Thousands of vehicles, pedestrians arrive with truck convoy in Ottawa

Traffic disruptions in Ottawa's downtown core are expected to peakSaturday, with the main demonstration of the truck convoy and thousands of additional protesters having arrivedin full forceon Parliament Hill.

Originally planned against vaccine mandates in the trucking industry, the protest has attracted international attention and grown to become a wider demonstration against the federal government's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Streets in downtown Ottawahave been clogged with hundreds of vehicles, many of them transport trucks, and thousands of pedestrianswho are congregating on Parliament Hill.

At around 8 p.m. Saturday, the Ottawa Police Servicesaidcrowds were beginning to disperse, but gridlock remained. There had been no incidents of violence or injuries reported, the force said.

Ottawa police have said throughout theirpreparations for the protest they wouldn't knowhow the exact number of vehicles expected until they arrived,butActing Deputy ChiefTrish Ferguson said the number is likely to be in thethousands.

"The numbers change, the numbers swell in a province and they shrink while they cross the provincial border. They swell as they go through cities, particularly large regions, and they drop off," said Chief Peter Sloly in a media briefing Friday.

Because of that "accordion effect," Sloly said police can't predict numbers until they're all in the city and they're coming from all directions.

A large part of theconvoy departed from an overnight stop in Arnprior, Ont., around11 a.m. andarriveddowntown Ottawa aroundnoon, according to Ontario Provincial Police.

Police are also expecting around 5,000 pedestrians from Gatineau, Que. to make their way to Parliament Hill today.

Some bridges closed Saturday evening

Plans are in place for traffic disruption and parking, police said, as they have been in constant communication with the captains of the convoys.

Residents should expect downtown gridlock to cause disturbances across the city.

"The stated goal of demonstrators is to disrupt traffic, to bring attention to their cause," Ferguson said.

Protesters have been directed to use the Pinecrest Road entrance to the Highway 417, the Kent exit, and the Sir George-tienne Cartier Parkway, police say.

Ferguson said police will reduce thenumber of available lanes on certain streets, many in the downtown core.

In a Saturday afternoonpress release, police said theywere working to keep lanes for emergency vehicles open. Any vehicles parked on 400-series highways and on/off rampswill be towed, the force said, while people walking on highways and overpasses will be removed.

Ottawa police said Saturday evening that the interprovincial Portage and Alexandra bridges had been closed, the Macdonald-Cartier has lane reductions, andthe Chaudireis accessible to health-care or essential workers only.

The Champlain Bridge remains open, the force said.

The City of Ottawa has an interactive traffic map where residents can check on lane and road closures here. Police have saidpedestrians and cyclists may also be rerouted for safety reasons.

Traffic issues are expected to stretch into Sunday, police said.

Several businessesin the vicinity have also made the decision to shut for the weekend, while the Rideau Centre decided to close its doors early Saturday afternoon.

Thefifth anniversary memorial vigil for victims of the Quebec City mosque shooting, originally scheduledto take place in person indowntown Ottawa Sunday evening, has beenmoved online.

The organizer,Canadians United Against Hate,said it is concerned about safetydowntown and will host the vigil overZoom instead.

WATCH| Ottawa police warn people to avoid downtown core this weekend

Ottawa police warn people to avoid downtown core this weekend

3 years ago

Duration 1:01

Ottawa police Chief Peter Sloly said that the demonstrations against vaccine mandates for truck drivers that are expected to happen in the city this weekend will require a large-scale response from police to ensure safety. He advised Ottawa residents and visitors to limit any business they have in the downtown area over the weekend.

Snow removal paused, bus routes shifted

The City of Ottawa has paused all snow removal and asks residents not to request routine snow removal. It says it intends to restart removal as soon as it makes sense to do so.

Waste collection services should not be interrupted, the city said.

OC Transposaid Saturday afternoon that bus service could not no longer make its way downtown and routes were being rerouted to the LRT.

Service disruptions can be found here.

Ottawa Public Health has also closed its vaccine clinic at the University of Ottawathis weekend due to the disruptions.

Residents should alsoexpect to see morepolice and emergency crews this weekend.

Although the main demonstrationis planned for Saturday, police aren't certain how long protesters will linger.

"We will certainly be extremely concerned should there still be a large set of demonstrations happening in the city of Ottawa, in the downtown core, as we resume a normal workweek," said Kim Ayotte, the general manager of emergency and protective services.

Police continue to ask residents to avoid the downtown core unless it'snecessary.