1532...Mythic Proportions In Ottawa Thursday

Tomorrow one of the more trying periods our Capital has ever been through will reach both its climax and its end as murdered Ottawa Police Service Constable Eric Czapnik is laid to rest after an elaborate ceremony which, I have been led to believe by a source inside the OPS, will be attended by no less than 8,000 police officers from Canada, the United States and the world.

For those not following this story it is truly bizarre. Constable Eric Czapnik's alleged killer, and alleged will soon become simply "killer" is 43 year old Kevin Gregson who was a suspended RCMP, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, officer. As you probably know, coppers are pretty tight with each other, a true brother/sisterhood which is what makes this particular murder so strange.

CTV.ca, the Ottawa branch, reports the following disruptions in roadways and transit for this solemn event:

Ottawa police will close the following roads between 11:30 a.m. and 1:30
p.m. Thursday for a funeral procession for Const. Eric Czapnik:

Bronson Avenue from Colonel By Drive (southbound) to Riverside Drive (northbound)

Sunnyside Avenue from Bronson Avenue to Bank Street
Bank Street between Riverdale Avenue (northbound) and Fifth Avenue (southbound)

Police say southbound traffic on Bronson Avenue will be diverted onto Colonel By Drive, Hogsback, Brookfield, and onto the Airport Parkway.

Bronson Avenue northbound will be closed at the Riverside Drive ramp and traffic will be redirected onto Riverside Drive.

There will also be rolling street closures following the funeral to accommodate a procession to Beechwood Cemetery.

Those closures will be along Queen Elizabeth Driveway north to Elgin Street,
Rideau Street and Sussex Drive. Police say no formal detours will be required.

Police also warn motorists that heavy traffic is expected on Bank Street and
Queen Elizabeth Drive following the funeral.

Parking restrictions

Parking will also be restricted on Sunnyside Avenue (between Bronson Avenue
and Riverdale Avenue) and Bank Street (between Sunnyside Avenue and Fifth
Avenue). Streets surrounding Ottawa Police headquarters on Elgin Street
(Catherine Street, Elgin Street and Argyle Avenue) could also be affected.

There will be no public parking available at Lansdowne Park for the
ceremony.

Local businesses in the area will remain open and parking will be
available north of Holmwood Avenue and south of Sunnyside Avenue. Customers are
advised they can access those businesses from Riverdale Avenue.

The street closures will also result in bus detours for routes that travel along Bank
Street. Those routes include:

Route 1: Greenboro (southbound) and
Ottawa-Rockcliffe (northbound)
Route 4: Hurdman (southbound) and Downtown
(northbound)
Route 7: Carleton University (southbound) and Downtown
(northbound).

Carleton University, off Bronson, will be the staging area for this solemn event. The procession will then proceed to the Urbandale Centre, formerly the Civic Centre, which is about two klicks from Carleton at Lansdowne Park on Bank Street.

WFDS