Transportation Committee (June 5): This meeting was well attended by public delegations who wished to speak to the proposed route for the interprovincial bridge, a highly controversial topic. Some of the Councillors on the Committee made some very strong, positive remarks promoting sustainability in the city, in light of the bridge discussion. Disappointingly, Councillors approved patio encroachments on the Elgin Street sidewalk, without amending the motion to ensure pedestrian safety. The meeting ended with a surprising motion from Councillor Hubley to petition the Ministry of Transportation to erect non signalized pedestrian crossings at various locations to improve pedestrian safety.
A Tar Sands Pipeline in the City of Ottawa?
The Ottawa Citizen released a map today showing the proposed route that 850,000 barrels a day of tar sands oil would take through the City of Ottawa if TransCanada Corp gets its way. You can see the map of the proposed pipeline route here.
The plan is to retrofit a natural gas pipeline into a pipeline that will carry crude oil from Alberta’s tar sands to the East Coast of Canada and they want to run the pipeline through the south end of Ottawa and across the Rideau River.
A false dichotomy: Heritage vs cyclists
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National Gallery of Canada. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)[/caption]
The Planning Committee on June 25th carried a motion to save and relocate two historic buildings (previously on the path to demolition) at 273, 275-79 Sussex Drive, as they make way for a redesigned road that is to include wider footpaths and dedicated bike lanes. The road is due for a 1.2km upgrade of the sewer and utility lines between the National Gallery of Canada and King Edward Avenue and thus the City is taking this opportunity to widen the road from four lanes to six, with two of them being dedicated to cyclists.
Whilst Ecology Ottawa is always happy to hear that the City is acting to complete the cycling network and creating more complete streets for cyclists and pedestrians, it is sad that in this case cyclists were pitted against heritage conservationists. As Liz Bernstein, Vice- President of the Lowertown Community Association stated, ‘this is a false dichotomy.’ According to the City, the road needs to be realigned and straightened in order to provide safe cycling lanes, which dictates the removal of the houses. However, this isn’t a heritage versus cycling issue. In fact, there is a third player that the City seems to be conveniently ignoring; the car. The road could be a five or four lane road instead of a six, with less lanes for cars, thus eliminating the need to move the houses and still providing for a more complete street. Nethertheless, the City rejected all proposals that didn’t include four lanes for cars, due to the piece of road being between the two major links to Gatineau. And so, because of an unwillingness to compromise the ability of people to commute by private automobile, the issue becomes a choice between cycling and heritage. It is not acceptable that cyclists, pedestrians and heritage are a second priority, whilst cars are the first priority. We hope the City remembers this as we move forward to make Ottawa a more vibrant, sustainable, and healthy city.
The decision to relocate the buildings was ratified by City Council on June 26th.
Further information:
The elephant in the room
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English: Ottawa City Hall Français : Hôtel de ville d'Ottawa (Photo credit: Wikipedia)[/caption]
Intensification is a touchy subject. The packed room full of people at the Planning Committee meeting on June 25th can attest to that. Ecology Ottawa understands residents’ concerns with intensification and is happy that Councillors responded to their concerns with sincerity, as often developers seem to hold all the power. We would like to encourage our fellow residents of Ottawa to support appropriate and sustainable intensification in our neighbourhoods, as a compact and complete city will benefit us all. We also encourage developers to approach intensification in an appropriate way that respects the established communities and accommodates their concerns. Furthermore, we encourage our city councillors to continue to display leadership on this issue.
Stop the Tar Sands Pipeline through the City of Ottawa
TransCanada wants to convert a gas pipeline into one that would carry toxic Tar Sands oil through Ottawa. It is all risk and no benefit to the people of Ottawa.
Sign the petition to stop the pipeline by clicking here.
Cardinal Creek Village
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Urban sprawl elsewhere in Ontario (Photo credit: Wikipedia)[/caption]
The Planning Committee meeting on June 25th saw the Cardinal Creek Village Concept Plan approved. Cardinal Creek Village is located on the outskirts of Orleans, just east of Trim Road. An area of approximately 208 hectares is intended to include 3,000 residential units, ranging from detached single family homes to townhouses and possibly low-rise apartments near the Ottawa River. Ecology Ottawa is pleased that the concept plan highlights features such as multi-use pathways, cycling connections, open spaces, and the provision to shop and work close to residential neighbourhoods. As stated in the staff report (Item 12),
A Huge Milestone for the Ottawa River
Ottawa Canada July 2010 — Ottawa Tourist Bureau 13 (Photo credit: dugspr — Home for Good)
We are entering a critical phase in the long struggle to stop the dumping of sewage into the Ottawa River. The City of Ottawa has a plan, it has committed its fair share of the money and, if all goes well, the resources we need to make the plan a reality will be approved in next year’s federal and provincial budgets.
Strengthen the future of the Byward Market, but make it a future with fewer cars
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York street in the ByWard Market (Photo credit: Wikipedia)[/caption]
The highlight of the June 11th Planning Committee meeting was item 7 entitled ‘Strengthening the Future of the Byward Market’. As a response to concerns from the Byward community, the City of Ottawa hired a New York based firm, Project for Public Spaces (PPS), to identify the challenges and opportunities that exist in the Byward Market. The report that was submitted to the Committee concluded that ‘the public market (farmer’s market) located in the core of the ByWard Market is at risk of being lost if significant changes are not made.’