Carp Road: What's Actually Happening, What It Means for Your Commute, and What I'll Do About It

Stittsville residents have been waiting for Carp Road to be fixed for over a decade.

I know this because you've told me — at your front door, at community events, in parking lots, and in the comments of every local Facebook group. Carp Road is not just a transportation complaint. For the families of Ward 6, it represents something deeper: the feeling that our community has been growing at full speed while City Hall has been watching in slow motion.

Construction has now officially begun. And while that should feel like good news — and in many ways it is — I want to be straight with you about what is actually happening, how long it will take, and what a Ward 6 councillor needs to do to make sure this project stays on track.

Because the worst thing that could happen now is for residents to assume the hard part is over. It isn't. It's just beginning.

First: How Did We Get Here?

The story of Carp Road widening starts in the mid-2010s, when the City of Ottawa's Transportation Master Plan identified the road as critically in need of widening from two lanes to four, and initiated an Environmental Assessment study to determine how to do it. That was eleven years ago.

Since then, Stittsville's population has grown from roughly 30,000 to over 52,000 residents. New subdivisions have been approved and built. Thousands of new homes have been added to Blackstone, Fairwinds, and the surrounding areas. And through all of it, Carp Road — the primary north-south arterial connecting Stittsville to the Queensway — remained a two-lane road carrying traffic volumes it was never designed to handle.

The result? Commuters who leave for work at 7:30am and spend 20 minutes sitting at the Hazeldean intersection. Parents doing school drop-offs on roads where there are no sidewalks. Residents near Carp Road who have watched their neighbourhood absorb the pressure of a growing city while the infrastructure around them stood still.

This is not an accident. It is the product of years of budget decisions, competing priorities, and a City Hall that has too often treated suburban wards like Ward 6 as growth engines rather than communities deserving of investment.

What Is Actually Happening Right Now

Let me give you the clearest possible breakdown of what has been approved and what is coming.

Preliminary work is already underway. You may have noticed early activity on the Carp Road corridor. This is groundwork — utility relocation, site surveys, and preparation that has to happen before major construction can begin.

Phase 1: The Carp-Hazeldean Intersection (2026–2027)

The first significant construction phase focuses on the intersection of Carp Road and Hazeldean Road. This is one of the most congested choke points in the ward, and the upgrades will include:

Safety and accessibility improvements for pedestrians and cyclists

Reconfiguration of the intersection to handle higher traffic volumes

Upgrades to traffic signal systems and turning lanes

Phase 1 is expected to begin intensive work in 2026 and be completed in 2027. For residents who use this intersection daily — particularly those coming from Fairwinds, Bryanston Gate, and the newer subdivisions to the south — this phase will bring disruption before it brings relief. Expect detours, changed traffic patterns, and construction noise. Plan for it.

Phase 2: The Full Road Widening (Post-2027)

Phase 2 is the project most residents have been waiting for: the actual widening of Carp Road from two lanes to four between Highway 417 and Hazeldean Road. This phase also includes:

New sidewalks on both sides of the road

Multi-use pathways for cyclists and pedestrians

New sanitary and storm sewers and watermain installation

Property acquisition from affected landowners along the route

Phase 2 general construction is currently scheduled to begin in 2028 — after Phase 1 is complete. Utility relocations for Phase 2 begin in 2026 in parallel with Phase 1 work. The full project, from Phase 1 start to Phase 2 completion, is expected to take four to five years.

Let that land for a moment. We are looking at a project that will reshape this community's most critical road — but it will reshape daily life for residents along that corridor for the better part of the next five years.

That is not a criticism of the project. The work needs to be done, and it needs to be done properly. But it means the job of Ward 6's next councillor is not just to celebrate the groundbreaking. It is to watch every milestone, push back when timelines slip, and make sure residents are never left wondering what is happening and why.

What This Means for Your Commute — Right Now

I want to be honest with you: the near-term picture on Carp Road is going to get harder before it gets better.

During Phase 1, the Carp-Hazeldean intersection will be under active construction for the better part of 2026 and into 2027. Residents who use this intersection — which is most of southern and western Stittsville — should expect:

Delays on Carp Road itself. Lane reductions and flagging operations during construction will slow traffic through the work zone. Morning commutes that are already frustrating will require extra time. Build a buffer into your schedule starting now.

Increased traffic on alternate routes. As drivers avoid Carp Road, roads like Huntmar Drive, Abbott Street, and Hazeldean will see higher volumes. These roads were not designed to absorb Carp Road's overflow. Expect congestion on routes that are already stretched.

Disruptions near the construction zone. Residents and businesses along the Carp-Hazeldean corridor will experience noise, dust, changed access patterns, and the general upheaval that comes with major urban construction. The city has committed to proactive communications — but in my experience, "proactive communications" often means a notice taped to a telephone pole the week before drilling starts.

I want Ward 6 to do better than that.

What This Means for Small Businesses Along Carp Road

Commuters are not the only ones who will feel this construction. The small businesses along the Carp Road corridor are facing years of disruption — and right now, nobody in this campaign is talking about them.

Stittsville Central has already reported that businesses along the route have expressed serious concerns, and some have already left the area before major construction has even ramped up. That is the early warning signal. The broader Carp Road corridor contains 177 businesses employing more than 2,500 people. For a small café, a hair salon, a local retailer operating on tight margins, four to five years of lane reductions, changed intersection configurations, construction noise, and dust is not just an inconvenience — it is potentially existential.

The design already reflects this reality. A new roundabout is planned at Kittiwake Drive and Echowoods Avenue specifically to maintain access to Stittsville Corners Plaza. But a changed access point takes time for customers to get used to — and in the meantime, foot traffic falls. Some businesses will not survive the adjustment period.

The city's approach so far has been to acknowledge the disruption and promise that Carp Road will remain open throughout construction. That is the minimum. What is missing is a formal business protection plan — active signage directing customers to open businesses, a dedicated city liaison for affected business owners, and a coordinated community campaign to keep Stittsville residents shopping local through the construction years.

As your councillor, I will push for exactly that. The Ward 6 business community deserves more than a public information session and a promise that the road will stay open. They deserve a councillor who fights for them through every phase of this project — not just the ribbon cutting at the end.

The Accountability Gap — And Why It Matters

Here is what concerns me most as a candidate and as a resident.

Major infrastructure projects in Ottawa have a track record of slipping timelines. The LRT is the most famous example, but it is far from the only one. When timelines slip on a project of this size, the cost falls on residents — in commute time, in economic disruption, in the ongoing strain on roads that were never meant to carry this load.

Right now, there is no mechanism that puts Carp Road construction updates in front of Ward 6 residents on a regular basis, in plain language, without requiring residents to go hunting for information on city websites or submit formal requests.

That is a gap I intend to close.

My Commitment to Ward 6 on Carp Road

If you elect me as your Ward 6 Councillor on October 26th, I am making you three specific, trackable commitments on Carp Road.

Commitment 1: A monthly public construction update — every single month.

Starting from my first month in office, I will publish a plain-language Carp Road update on the first week of every month. Not a city press release copy-pasted into a newsletter. A real update: where Phase 1 stands, whether it is on schedule, what is coming next month, and what I am hearing from residents along the corridor. If something is behind schedule, you will know — and you will know what I am doing about it.

Commitment 2: Regular meetings with city project managers — and I will share what I hear.

The City of Ottawa has a project manager assigned to the Carp Road widening. As your councillor, I will meet with that project manager regularly and report what I am told to the public. Too often, the information flow between City Hall and residents runs one way. I want to reverse that.

Commitment 3: I will push for Phase 2 to start as soon as Phase 1 is complete — with no gap.

One of the risks in a phased project like this is that Phase 2 gets delayed waiting for new budget cycles, new approvals, or new political priorities. I will advocate loudly and publicly for Phase 2 to begin without delay the moment Phase 1 wraps. The residents of Ward 6 have waited a decade. They should not wait one day longer than necessary.

The Bigger Picture: Carp Road Is a Symbol

I want to close with something that goes beyond construction timelines and traffic counts.

Carp Road is, for many Ward 6 residents, a symbol of a larger frustration. It represents the feeling that Stittsville has given a great deal to the city — in taxes, in population growth, in the construction of one of Ottawa's most vibrant suburban communities — and has too often received less in return than it deserves.

The 2026 city budget allocated $11.2 million for Stittsville road projects. Meanwhile, the Robert Grant Avenue extension — a project critical to relieving Huntmar Drive and connecting the ward's newest growth areas — carries an $88 million price tag and sits in the city's plan with construction not beginning until at least the late 2020s.

When you look at those numbers next to the 52,000+ people who call Stittsville home, something does not add up.

Getting Carp Road built on schedule is not just a construction management problem. It is a question of whether Ward 6 residents will finally have a councillor at the table who fights for their fair share — every budget cycle, every planning committee meeting, every time City Hall decides whose priorities come first.

That is what I am running to be.

Stay Informed — And Hold Me to Account

I believe the residents of Stittsville are some of the most engaged, informed, and passionate community members in Ottawa. You do not need a councillor to make decisions for you. You need a councillor who gives you the information to hold City Hall — and your own elected representative — accountable.

That starts with Carp Road. And it starts on October 26th.

If you have questions about the Carp Road project, about my platform, or about anything happening in Ward 6, I want to hear from you directly.

📧 info@sheetalnarwal.ca

📞 (343) 543-6363

🌐 sheetalnarwal.ca

📘 www.facebook.com/SheetalNarwalWard6

📸 instagram.com/sheetalnarwal1

And if you believe Stittsville deserves a councillor who shows up, communicates clearly, and never stops fighting for Ward 6 — I hope you will join this campaign.

Building the Stittsville We Deserve.

— Sheetal Narwal

Candidate, Ward 6 City Councillor

Stittsville, Ottawa

October 26, 2026

Authorized by the CFO of the Sheetal Narwal Campaign. Paid for by the Sheetal Narwal Campaign.

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