It is a definitive difference in policies between the King and I.
https://www.ctvnews.ca/ottawa/article/testing-underway-for-proposed-eastern-ottawa-gatineau-bridge/
The bridge is coming whether you like it or not.
Reality Check: Manor Park NIMBYIsm fails primarily because like sidewalks, the rest of the city will over rule them 16-9 no matter who they elect for their ward.
The solution is a work around. Engage now, ask for what you need now, show leadership, a willingness to cooperate and jettison the attitude for the good of the city.
Blog Posts on the Proposed East End Crossing
peterkarwacki.blogspot.com — chronological order
March 20, 2019
Tunnels and Bridges, Pas de problem!
Written during Peter's 2019 council candidacy, this early post tackles the NCC's proposed sixth
interprovincial bridge for Ottawa's east end. It opens with the traffic problem driving the debate:
semi-trucks making dangerous turns at Rideau and King Edward, with roughly 3,500 trucks crossing the river
daily and 72% routing through the Macdonald-Cartier Bridge into Lowertown. Peter contrasts Mayor Watson's
description of the Kettle Island bridge option as an "evisceration" of communities against the NCC's
preference for that same site, while noting Montfort Hospital's warnings that added traffic could delay
emergency services. Rather than picking a side in the bridge-vs-tunnel debate, he argues for combining
both — a hybrid approach — and pushes back on treating a billion-dollar price tag as an
abstraction. He flags the Kettle Island, Lower Duck Island, and McLaurin Bay corridors then under NCC study.
Read the full post →
February 2026 · #110
Ward 13 – what's your lucky number?
References a Ward 13 candidates' debate that Rogers later removed from its video library, and reiterates
the case for finally getting 18-wheelers off downtown streets like King Edward and Rideau via a new
east-end crossing. Frames the upcoming election as a clear choice between NIMBY obstruction and positive
progress, urging planners to start engaging with the community now rather than waiting for the file to
resurface on its own.
Read the full post →
April 2026 · #142
East end crossing
A detailed, directly-titled comparison of Peter's and Councillor King's approaches to the long-debated
east-end river crossing. Cites King's promise-fulfillment record (43% versus a 12% city-wide average), his
No vote on Lansdowne 2.0, and his firm opposition to the bridge grounded in a 2021 study showing it would
divert only about 15% of King Edward Ave. truck traffic. Peter argues the city-wide congestion-relief case
outweighs King's ward-level NIMBY framing, positioning the crossing as a project that serves the whole
region rather than just Ward 13's immediate streetscape.
Read the full post →
May 2026 · #144
2026 Issues and Stances – The Bridge!
An extensive, table-formatted platform document covering positions on climate change, free transit for
students and seniors funded by bridge tolls, affordable housing, campaign-finance reform, and a lengthy
critique of King's record — including his 2022 OPS Board resignation. The East End Crossing (Kettle
Island Bridge) anchors the transportation section, framed as one of Peter's clearest points of departure
from King's platform going into the campaign.
Read the full post →
May 2026 · #168
Madou..objects but Kettle Island Rules
Commentary on planning or development objections raised in relation to the Kettle Island corridor and the
broader east-end crossing file. Peter weighs the specific local objections against the region's
longstanding transportation needs, reiterating that the crossing's benefits for downtown truck traffic and
congestion outweigh site-specific pushback.
Read the full post →
May 2026 · #175
Aviation Parkway – site of the new east end crossing
An examination of the Aviation Parkway corridor — by this point the federally confirmed
Montée Paiement–Aviation Parkway alignment — as the site of the new interprovincial
crossing. Peter weighs the technical and community factors at play along the corridor, including its
proximity to Montfort Hospital and Manor Park, as planning moves from a multi-decade debate toward a
specific, funded route.
Read the full post →
June 2026 · #207
Getting Trucks Out of Downtown: Why Rideau-Rockcliffe Must Lead on the East End Crossing
A strong, dedicated advocacy piece for the east-end river crossing as a way to remove heavy truck traffic
from downtown and residential corridors. Peter details the safety, noise, air-quality, and economic
benefits, and argues that Ward 13 — sitting closest to the proposed corridor — has a particular
obligation to lead on the file rather than resist it, given its position to shape design and mitigation
terms if it engages early.
Read the full post →
June 2026 · #230
The Bridge is Coming
An update-and-advocacy post following the federal government's 2024 decision to advance the
Montée Paiement–Aviation Parkway corridor. Peter frames the crossing as no longer hypothetical
after decades of studies, and calls for the ward to shift from resistance to active engagement in shaping
how the project is built.
Read the full post →
June 2026 · #231
The Bridge – What must be done…now
A direct follow-up laying out the specific next steps Peter says are required to keep the crossing moving:
funding commitments, environmental assessment milestones, and clear political commitment from Ward 13's
representative, rather than the "selective silence" he attributes to King on the file.
Read the full post →
July 2026 · #317
A bridge for which its time has come
A summary case for the crossing after years of study, reviewing the traffic, economic, and environmental
arguments in favour and calling for decisive movement now that the federal government has settled on a
preferred corridor. Reiterates that continued delay simply prolongs the truck-traffic and safety problems
on King Edward and Rideau that the project is meant to solve.
Read the full post →
August 21, 2026 (today)
Rideau Rockcliffe Must Show Leadership for the East End Crossing
Peter's newest post on the file, published this morning. Framed as "a definitive difference in policies
between King and I," it links to CTV News coverage confirming testing is now underway for the proposed
eastern Ottawa–Gatineau bridge. His argument: the bridge is coming whether Manor Park residents like
it or not — council votes 16-9 against ward-level NIMBYism no matter who Ward 13 elects. The way
forward, he says, is not resistance but a workaround: engage now, ask for what the ward needs now, show
leadership and a willingness to cooperate, and drop the obstructionist posture for the good of the city.
Read the full post →
This list covers every post found addressing the East End Crossing across the full run of
peterkarwacki.blogspot.com, cross-referenced against the blog's own "#397 Blog Post Summary #100–#396"
index. Exact publication dates for the 2026 posts are approximate (month-level, matching the blog's own
archive folders) except where a full date was available. If any other posts on this topic aren't showing up
here, send the link and this summary can be updated.
Think!!! The government has allocated $221 million for the preconstruction phase for the project.
ReplyDeleteWho would do that for a project that was NOT going forward.
Bellicosic needs a reality check.