The City of Gatineau has requested an injunction to keep a section of Rue Gamelin in Gatineau Park open to the public.

Earlier this month, the National Capital Commission announced that it is shutting down public access to about 600 metres of the street between the Gatineau Parkway and Rue des Fées, effective Monday.

But a Federal Court hearing into the injunction, tentatively scheduled for this Wednesday, means the road will remain open to the public until a ruling is made, the city announced Saturday.

During planning for Saint-Raymond and des Allumettières boulevards, the city and the NCC agreed that the section of road would eventually be closed once all other traffic infrastructure was in place.

But the city fears delays will be caused by the diversion of about 5,000 motorists who use the road each day, and said response times for emergency services would be affected.

"Prior to the announcement of the closure, the NCC worked with l'Agence de santé et des services sociaux de l'Outaouais to assess the impact of the closure on the response time of the ambulance services," an NCC media release sent Thursday said. "Their report confirms that the closure of this section will not have significant impact on the response time of ambulance services."

The NCC has said it will allow ambulances to use the road until the planned work to dismantle it is scheduled to begin in the spring of 2013.

The NCC has also said that if city council would commit to putting in place recommended traffic mitigation measures in 2013, it would consider delaying the closure for a year.

Mayor Marc Bureau had said Friday that the municipality was looking into ways to stop the closure.

Later Friday, the federal court agreed to hear the city's case for an injunction on Saturday night. The hearing was then rescheduled for Wednesday.