Who's raising the issue
Trexity currently ships deliveries for 1,100 local businesses across the region and contracts more than 1,000 drivers, giving Woodbridge a front-row view of how the city's streets are handling the surge in e-commerce and delivery traffic.
The problem, in his words
Woodbridge argued that Ottawa's current setup makes life needlessly difficult for the drivers moving packages and food around the city. "We as a city put a lot of friction into the process," he said. He pointed specifically to the shift in how local businesses now operate, arguing that "every single business in our community is its own warehouse" as more retailers and restaurants lean on delivery to reach customers.
That shift, he said, hasn't been matched by changes to the streets those deliveries actually happen on.
ByWard Market's parking problem
One area Woodbridge singled out is the ByWard Market, where a lack of parking has become a real cost for drivers. Merchants in the Market have complained that parking tickets there have piled up to the point where some independent drivers now avoid the area altogether rather than risk a fine. Woodbridge said the math is brutal for a driver working on thin margins: "Their entire day's earnings have just been wiped out by one ticket."
For a neighbourhood that depends heavily on foot traffic and small, independent businesses, drivers steering clear of the area because of ticketing risk cuts against the kind of quick, reliable delivery that keeps those businesses competitive with bigger retailers.
What a fix could look like
Woodbridge pointed to Washington, D.C. as an example of a city that has already tackled the problem, having designated delivery zones similar to bus stops, dedicated curb space where delivery vehicles can pull in briefly without competing with regular parking or risking a ticket. He suggested Ottawa look at similar zoning as one way to reduce the friction he described, giving drivers a legal place to stop without eating into their earnings.
Why it matters for Ottawa
With more than 1,000 drivers working through Trexity alone, plus whatever volume runs through other courier and food-delivery services citywide, the way Ottawa manages curb space has real consequences for how affordable and reliable delivery stays for both drivers and the businesses that depend on them.
Sources: Ottawa Business Journal
