The Chief William Commanda Bridge is popular with active transportation users

Thousands of people walked, jogged and biked across the William Commanda Bridge during the opening weekend.

The new multi-purpose trail linking Ottawa and Gatineau across the Ottawa River opened to the public on Friday, August 4th.

New statistics from the City of Ottawa show the Chief William Commanda Bridge was crossed nearly 30,000 times in its first week.

“During the first weekend that the bridge was open for use, the city recorded approximately 7,500 people per day crossing the bridge,” the city said.

“While most people crossed as cyclists, thousands of pedestrians also crossed the street, along with people using mobility devices, electric scooters and skateboards.”

The city advises that the automatic meter is located on the north side of Lemieux Island and only counts people crossing the north side of the William Commanda Bridge. People who crossed and turned back the southern route between Ottawa and Lemieux Island are not included in the stats, according to the city.

The bridge west of downtown Ottawa was built in 1880 as a rail link and has not been in service since 2001. The city bought it from the Canadian Pacific Railway in 2005.

The $22.6 million project included the construction of a new wooden deck over the existing sleepers, installation of a steel cable railing system, new lighting through the pathway corridor and new park benches. The federal government provided $8.6 million for the project.

Council voted in 2021 to rename the Prince of Wales Bridge the Chief William Commanda Bridge, after the Algonquin elder and spiritual leader. Commanda was chief of the Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg First Nation from 1951 to 1970 and was a strong advocate of environmental protection. In 2008 he was awarded the Order of Canada.