The Ottawa Senators are officially moving downtown. For hockey fans, it’s a dream decades in the making - a state-of-the-art arena at LeBreton Flats, with views of the Ottawa River, steps from Parliament Hill, the ByWard Market, and the heart of the city. For Ottawa itself, it’s more than a sports story. It’s a test.
This move will bring tens of thousands of people into the core on game nights, not to mention concerts, events, and all the spin-off activity an NHL arena generates. In a city already bursting at the seams, it will either be the spark that finally pushes Ottawa to build the infrastructure it desperately needs - or the tipping point that locks us into permanent gridlock.
Ottawa–Gatineau’s population has surged to 1,660,269 people - an 8.5% increase since 2021, far ahead of Canada’s 5.2% average. We are now the fifth-largest metropolitan area in the country, and we’re growing faster than many cities twice our size. By 2030, we’re projected to hit 1.8 million residents, maybe even 1.9 million - a milestone we weren’t supposed to reach until the 2040s.
That growth is good news for our economy, our culture, and our sense of place on the national stage. But it’s also a warning: our infrastructure is already creaking, and our transportation system is one of the weakest links. If we don’t act now, Ottawa will choke on its success.
Which is why the Bank Street O-Train subway - Line 5 - needs to happen. The idea is simple: a north–south subway running beneath Bank Street from Billings Bridge to Gatineau, connecting directly with Confederation Line 1. The impact would be transformative. Studies suggest such a line could boost O-Train ridership by 20–30% and slash transportation-related emissions by 15% by pulling thousands of cars off the road.
And now, with the Senators’ arena moving to LeBreton Flats, the case isn’t just strong - it’s urgent. Radio TSN 1200’s AJ Jakubec has been one of the most passionate voices on this file. “I moved here in 2003,” he told me, “and there should always be talks on how to improve the city… It would have been great to see an O-Train go underneath Bank Street… sending it up Bank Street from Billings Bridge to Gatineau. ”He sees this as more than a sports issue - it’s a moment for Ottawa to think like a G7 capital. “We are a G7 nation; it’s our capital. We want this to be an attractive place for people to visit. How easy is it to get to the center of our town? It’s not very easy. We need something north and south… I would hope to see it in my lifetime.”
He’s not alone. Councillor Shawn Menard, who represents Capital Ward, has said a Bank Street subway would reduce congestion, lower emissions, and drive economic development. Councillor Riley Brockington has called Lansdowne’s current traffic “completely dysfunctional” - a “traffic disaster.” Deputy Mayor Laura Dudas has stressed that rail links are critical for connecting growing southern neighbourhoods. Even the Glebe Community Association has publicly wondered aloud whether it’s time to start digging under Bank Street. It’s rare to see this much consensus in Ottawa politics.
And yet the Bank Street transit study, which was supposed to be done by now, has been pushed back again - this time to September 2025. Meanwhile, the city keeps growing, and the Senators’ arena clock is ticking. The case for the subway is straightforward. Right now, game days at TD Place are a mess - bottlenecks on Bank Street, slow buses, long walks in the cold. Compounding the challenge, Ottawa’s sports calendar will often see Redblacks football games or Ottawa Atlético soccer matches at Lansdowne Stadium overlapping with Senators hockey games at LeBreton Flats.
Picture it: thousands of fans converging on Bank Street from both venues, gridlocking an already strained corridor from Billings Bridge to downtown. Without the Bank Street O-Train subway - running from Billings Bridge Shopping Centre to Portage and Terrasses de la Chaudière in Gatineau - Bank Street risks becoming impassable, choking access to events and frustrating residents and visitors alike. Now imagine that chaos amplified by overlapping sports events, with no added transit capacity to handle the surge. Instead of crawling through traffic for an hour - wasting gas and pumping emissions into the air - Ottawans could be in their seats in 15 minutes with a Bank Street O-Train Subway.
That’s not just an inconvenience - it’s a drag on the economy, a barrier to attendance, and a hit to Ottawa’s image. A Bank Street subway would fix that. A 6-kilometre tunnel with key stops along the way would make it possible to get from Billings Bridge to LeBreton in minutes, no matter the weather.
It would connect Lansdowne, the new arena, and key business districts in one continuous rapid-transit spine. It would also link into Confederation Line 1, boosting ridership - and offering Gatineau residents an easy, direct way into Ottawa’s core for games and events. Sports executives have been blunt about the benefits. Former Senators executive Brian Crombie told me, “Almost all major sports venues in North America usually have a form of transit that goes with it.” Sens Talk Podcast host Brandon Plant said Bank Street LRT “would be huge” for both the Senators and the Redblacks. Even Andrew Pinsent of CFRA has noted that a downtown arena would make cross-river rail connections far more valuable.
The money is there if we choose to act. The federal government’s Permanent Public Transit Fund will pump $3 billion a year into projects starting in 2026. Ontario has committed $61.1 billion over 10 years for rail projects - and provincial officials have said major subway construction in Ottawa could qualify. This is not a dream without a path; it’s a project without the political urgency to match the city’s needs.
Which brings us to Mayor Mark Sutcliffe. This is his moment. Ottawa will either remember him as the mayor who built the infrastructure to match our ambitions, or as the one who let opportunity pass while the city gridlocked and choked itself into frustration.
The Senators’ downtown arena is coming. The crowds will follow. The question is whether Ottawa will be ready to move them. A downtown Senators arena demands a downtown subway. Bank Street’s time has come.
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