The following new sidewalks are planned for the Kanata North neighbourhood of Beaverbrook:
- Varley Drive west from Beaverbrook Road to Carr Crescent north (east side)
- Varley Drive east from Beaverbrook Road to Milne Crescent north (west side)
- Leacock Drive west from Beaverbrook Road to The Parkway (west side)
Some residents are concerned about pedestrian safety along Varley Drive and Leacock Drive. Having three elementary schools so close together, it adds a lot of traffic to the roads before and after school, which is particularly of concern during the winter months when streets are even narrower due to snow accumulations, and pedestrians are not able to easily avoid traffic by stepping on neighbouring lawns. Sidewalks greatly improve pedestrian safety on these streets.
These three sections of proposed sidewalk are listed within the Council-approved Ottawa Pedestrian Plan, which was part of the 2013 Transportation Master Plan. As per current city policies, Varley Drive and Leacock Drive are collector roads and should provide a pedestrian facility on both sides of the roadway. This requirement is especially important if the corridor is a public transit route, leads directly to public transit, fronts onto schools, parks, community facilities or leads directly to these.
Due to budget constraints, the proposal for this project is to complete the inner loop of Varley Drive and the outer loop of Leacock Drive in order to fill in missing sidewalk pieces and provide a continuous and complete sidewalk. The work would connect to bus stops and provide connections to W. Erskine Johnston Public School, Georges Vanier Catholic School, Stephen Leacock Public School, Varley Park, Holly Acres Park, and Craig Park.
The proposed sidewalks will be installed within the city’s right-of-way. Any additional requirements to accommodate the sidewalk will be identified during the study.