Rideau Street using existing stops. For more information, please visit octranspo.com .

There will be service changes to STO, for information, please visit sto.ca .

Once completed, Rideau Station will have three entrances – an east entrance in the future Scotiabank building on the northeast corner of Rideau and William streets, a west entrance integrated into the Rideau Centre at the corner of Colonel By Drive and Rideau Street, and a mid-level entrance with access via the Rideau Centre elevator.

With all of the construction-related activities underway in the city, residents are encouraged to be flexible with commuting times, stagger work hours or use alternative means for travel. The public is asked to consider options such as transit, walking, cycling or carpooling.

The City of Ottawa has tools on ottawa.ca to help motorists and transit users plan their routes and manage their commute including:

 * 
[
 OttawaNav
](http://ottawa.ca/en/residents/transportation-and-parking/traffic/ottawa-nav)
– the City’s mobile application for real-time construction and traffic information

 * 
[
 City of Ottawa Traffic Report
](http://ottawa.ca/cgi-bin/trafficreport/report_search.pl?lang=en)
– outlining city-wide road closures, traffic restrictions and detours

 * 
[
 Travel Planner
](http://www.octranspo1.com/?from=splash)
at
[
 octranspo.com
](http://octranspo.com/)
– transit users can chart and plan routes

 * 
[
 Interactive traffic map
](http://traffic.ottawa.ca/map/index?lang=en)
– showing construction areas and live traffic cameras throughout the city

 * 
[
 Ministry of Transportation of Ontario (MTO) cameras
](http://traffic.ottawa.ca/map/intersections)

 * 
[
 Cycling maps
](http://ottawa.ca/en/roads_trans/cycling/index.html)
and information – detailing bicycle pathways and lanes throughout the city

For current information about traffic and construction around the city, visit ottawa.ca .