The City is working towards a new ped cyclist bridge over the Rideau River. It would connect Donald Street east of the Rideau with Somerset (East) on the west side of the Rideau (thru Strathcona Park).

In addition to the numerous logical elements of connecting the road network, and the less obvious, like being able to avoid the Cummings Bridge and Rideau Street, there is also the convenience of a very shallow zone on the river.

It is, in fact, a traditional spot for fording the river. Here’s a view from just a few days ago:

The gent in the foreground, fording the river, sat beside me on the pathway bench to put his sox and shoes back on, and related that he used to cross the river here starting when he was four, holding his grandmother’s hand.

A bit further in the distance, note some souls are sitting in lawn chairs in mid-stream. That is one way to overcome the lack of lively riverside spots in our “keep our parks quiet and dead” mindset.

And quite interestingly, there is yet another person in the background, dragging a cooler through the water. I hoped he would make it my shore so I could find out what was in the cooler, but alas, he had other destinations in mind.