The Corktown Footbridge () is a pedestrian

footbridge A footbridge (also a pedestrian bridge, pedestrian overpass, or pedestrian overcrossing) is a bridge designed solely for pedestrians.''Oxford English Dictionary'' While the primary meaning for a bridge is a structure which links "two points at a ...

over the

Rideau Canal The Rideau Canal is a 202-kilometre long canal that links the Ottawa River at Ottawa with the Cataraqui River and Lake Ontario at Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Its 46 Lock (water navigation), locks raise boats from the Ottawa River 83 metres (272 ...

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. The bridge is located about south of the

Laurier Avenue Bridge The Laurier Avenue Bridge is a bridge in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It carries Laurier Avenue over the Rideau Canal and also Colonel By Drive and Queen Elizabeth Driveway. The green steel arches makes the bridge one of the most recognizable in Otta ...

and connects the

University of Ottawa The University of Ottawa (), often referred to as uOttawa or U of O, is a Official bilingualism in Canada, bilingual public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on directly to the northeast of Downtown Ot ...

campus with the

Golden Triangle Golden Triangle may refer to: Places Asia * Golden Triangle (Southeast Asia), named for its opium production * Golden Triangle (Yangtze), China, named for its rapid economic development * Golden Triangle (India), comprising the popular tourist sp ...

neighbourhood. It was opened on 21 September 2006. The bridge also connects the eastern and western sides of the Rideau Canal Pathway and has links to

Colonel By Drive Colonel By Drive () is an long scenic parkway in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Route description The parkway runs along the Rideau Canal from the end of Sussex Drive (Ottawa), Sussex Drive at Rideau Street (Ottawa), Rideau Street. It then continu ...

on its eastern side and to

Queen Elizabeth Driveway Queen Elizabeth Driveway is a scenic parkway in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Route description The parkway runs along the western edge of the Rideau Canal, from Laurier Avenue in the north to Dow's Lake where it turns into Prince of Wales Dri ...

and

Somerset Street Somerset Street may refer to: *Somerset Street (New Brunswick) *Somerset Street (Ottawa) {{Disambiguation, geo ...

on its western side. The bridge's name refers to a series of shanties built along the "Deep Cut" section of the Rideau Canal during its construction. Many of the labourers living in Corktown came from

County Cork County Cork () is the largest and the southernmost Counties of Ireland, county of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, named after the city of Cork (city), Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

, giving it its name. The idea of a bridge between the University of Ottawa and the Golden Triangle dates back to the 1980s. It went through many years of review and feasibility studies with no success. The university and its students were strong supporters of the concept, saying that the bridge would provide students with easier access to retail on Elgin Street and would connect the Golden Triangle to uOttawa station. City councillors Diane Holmes and

Clive Doucet Clive Doucet (born 1946) is a Canadian writer and politician. He served as the Ottawa City Councillor for Capital Ward from 1997 to 2010 and ran unsuccessfully for Mayor of Ottawa in the 2010 Ottawa municipal election, finishing third with 15 pe ...

also lobbied heavily for the construction of a bridge. Finally, in January 2005, the city council narrowly approved a $5 million bridge project. In spring of 2007, a naming committee was struck by councillors Diane Holmes and

Georges Bédard Georges A. Bédard (born 1945 in Ottawa, Ontario) is a former member of Ottawa City Council representing the ward (politics), ward of By-St. George's Ward, By-St. George's from 1974 to 1980 and Rideau-Vanier Ward, Rideau-Vanier from 2003 to 2010. ...

, composed of stakeholders from communities on both sides of the bridge. The committee presented its report to a public meeting on May 29, 2007, where members of the public had an opportunity to express their preferred name from three shortlisted names: Somerset Footbridge,

Charlotte Whitton Charlotte Elizabeth Whitton (March 8, 1896 – January 25, 1975) was a Canadian feminist and mayor of Ottawa. She was the first woman mayor of a major city in Canada, serving from 1951 to 1956 and again from 1960 to 1964. Whitton was a Canadi ...

Footbridge, and Corktown Footbridge. Public support for the "Corktown" name was overwhelming. The name was also promoted by groups such as the Ottawa District Labour Council, the

Bytown Museum The Bytown Museum (French: Musée Bytown) is a museum in Ottawa located in the Colonel By Valley at the Ottawa Locks of the Rideau Canal on the Ottawa River, just below Parliament Hill. Housed in the Commissariat Building, Ottawa's oldest remai ...

, and an ad-hoc group called "Friends of Corktown Bridge", which organized a

cèilidh A ( , ) or () is a traditional Scottish and Irish social gathering. In its most basic form, it simply means a social visit. In contemporary usage, it usually involves Dance (event), dancing and playing Gaelic music, Gaelic folk music, eithe ...

in advance of the public meeting. The formal ceremony to name the Corktown Footbridge was held on 11 September 2007 led by Mayor

Larry O'Brien Lawrence Francis O'Brien Jr. (July 7, 1917September 28, 1990) was an American politician and commissioner of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1975 to 1984. He was one of the United States Democratic Party's leading electoral strat ...

. The Corktown Footbridge has numerous

love locks A love lock or love padlock is a padlock that couples lock to a bridge, fence, gate, monument, or similar public fixture to symbolize their love. Typically the sweethearts' names or initials, and perhaps the date, are inscribed on the padlock, ...

attached to its railing. In 2014, Professor Murat Saatcioglu of the

determined that there was no risk of structural collapse from the weight of the love locks attached to the railing of the bridge. In 2019 numerous of the love locks were removed due to "the amount, placement and clumping of locks," and that city staff routinely inspected the locks and removed damaged ones.

References

* This contains the official decision naming the Corktown Footbridge.

External links

{{Ottawa Bridges in Ottawa Bridges completed in 2006 Pedestrian bridges in Ontario Irish-Canadian culture in Ontario 2006 establishments in Ontario