Police shared the expected route hundreds of motorcyclists will take Saturday as part of the “Rolling Thunder Ottawa” weekend unauthorized rally.
The demonstration drew comparisons to the disruptive Freedom Convoy protest, which gripped downtown Ottawa for several weeks in January and February and has been described many times as an illegal occupation.
Their program includes Friday night and Saturday afternoon rallies on Parliament Hill, a Saturday event at the National War Memorial, a Saturday walk through the city streets and a Sunday morning church service in Vanier. .
Ottawa police have asked other services for help and say they won’t allow protest vehicles into an “exclusion zone” made up of dozens of downtown blocks. Special no-parking zones are also being set up in nearby neighborhoods.
At a news conference Thursday morning, interim Police Chief Steve Bell said passengers are expected to meet at an unspecified location on Coventry Road on Saturday morning before departing around 10:45 a.m.
No stops at War Memorial
The plan shared with police has them heading north on Vanier Parkway, turning onto Montreal Road and crossing the Cummings Bridge to Rideau Street, Bell said.
From there, the ride will turn south on Waller Street, head over the Mackenzie King Bridge, down Elgin Street and turn east on Laurier Avenue West, Bell said. They will end up driving down Nicholas Street and exiting onto the 417 Freeway, he said.
The entire route will be a no-stop, no-parking zone, and Bell said officials will monitor the trip to ensure participants move through the city “in a safe and expeditious manner” with “as little impact to residents as possible.”
Saturday’s National War Memorial event is expected to coincide with the ride, but cyclists won’t be able to stop at the memorial as they pass, Bell said. The entire route would skirt the boundaries of the exclusion zone, he noted.
Rally organizers have now indicated as many as 400 motorcyclists will take part, Bell said, down from the 500 to 1,000 the acting chief estimated earlier this week.
Many would stay in downtown hotels, he said. He did not estimate how many more protesters would arrive on foot, but said the plan in place would account for those numbers.
Organizers have also said the protesters will leave Ottawa on Sunday, Bell said.
Community concerns are taken seriously
Rolling Thunder Ottawa has aligned itself with groups with various motives, including a veterans group aimed at restoring “fundamental rights and freedoms” and a non-profit organization dedicated to “an end to all tyrannical bills and legislation”.
The involvement of the vehicles, along with their ties to the recent Freedom Convoy, has left many downtown residents on edge, after weeks of harassment, noise and road and business closures earlier this year.
Several of the people charged in connection with the Freedom Convoy have conditions that prohibit them from being in Ottawa, and Bell said if they ignore those conditions and show up at the rally, they will face arrest.
Ottawa police have already said they will fan out to central neighborhoods to try to keep the protest legal and hate-free, with officers from the OPP, RCMP and other forces pitching in to help.
“We’ve listened to the community and take the concerns raised seriously. You’ll see it in every element of our planning,” Bell said.
The city has also announced a bylaw crackdown, with its officers expected to enforce parking rules, limit vehicle noise and prevent littering.
In an email Wednesday, the city said Rolling Thunder organizers reached out on April 13 to get a special event permit for Saturday, but the request was denied because the city needs at least 28 days to process that type. of requests.
Regular pedestrian and vehicular traffic will be allowed within the exclusion zone, and traffic is expected to function normally.
Even with some interruptions and potential traffic delays, Mayor Jim Watson urged residents to enjoy downtown over the weekend and support local businesses.
“People certainly have a right to peacefully protest,” Watson said at Thursday’s news conference. “And I want to emphasize that any illegal activity will not be tolerated.”
Reference-www.cbc.ca