LETTER

LETTRE

 Closing Wellington Street in front of Parliament a mistake

 

Following the ‘Trucker Convoy’ and occupation of downtown Ottawa, the idea of permanently closing Wellington Street to vehicular traffic has been proposed. I believe this to be a mistake.
    Ottawa is the capital and so protests naturally take to the downtown area in front of parliament. Until this winter, authorities and protestors have managed peaceful protest.
    Access to Wellington is important to those living in Ottawa and Gatineau. While the future may be carless, until then drivers will use this street to move between sections of the city, including Gatineau residents who spend time in downtown Ottawa (myself included). Taking Wellington to drive between neighbourhoods, to access bridges to Gatineau, and to include parliament as part of daily living are part of what it is to live in this part of the country.
    Please, MPs and administrators who are considering not re-opening Wellington Street to vehicular traffic, reconsider.
    Closing it permanently is a win for the trucker-convoy type who see democracy as disposable. Residents of the National Capital Region such as myself use it daily and have already given up so much to the convoy folk.
    We must re-open Wellington; we must insist on an open society.
L. Ryan
Aylmer