Letters to the editor of the Ottawa Citizen for Saturday, Aug. 29, 2026.
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I agree with columnist Bruce Deachman that Queen Victoria’s eldest son, Albert Edward, would not be amused by the state of the street named for him in 1901. Any citizen of Ottawa who travels that avenue is chagrined. Any visitor to Ottawa who wandered the short distance from the ByWard Market to King Edward Avenue would return home wondering how the capital of Canada allowed this blight to continue for six decades and counting.
In 1965, the Province of Quebec had a relatively simple task in selecting a route to the Macdonald-Cartier Bridge, with minimal disturbance to the residents of Hull. The Province of Ontario, which must have agreed with the position of the bridge, either didn’t care about the citizens of Ottawa or didn’t understand. But that’s water under the bridge.
Bruce Deachman is right to look for a fix. I regularly travel the Rockcliffe Parkway and could cope with a bridge. If I lived in Manor Park, I would be disturbed. In this city of a million citizens, however, Deachman’s alternative would make the best of a bad situation.
The recent column by Bruce Deachman about King Edward Avenue (Lowertown doesn’t deserve traffic nightmare) could not have been more timely.
On Monday, Aug. 24, around noon, I felt like I was a participant in a monster truck rally at the corner of Rideau and Cumberland. Four large trucks from King Edward came onto Rideau and one large truck turning right onto Rideau off of Cumberland created a perfect storm. These trucks ended up being clattered one on top of the other. Futilely trying to make progress on narrow streets to get through the lights and then to make the left turns to head down to the 417.
It was ugly, it was dangerous. A major traffic snarl at the height of traffic. A few drivers and myself did the workaround, with many probably left to a frustratingly long wait.
A message to city council and a message to Coun. Stéphanie Plante: Please make a commitment to end this insanity. Redirect these beasts out of the downtown core. And make it soon.
With all the talk of our health care being in crisis — wait times, cutbacks, etc. — it is worth mentioning that, when you really need it, the system is there for you.
My husband was diagnosed with cancer in May, and has just completed his radiation and chemotherapy regimen at the Queensway Carleton Hospital (Irving Greenberg Cancer Centre). He has had consultations at the General with three oncologists, scans at the Queensway Carleton, an MRI at the Civic, and blood tests, etc., and will be scheduled for surgery at the General in six to eight weeks.
The medical care he has received at all three hospitals has been outstanding. The nurses and radiation technicians at the QCH have been caring and compassionate, always taking the extra time for a chat and some reassurance. A special shout out to Tracy Brown for her sunny disposition and extra care. While he waits for surgery, home care is available for wound dressings.
