Corktown Footbridge

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Coordinates: 45°25′14″N 75°41′3.9″W / 45.42056, -75.684417

The completed bridge in 2007.

The western base of the then-incomplete bridge, as it appeared in November 2005

The Corktown Footbridge (French: Passerelle Corktown), also referred to as the Somerset Street bridge, is a footbridge in Ottawa, Canada built across the Rideau Canal. The bridge is located about 400m south of the Laurier Avenue Bridge. It was opened on September 21, 2006.

It links Somerset Street East in Sandy Hill and the University of Ottawa with Somerset Street West in Centretown. Previously the canal had only been crossable at this point during the winter months when it was frozen. People tended to cross late in the season when the ice was melting, which some worried was unsafe. The idea of such a bridge has existed since at least 1984, first being proposed by councillor Diane Holmes. It went through many years of review and feasibility studies. During the 1990s it was supported by Regional Councillor Madeleine Meilleur, but there was never enough money to get it built. The bridge was most recently championed by city councillor Clive Doucet, and city council narrowly approved the $5 million bridge project in January of 2005.

The university and its students were strong supporters of the bridge during its construction. The bars and restaurants of Elgin Street were also eager to have more students. The bridge also links Centretown to the Campus Transitway Station just across the canal. Some Centretown residents have opposed the project because it will increase the number of students in their neighbourhood. Parks Canada also long opposed a bridge, feeling it would disrupt the aesthetics of their Rideau Canal.

[edit] Naming

As of May 15, 2007, there were three possibilities for the final name of the bridge, to be decided by the Rideau Canal Pedestrian Bridge Naming Committee^[1]:

Somerset Footbridge
Charlotte Whitton Footbridge
Corktown Footbridge

On 13 June 2007, Ottawa City Council approved the Corktown Footbridge name.^[2]^[3]^[4] Corktown was the name of the primitive settlement which housed the Rideau Canal's builders, and the naming honours the sacrifices made in constructing the landmark waterway. Prior to this, the Corktown name was promoted by groups such as the Ottawa District Labour Council and the Bytown Museum. ^[5]

The formal ceremony to name the Corktown Footbridge was held on 11 September 2007 led by Mayor Larry O'Brien.^[6]