A "fun" Canada Day weekend as long as police maintain a visibly large presence in downtown

Feels like a normal summer Saturday in downtown Otawa I did.

Many police officers are still patroling the core area, confirming that protests like the fleet do not cause problems, but even from six people there is almost no noise. There was not. Therefore, demonstrators gathered at the intersection of Wellington Street and Metcalf Street.

Visitors lined up to access the Capitol, families took self-portraits outside the Prime Minister's residence, and from there around the corner of Elgin Street, people took a tourist bus. I was patiently waiting for the ride.

The city was afraid of potential protests that would confuse Otawa's biggest celebration, but one person waited after enduring two years of catastrophic COVID-19. I did. Far away from this long weekend of holidays, downtown with almost no horns.

The Bogdan Wozniak hot dog carts on Sparks and Metcalf streets were quiet at noon on Saturday, but sold out and drank by 6 pm the day before. I was busy feeding the people who made noise.

Wozniak called it "Absolutely Fun Canada Day".

"We were really very happy," said Wozniak. .. "It was one of the best for us. People acted."

Wozniak put a hat on the lawyer. The lawyer allowed the store to open after the morning deadline to access the restricted area.

Ordinance officials were busy on Friday and banned street parking in the central "automobile control zone." According to the Ordinance Service, officers issued 327 parking tickets and towed 91 vehicles.

Enforcement work continued on Saturday. Early in the afternoon, Ordinance officials forced flatbed tow truck operators to carry away illegally parked motorcycles on Metcalf Street.

Mary Huang, president of the Centertown Community Association, said on Canada Day that "there were some minor incidents with the people of the fleet," and the police presence in the area. Also mentioned the rise of.

"I hope OPS will start and settle the occupation without permission in February, and people are doing what they are doing now, rather than trying the biggest turmoil for more than three weeks. "It was," said Huang.

Several agency police are watching the streets this weekend, including the ByWard Market police.

It was a typical Saturday lunch time with no confusion in the historic district. Canada Day,Hungry families could easily find the patio table early in the afternoon, but the number of visitors increased throughout the day.

John Bolsten owns several restaurants in the market area, including Sterling, Apothecary and York on William. A good day, despite news coverage that warns people about the possibility of more protests.

The restaurant was looking for a revival of Canada after the annual party that brought financial benefits to the city's hospitality sector over the past two years was affected by COVID-19.

"The day started slowly, but it could be 5% lower than before COVID," Borsten said on Saturday.

"The market is shaking," he added. "Be positive there."

Borsten said the bigger challenge for the market is to move the official Canada Day event to Le Breton Flats. It sucked the roar, away from the core and far from the market.

Center block is under construction, federal Government The government has moved the main stage of the festival outside the Canadian War Museum. The Capitol rehabilitation project is scheduled to continue until 2030. This means that a big show on Canada Day could be a temporary stay at Le Breton Flats.

One of the great advantages of LeBreton Flats is that it is offered by the Confederation Line LRT as well as the parliamentary precincts.

OC Transpo operated up to 15 double car trains during peak service to get people in and out of Le Breton Flats on Canadian days.

Ironically, Pimisi Station was unavailable part of the night due to the overwhelming number of people who wanted access to transit, which was free all day.

First, OC Transpo closed the station's westbound platform and asked customers to get off at Lyon Station or Bayview Station. After that, all Pimisi stations were closed and no trains stopped there.

On Saturday, two of OCTranspo's top directors joined the Canada Day LRT service.

According to Troy Charter, Transit Operations Director, the station closure was planned in consultation with Otawa police.

Charter said, "Customers have arrived for Canadian activities at Le Breton Flats, and Pimisi Station is temporarily closed on a short Friday night to help manage the crowd. It was done "to guide the crowd.

The temporary closure of Pimisi Station cast doubt on the city's ability to effectively use the $ 2.2 billion LRT system for major events at Le Breton Flats.

The Bruce Fest begins Thursday at the same location outside the War Museum, encouraging transit planners to evaluate strategies for taking people to music festivals. night.

"The OCTranspo service worked very well (Friday) and was able to serve a large number of customers, move everyone safely and provide a positive customer experience," the agency said. Pat Scrimgeour, Director of Customer Systems and Planning at. ..

"Upcoming events will be less crowded than those that attended the Canadian Day Festival, but we will incorporate the lessons learned from July 1st when finalizing the Bluesfest transit plan." Said Scrimgeour.

jwilling@postmedia.com

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