City of Ottawa ad campaign to encourage public servants to ‘extend their time’ downtown after work this fall

A new City of Ottawa campaign is encouraging employees to linger downtown after work, though many critics say the initiative is out of touch.

The City of Ottawa will launch a new ad campaign this summer to encourage federal public servants to spend more time downtown at the end of the workday to help alleviate pressure on OC Transpo buses and the O-Train and roads across the city.

OC Transpo and the city are expecting an additional 65,000 trips a week into the downtown area this fall, with federal public servants required to be in the office a minimum of four days a week.

• Feds looking for additional office space in Ottawa-Gatineau to accommodate public servants

Council approved a $29 million plan last week to keep commuters moving this fall as public servants and students return to public transit includes increasing frequency on O-Train Line 1, new Express routes and additional service on routes from existing park-and-rides and from other key locations to Tunney’s Pasture and downtown.

The plan includes spending $50,000 on a transit communication campaign targeting public servants, and $110,000 for promotion and paid advertising to share mitigation measures and travel tips.

OC Transpo will conduct a “phased campaign” over the summer to inform commuters, with a “big launch” in mid-August featuring a paid marketing campaign.  The campaign will run into September and the fall to inform commuters about options to get to work and school.

City staff say the communications strategy will educate commuters on the “full range of mobility options available to residents,” and encourage workers to experience other businesses in the downtown core after work.

“The communications approach will include targeted efforts to promote downtown activity, events, and businesses, with the objective of encouraging workers and visitors who travel to the downtown core to extend their time in the area in order to spread the egress from downtown over a longer period,” staff said.

“As workplace attendance increases, the strategy creates an opportunity to build awareness of the significant investments the city and its partners have made to strengthen the downtown experience, including public realm improvements, programming, festivals, and community events such as the Bytown 200 celebrations.”

The city will work with Business Improvement Areas and other partners to amplify the campaign.

“The plan aims to highlight local events, restaurants, shops, cultural attractions and new public spaces that contribute to vibrant, welcoming communities,” chief communications officer Jocelyne Turner said in a statement to CTV News Ottawa.

“The City is working closely with OC Transpo to complement its transit communications work by reinforcing key travel information and helping residents understand the full range of transportation options available to them.”

Staff say the city’s communications strategy will focus on providing “timely, clear and actionable travel information” to help commuters plan their trips, communicate “transparently and consistently” about construction and other issues, and use real-time information on transit service and traffic conditions to “support efficient trip planning and reduce avoidable congestion.”

Federal union blasts campaign

The union representing thousands of federal public service workers in the National Capital Region is sharply criticizing the City of Ottawa’s campaign encouraging office workers to stay downtown after work to help businesses and ease congestion.

Ruth Lau MacDonald, Regional Executive Vice-President for the National Capital Region with the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), called the campaign “really foolish,” arguing it unfairly places the burden of supporting downtown businesses on federal employees.

“It’s really unfortunate that we have municipal government and leadership that seems to think that the best options for businesses are to treat my members, federal public service workers, as a captive audience, as captive consumers,” MacDonald said.

She said the campaign ignores the financial pressures many workers are already facing, including the rising cost of living, expensive housing and federal workforce reductions affecting employees in the National Capital Region.

MacDonald said she doesn’t believe an advertising campaign will convince workers to remain downtown after work, particularly those with family responsibilities.

“The people who are sticking around after work are already doing that,” she said. “There’s no amount of money that you can invest in an ad campaign to compensate for a lack of planning.”

Transit remains one of the biggest concerns union members raise, according to MacDonald.

She says unreliable service adds significant time to workers’ days and increases household expenses, with some members spending thousands of dollars annually on commuting costs.

The union is also taking issue with the city’s consultation process.

MacDonald said PSAC, employee networks, disability advocates and community organizations were not consulted before the campaign was developed.

“This is really short-sighted,” she said. “It doesn’t take into consideration our needs as a community.”

With files from CTV News Ottawa’s Leah Larocque

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