WCEL > Issues > Urban Growth and Development > Smart Bylaws Guide > Part 4 > Tailor Road Requirements to their Preferred Use > Tailor Road Widths - Ottawa

Smart Bylaws Guide – Tailor Road Requirements to their Preferred Use – Tailor Road Widths: Ottawa

Ottawa Regional Road Corridor Guidelines

The guidelines attempt to create regional roads (urban arterials, including special function mainstreets, central area roads, entry routes, and roads through special area such as the greenbelt or heritage districts) that are compatible with adjacent land uses and landscape character.  

The guidelines address the following issues:

1. design which is compatible with adjacent land uses and landscape character, such as wider sidewalks, street trees and parking on mainstreets in the urban area and Villages;
2. design and maintenance of roadway elements, such as lighting and planting, that are attractive, energy efficient, cost-effective and durable; and
3. measures to ensure the safety and security of users. 

The guidelines also reinforce Council’s preference for walking, cycling and transit use over the private automobile.

The guidelines cross traditional boundaries between land use and transportation planning by attending to a broader set of design considerations including principles of community livability, multi-modal street function, and the character of surrounding land uses. The intent is to respect traditional design objectives for

safety, efficiency, capacity, and maintenance, while integrating objectives relating to compatibility, livability, community building, urban design, cost and environmental impacts.  The guidelines also assist in integrating traffic calming into the design of arterial roads.

The guidelines respond to widely varying conditions: 

• rights-of- ways from 20m to 45m; 
• definition of the street space ranging from a building height-to-corridor width ratio of 1:1 to 1:12; 
• number of blocks within 500m ranging from 2 to 9; 
• average block length ranging from 50m to 300m or longer; and
• building setbacks ranging from 0 to more than 30m. 

“Narrow or wide, with low or high traffic volume, the best roads are the ones that

create attractive public places and accommodate pedestrians, cyclists, transit, as well as cars and trucks…As a public space, roads should be safe, comfortable, barrier-free,

pleasing to the eye, used by many, and a source of civic pride. They are a place for

social interaction. To function as a public space, regional road corridors should be:

1. Secure: Regional road corridors should be safe and friendly areas for pedestrians and cyclists, and for adjacent residents and businesses.
2. Comfortable: Regional road corridors should maximize the physical comfort

of pedestrians and cyclists, and of vehicles.”

For More Information

Ottawa Regional Road Corridor Guidelines