City of Ottawa, NCC to make east-end transportation announcement

The City of Ottawa and the National Capital Commission will be making an announcement today to 'discuss an agreement between the parties to advance transportation priorities in the east end.'

The City of Ottawa and the National Capital Commission will be making an announcement today to "discuss an agreement between the parties to advance transportation priorities in the east end."

While a media release advising of the event provides no additional details, it comes as City Hall and the NCC have been at odds over a proposed extension of Brian Coburn Boulevard, which would require cutting through NCC-owned green space, lands that it has called "environmentally sensitive."

The city wants to build bus-only lanes on the extended road to help ease congestion and provide more transit options for the growing east end, but it would require the NCC giving up about 40 acres in the Greenbelt.

The NCC prefers a route that is closer to Navan Road, but that would be more costly for the city.

According to a 2023 city memo, the city's preferred option for extending Brian Coburn Boulevard — known as "Option 7" — would cost an estimated $400 million, while the NCC's preferred option, Option 1, would cost $610 million.