Somerset Street (Ottawa)

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Somerset Street is a street in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is divided into Somerset Street East and Somerset Street West by the Rideau Canal and the University of Ottawa campus. Sections of Somerset Street are infamous for drugs and prostitution.

1 Somerset Street East
2 Somerset Street West
3 In between
4 External Links

[edit] Somerset Street East

Somerset Street East is a short road that runs through the neighbourhood of Sandy Hill from the University of Ottawa campus to the west and Strathcona Park to the east. Somerset also used to extend east over the Rideau River towards St. Laurent Boulevard. However, that bridge was demolished, and the street was renamed to Donald Avenue east of the river.

[edit] Somerset Street West

Also known as Ottawa Road #36, Somerset Street West begins at the Queen Elizabeth Driveway in the east and continues west to Wellington Street. Somerset Street West houses the backbone of Ottawa's Chinatown, between Kent Street in the east to Booth Street in the west. The street also crosses Preston Street, the centre of Ottawa's Little Italy.

[edit] In between

At one time, the two Somerset Streets had been connected by a bridge over the Rideau Canal. However, this bridge has long been removed. On the east side of the canal, there is a pedestrian link from the multi-use pathway that runs alongside the canal, across Colonel By Drive, and under Nicholas Street and the Transitway, onto the University of Ottawa campus. The street continues through the campus as Marie Curie Private, with traffic restricted to bicycles in the westbound direction.

A bridge was built to connect the two sides; however, this bridge is restricted to non-motorized traffic. The bridge opened to the public on September 21, 2006.