Ottawa Parking Garage Partially Collapses Overnight Amid Heavy Snowfall
A downtown Ottawa parking garage suffered a partial collapse overnight from Tuesday into Wednesday, with sections of three upper floors and the west wall either falling or being removed.
The incident was first reported just before 5 p.m. Tuesday when a 911 caller noticed damage to a column on one of the garage’s pillars spanning from Slater Street to Laurier Avenue W., west of O’Connor Street. Upon arrival, Ottawa Fire Services observed five to six girders bowing, raising structural concerns.
Scott Lockhart, the city’s deputy chief building official, stated that engineers had deemed the structure at risk of imminent collapse due to significant snow accumulation on the roof. By early Wednesday morning, a section of the upper west-side wall was found on the ground. A witness from a neighboring building captured an image showing apparent collapses across three upper floors, leaving snow piled on the lower levels. It remains unclear whether the damage was caused by demolition crews or if it occurred naturally.
In response, Ottawa police have closed Slater Street between Bank and O’Connor streets, along with the north-side sidewalk on Laurier Avenue. Vehicles parked inside the garage are immobile until further notice. City officials, police, and representatives from Indigo, the company managing the garage, were present at the scene, assisting affected vehicle owners, including providing taxi chits.
Authorities confirmed no reported injuries. The garage, located four blocks south of Parliament Hill, was previously approved for redevelopment into a pair of apartment towers last June.
Source: Swifteradio.com
