By John Dance, The Mainstreeter, August 9, 2020
She’s now been very visibly with us for more than a year.
The Flora Footbridge was officially opened last June and as of mid-June of this year, there were 722,411 trips across the Rideau Canal between Clegg Street in Old Ottawa East (OOE) and Fifth Avenue in the Glebe.
The bridge was built after decades of lobbying by the neighbouring communities. Now, it’s simply a part of Capital Ward’s fabric, tying OOE and the Glebe together and making it easier, safer and more enjoyable for Ottawa pedestrians and cyclists to get across the mid-town section of the Canal.
In terms of use, the bridge has met expectations. Its environmental assessment
forecast 1,500 to 2,500 daily trips and it’s averaged 2,058, although this
varies greatly month to month. This past
May there was an average of
3,401 per day while in February there were only 701 per day.
Numbers aside, the bridge has positively altered the daily patterns of residents. Many commuting, shopping and social trips now go via the bridge rather than over the Pretoria or Bank Street bridges.
http://www.mainstreeter.ca/index.php/2020/08/09/one-year-in-the-life-of-the-flora-footbridge/