Property owners take a variety of measures to discourage skateboarders from using walls as boarding surfaces. Usually, there are little clamps on the leading edge of the wall preventing a smooth run along the wall. A typical plain clamp is shown below. The other pictures are of a much more decorative and friendly-looking maple leaf that landed on the edge of the wall. Seen at World Exchange Plaza in downtown Ottawa. Continue reading a leaf falls …
Property owners take a variety of measures to discourage skateboarders from using walls as boarding surfaces. Usually, there are little clamps on the leading edge of the wall preventing a smooth run along the wall. A typical plain clamp is shown below. The other pictures are of a much more decorative and friendly-looking maple leaf that landed on the edge of the wall. Seen at World Exchange Plaza in downtown Ottawa. Continue reading a leaf falls …
As seen on the second floor roof over a bay window, with special feline access via the second floor window, disco ball, toys, and the passing parade of humans stuck on the sidewalk down below. Continue reading Centretown Cat House
As seen on the second floor roof over a bay window, with special feline access via the second floor window, disco ball, toys, and the passing parade of humans stuck on the sidewalk down below. Continue reading Centretown Cat House
OPEN HOUSE Tuesday, 22 June 2010 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. Dow’s Lake Pavillion (Vista Room) ground floor 1001 Queen Elizabeth Drive Continue reading Carling Ave open house
This is a typical street closure in Ottawa. Closed to cars … open to pedestrians … and closed to cyclists? Cyclists approaching this particular barrier on Spruce Street can choose to ride on the sidewalk (naughty naughty) or squeeze through the centre bollard or side spaces (provided no one is parked close). Why not remove the centre bollards and let cyclists carry on through? Yes, I know some motorbikes would go through too (they already do, on the sidewalk, I watch them daily do this on the Elm closure on the next block). Continue reading Street closures unfriendly to cyclists
Last week a group of concerned citizens participated with the City and its consultants on the routing exercise for the O-Train corridor cycling path (cyclopiste de Preston). Participants represented the NCC, Dalhousie and Hintonburg Community Associations, CfSC and Cycle Vision Ottawa members, a landscape architect, engineer, planner, and others. The cycling arterial will connect the Ottawa River cycling paths to the Otrain at Bayview, run along the tracks behind the City Centre complex, under Somerset via a new underpass, behind the PWGSC complex at 1010 Somerset, and come out at ground level again at Gladstone. Then a short overground stretch … Continue reading Bushwacking for cyclists
This is a typical street closure in Ottawa. Closed to cars … open to pedestrians … and closed to cyclists? Cyclists approaching this particular barrier on Spruce Street can choose to ride on the sidewalk (naughty naughty) or squeeze through the centre bollard or side spaces (provided no one is parked close). Why not remove the centre bollards and let cyclists carry on through? Yes, I know some motorbikes would go through too (they already do, on the sidewalk, I watch them daily do this on the Elm closure on the next block). Continue reading Street closures unfriendly to cyclists
Last week a group of concerned citizens participated with the City and its consultants on the routing exercise for the O-Train corridor cycling path (cyclopiste de Preston). Participants represented the NCC, Dalhousie and Hintonburg Community Associations, CfSC and Cycle Vision Ottawa members, a landscape architect, engineer, planner, and others. The cycling arterial will connect the Ottawa River cycling paths to the Otrain at Bayview, run along the tracks behind the City Centre complex, under Somerset via a new underpass, behind the PWGSC complex at 1010 Somerset, and come out at ground level again at Gladstone. Then a short overground stretch … Continue reading Bushwacking for cyclists
Last night was the second PAC (Public Advisory Committee) meeting on Bronson. After the hard time the city planners and consultants got at the first meeting in April, the May meeting disappeared in favour of a mid-June date. The city and consultants got ideas from the public (me: the Bronson 2 lane plus two way left turn lane model) and the community associations (2 lanes plus turn lanes at intersections, a livable streets model that has worked so well for fixing roads with similar volumes in Toronto) and a lot of pressure from the Councillor to do better. So they came out … Continue reading Bronson deja vu all over again
The top two pix are of a small apartment building kitty korner the downtown Ottawa bus terminal. Its fun to look at as you walk by, the tilted windows add a nice sense of whimsy as do the flying roofs. Below is Strata Centre on the MIT campus in Boston. It is full of fun angles, and the interior spaces — a sort of atrium-cum-courtyard piazza — are fun to walk in. It has a number of architectural jokes, including heavy brick walls that start in mid air two or three floors above your head (they are suspended walls), and I … Continue reading Borrow, adapt, learn
Last night was the second PAC (Public Advisory Committee) meeting on Bronson. After the hard time the city planners and consultants got at the first meeting in April, the May meeting disappeared in favour of a mid-June date. The city and consultants got ideas from the public (me: the Bronson 2 lane plus two way left turn lane model) and the community associations (2 lanes plus turn lanes at intersections, a livable streets model that has worked so well for fixing roads with similar volumes in Toronto) and a lot of pressure from the Councillor to do better. So they came out … Continue reading Bronson deja vu all over again
The top two pix are of a small apartment building kitty korner the downtown Ottawa bus terminal. Its fun to look at as you walk by, the tilted windows add a nice sense of whimsy as do the flying roofs. Below is Strata Centre on the MIT campus in Boston. It is full of fun angles, and the interior spaces — a sort of atrium-cum-courtyard piazza — are fun to walk in. It has a number of architectural jokes, including heavy brick walls that start in mid air two or three floors above your head (they are suspended walls), and I … Continue reading Borrow, adapt, learn
An infill house is being constructed at the north end of Upper Lorne Place, where the staircase goes down to Primrose Street. This picture is taken from the bottom of the stairs. The back of the Dominican College library is in the background, which holds some Dead Sea scrolls. View from the top of the stairs. The house will be three floors, with a garage on the Upper Lorne Place side.This house will have high visibility from all four sides — thus far we have no idea about what quality the exterior will be or what its design is. Primros Continue reading Nanny Goat Hill infill
Six sections of roof will be installed on the Chinese Arch on Thursday. Today, in preparation for that lifting, the pieces were moved out onto Somerset street below the arch. For more details, subscribe to http://www.ottawachinatownroyalarch.blogspot.com/ Continue reading Chinese arch progress
An infill house is being constructed at the north end of Upper Lorne Place, where the staircase goes down to Primrose Street. This picture is taken from the bottom of the stairs. The back of the Dominican College library is in the background, which holds some Dead Sea scrolls. View from the top of the stairs. The house will be three floors, with a garage on the Upper Lorne Place side.This house will have high visibility from all four sides — thus far we have no idea about what quality the exterior will be or what its design is. Primros Continue reading Nanny Goat Hill infill
Six sections of roof will be installed on the Chinese Arch on Thursday. Today, in preparation for that lifting, the pieces were moved out onto Somerset street below the arch. For more details, subscribe to http://www.ottawachinatownroyalarch.blogspot.com/ Continue reading Chinese arch progress
On Spadina Avenue in Hintonburg, as it approaches West Wellie, the city has planted trees on both sides of the street right on the centreline of the concrete sidewalk that runs up the rest of the street. The black post in the foreground is a bike rack that also serves to protect trees from plows, etc. I find it curious that with all the spare space off to the side, the tree was planted in the direct line of the sidewalk. Are trendy Hintonburgers all so thin they can slip by this tree? Do they all walk dogs? Are the … Continue reading Great for dog walkers
On Spadina Avenue in Hintonburg, as it approaches West Wellie, the city has planted trees on both sides of the street right on the centreline of the concrete sidewalk that runs up the rest of the street. The black post in the foreground is a bike rack that also serves to protect trees from plows, etc. I find it curious that with all the spare space off to the side, the tree was planted in the direct line of the sidewalk. Are trendy Hintonburgers all so thin they can slip by this tree? Do they all walk dogs? Are the … Continue reading Great for dog walkers
On May 3rd, new shrubs and trees for Preston are stockpiled near the street. Note especially the trees in the background. On May 7, the shrubs and trees are planted at the corner of Primrose. Note the Bell person hole in the sidewalk. May 10th, Bell removed the planted material and leaves them on the side of the adjacent building, bare roots exposed, no pots, facing south. The greenery fades … Bell “restores” the site. Dead shrubs removed. Note the mulch area is compressed by the steel plates that were stored there. Some rose bushes of the “pancake” variety remain. … Continue reading Collatoral damage
Back in December 09 http://www.http//westsideaction.blogspot.com/2009/12/yucca-yuk.html I posted about the theft of the yucca plants from the front of the city parking garage that runs between Laurier and Slater. On the Laurier side there is a nice little strip of garden space. Then someone stole the nicest yucca plant (looks like a cactus, and yes, is winter hardy) from the west end of the garden, and sometime later, the one from the east end of the garden. As shown, the City has replaced the plants and added some too. Looks nice. Kudos to whomever at the city actually notices these things and … Continue reading Yuca-Yay !
On May 3rd, new shrubs and trees for Preston are stockpiled near the street. Note especially the trees in the background. On May 7, the shrubs and trees are planted at the corner of Primrose. Note the Bell person hole in the sidewalk. May 10th, Bell removed the planted material and leaves them on the side of the adjacent building, bare roots exposed, no pots, facing south. The greenery fades … Bell “restores” the site. Dead shrubs removed. Note the mulch area is compressed by the steel plates that were stored there. Some rose bushes of the “pancake” variety remain. … Continue reading Collatoral damage
Back in December 09 http://www.http//westsideaction.blogspot.com/2009/12/yucca-yuk.html I posted about the theft of the yucca plants from the front of the city parking garage that runs between Laurier and Slater. On the Laurier side there is a nice little strip of garden space. Then someone stole the nicest yucca plant (looks like a cactus, and yes, is winter hardy) from the west end of the garden, and sometime later, the one from the east end of the garden. As shown, the City has replaced the plants and added some too. Looks nice. Kudos to whomever at the city actually notices these things and … Continue reading Yuca-Yay !
Members of the Dalhousie and Centretown community associations met to create a suggested Bronson layout that would be a first step to creating a more liveable street. Here are my notes on the proposal for a new Bronson between Albert and Gladstone: Drawing up a plan by ourselves has certain disadvantages — we cannot estimate turn lane lengths, for example. But we are suggesting these things to the planning group in an effort to get started on a plan that might, with tweaking, be acceptable to the neighborhood and many stakeholders. First, let’s differentiate this plan from the one recently … Continue reading Another Bronson Plan
Members of the Dalhousie and Centretown community associations met to create a suggested Bronson layout that would be a first step to creating a more liveable street. Here are my notes on the proposal for a new Bronson between Albert and Gladstone: Drawing up a plan by ourselves has certain disadvantages — we cannot estimate turn lane lengths, for example. But we are suggesting these things to the planning group in an effort to get started on a plan that might, with tweaking, be acceptable to the neighborhood and many stakeholders. First, let’s differentiate this plan from the one recently … Continue reading Another Bronson Plan
