Ottawa·NewRoughly 200 residents packed a meeting hall at the Manotick Community Centre to discuss heavy truck traffic in their town, a persistent problem many feel is not not being properly addressed by the City of Ottawa.Meeting to discuss congestion, safety concerns draws 200Liam Baker · CBC News · Posted: Oct 30, 2025 12:02 PM EDT | Last Updated: 11 minutes agoListen to this articleEstimated 4 minutesAbout 200 people packed a meeting hall at the Manotick Community Centre on Wednesday to discuss the persistent problem of heavy truck traffic on the town’s main streets. (Liam Baker/CBC)Traffic was heavy near the Manotick Community Centre on Wednesday night, but not for the usual reasons.Roughly 200 residents packed a meeting hall to discuss heavy truck traffic in their community, a persistent problem many feel is not not being properly addressed by the City of Ottawa.Jeff Cronin, a resident of Manotick for 35 years, said people have had enough.”There’s some people in Manotick who’ve taken this on themselves to do something,” he said. “We’ve lived watching this traffic build up over the years, and really it’s about time.”During the meeting, a group called Manotick Concerned Citizens Against Truck Traffic (MCCATT), led by Jim Sproule and Bruce Miller, presented an independent engineering report completed in January. It found roughly 1,000 heavy trucks trundle down Manotick Main Street on a daily basis. The report also examines the central issues contributing to heavy truck traffic along Manotick Main Street, and provides possible solutions. We have got to get these trucks out of this town before someone gets hurt.- Mike Villemaire, Manotick residentIn February, MCCATT presented those findings to city staff, before providing the full report to the mayor’s office in August. There’s been no significant feedback, Miller said during the presentation.”We have an engineering study that shows that the current truck route through Manotick is an unsuitable truck route,” Sproule told CBC. “[The engineering firm has] an immediate solution, and we would like to see the city come forward with that solution to redirect truck traffic.”A heavy truck is seen passing the Manotick Place seniors’ residence on Bridge Street in 2021. An independent report recently counted 1,000 trucks passing through the town each day. ( Alexander Behne/CBC)Sproule said the construction of Vimy Bridge over the Rideau River, which was completed in 2014, should have alleviated much of the truck traffic rolling through Manotick.City’s plan falls short, residents sayLast October, Rideau-Jock Coun. David Brown announced the city would be removing a roughly two-kilometre stretch of Manotick Main Street between Century Road and Bridge Street from its truck route network for 42 weeks of the year.Still, residents of the area say the city is missing the mark.”The trucks aren’t going down Main Street, they’re coming across Bridge [Street] and going up to the [Highway] 416,” said Wayne Liko, who’s lived in Manotick for 30 years.In an email to CBC, a spokesperson for Brown said it will take time for the route change to take effect.Jeff Cronin, who’s lived in Manotick for 35 years, says he routinely sees heavy trucks run up on the sidewalks of Manotick as the traffic has gotten worse. (Liam Baker/CBC)Liam Harrington pointed to a planned rebuild of Century Road that would see it added to the city’s truck route network, and a planned extension of Earl Armstrong Road from Limebank Road to Bank Street.”Unfortunately, that isn’t currently feasible until the necessary road network improvements are in place,” Harrington wrote.Among the possible solutions put forth by MCCATT was to reroute heavy truck traffic along River Road to Vimy Bridge on a short-term basis while the city upgrades Limebank.Safety a key concernSafety is a key concern among Manotick residents. The current truck route passes two seniors’ residences and an elementary school on Bridge Street.Resident Mike Villemaire said while widening roads would help alleviate some congestion and improve safety, residents can’t wait years for these infrastructure improvements.”We have got to get these trucks out of this town before someone gets hurt,” Villemaire said. “We’ve got some senior citizens buildings right on the Main Street, Bridge Street and they listen to these trucks day and night going through town.”LISTEN | Manotick residents want the city to hit the brakes on truck traffic:Ottawa Morning7:11Manotick residents want the city to hit the brakes on truck trafficBruce Miller, Manotick resident, co-leader of Manotick Concerned Citizens Against Truck Traffic meets up with Giacomo Panico at the corner of Bridge and Main Streets.Sproule and Miller pointed out that the restrictions aren’t meant to affect local trucks with business in Manotick. Their group is urging residents to keep up the pressure on the city.”There’s a lot of frustration with politicians,” Sproule said. “We need to get them to act, and we’re putting a lot of pressure on them to do that.”ABOUT THE AUTHORLiam Baker is an associate producer and reporter for CBC Ottawa. He also reports and produces stories on Inuit Nunangat for CBC Iqaluit. Previously, he’s reported for CBC Yukon, CBC Thunder Bay, CBC Toronto’s Enterprise unit. You can reach him at liam.baker@cbc.ca
City’s plan to divert truck traffic from Manotick moving too slowly, residents say
