Ottawa has no shortage of quirky infrastructure quirks, but few are as universally griped about as the pedestrian underpass at the Rideau-Sussex intersection. If you've ever walked from the Byward Market toward Sussex Drive or tried to cut through on foot near the Rideau Centre, you've probably ducked through this dim, concrete passage — and wondered why it still looks and feels the way it does.
A Tunnel Stuck in Time
As longtime Ottawa Citizen columnist Bruce Deachman has pointed out, the underpass has become something of a running joke among people who navigate downtown Ottawa on foot. It's poorly lit, awkwardly routed, and does little to make pedestrians feel like a priority at one of the city's busiest and most symbolically important intersections — the meeting point of Rideau Street, Sussex Drive, and the doorstep of ByWard Market.
For a corridor that sees tourists, commuters, and shoppers all converging within steps of Parliament Hill and the Chateau Laurier, the underpass has long felt like an afterthought rather than a proper piece of civic infrastructure.
Why It Matters for Ottawa
This isn't just a cosmetic complaint. The Rideau-Sussex intersection sits at the crossroads of some of Ottawa's most heavily trafficked pedestrian zones — connecting the market, the National Gallery, major hotels, and government buildings. A confusing or unwelcoming underpass discourages walking in exactly the part of the city where the municipal government has spent years trying to encourage more foot traffic and street-level vibrancy.
Ottawa residents who rely on walking rather than driving downtown have flagged the underpass for years as a spot that feels neglected compared to other recent pedestrian-focused upgrades around the city, like improvements along Elgin Street and the Slater-Albert corridor.
Calls for a Reconfiguration
The consensus among locals watching this space is that the underpass needs more than a fresh coat of paint. Suggestions floated over the years include better lighting, clearer sightlines, improved signage, and even reconsidering whether an underpass is the right design at all versus an at-grade pedestrian crossing that would feel safer and more inviting.
With the National Capital Commission and the City of Ottawa both having a stake in how this stretch of downtown functions, any real fix will likely require coordination between multiple levels of government — something Ottawa infrastructure projects are no strangers to, for better or worse.
What's Next
For now, the underpass remains largely unchanged, and Ottawans continue to navigate it the way they have for years — quickly, and without much enthusiasm. But as the city continues to invest in making its downtown core more walkable, don't be surprised if this stretch of Rideau-Sussex eventually gets the reconfiguration so many locals have been asking for.
Source: Ottawa Citizen
