NCC, ottawa river1 Comment

NCC Ottawa Riverfront regeneration

Westsideaction

click to enlarge and see details The geese along the Ottawa River are pretty oblivious of cylists and pedestrians at the best of times (unless they see you with a plastic bag – then they are eager to be fed) but for several days they have been in tighter groupings on the grass and usually facing the NCC workers busy digging holes in their favorite lawn areas along the river edge. In the area downstream from Island Park, the NCC crews have been planting multiple rows of small shrubs along the shoreline. Presumably it is to protect the shoreline from … Continue reading NCC Ottawa Riverfront regeneration

Claridge, condos, green roofs, LeBreton Flats1 Comment

Claridge’s Brown-Green Roof

Westsideaction

mid-May mid-June Claridge is the developer of phase one, LeBreton Flats. They have half of the first building on Lett Street is constructed and many suites are occupied. The NCC landscaped the area to the north of the building, running up to the new Wellington Street, with paved bicycle path, benches, garbage cans, trees, shrubs, and grass. The did a significant chunk of this work in mid-winter. Claridge is responsible for doing the landscaping immediately behind the current condo building. The top picture shows truckloads of sand put on the gravel on top of the parking garage roof. They did … Continue reading Claridge’s Brown-Green Roof

Ottawa1 Comment

Fixing Urban Sprawl

Westsideaction

Mainstream media is now reporting cheerfully on the notion of building higher density cities on top of suburban malls and other underused lands. http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1904187,00.html I find the article rather frustrating, though, because it is little more than a concept story. There is not enough on who proposed the retrofit of suburbia, competing proposals, and / or the prospects of anything actually being done in this case. Continue reading Fixing Urban Sprawl

housing policy6 Comments

Small Lot Housing is a Big Deal

Westsideaction

I read in the Citizen the other day about West end residents complaining about single homes on 35′ lots. Heck, my lot is 29′ and I’ve got a great century single home, yard, neat garden, and tons of outdoor space and privacy. Perhaps these people should look a bit further, to find out what is really small. There is a development proposed for the corner of Gladstone and Cambridge, where there currently is a shocking-yellow house. There will be seven townhouses, each on 12′ lots. Judging by the plans and the elevations, should be quite nice neighbors. There is a … Continue reading Small Lot Housing is a Big Deal

little Italy, Preston street1 Comment

Where’s Luigi??

Westsideaction

It is good to see the Preston BIA trying to make the best of the holey-mess that is Preston Street this year. The exposed sewer pipes are big enough to run the little Fiat baby cars through, like in The Italian Job movie. Hey, now that Fiat owns Chrysler, maybe we will see those baby cars again ! I have fond memories of my first sighting of these mini-Fiats (so small they make the Smart Car look like a Hummer) in Rome in the 70’s, the generally skinny male driver, the 400lb momma in the front seat, grandma all dressed … Continue reading Where’s Luigi??

Bayview, bike path, LeBreton Flats, ottawa river1 Comment

Logging Days & Les Raftsmen on the Ottawa

Westsideaction

click image to enlarge These two concrete structures sit in the middle of the Ottawa River west of the Chaudiere Falls dam. They are on very small stoney islands, most likely man-made. Years ago, I vaguely recall that there were some small houses/work shacks out in the river for logging crews to use. I can recall they had sloped roofs. I was wondering if these are the walls of the buildings (ie, they were concrete buildings) or if these are the remaining foundations, and the wooden buildings used to be on top of them. This goes back to the log-boom … Continue reading Logging Days & Les Raftsmen on the Ottawa

Bayview Otrain, interprovincial transit study, O-Train, ottawa river

Royal Mis-treatment

Westsideaction

The Prince of Wales railway bridge is owned by the City of Ottawa. Built in the 1880’s it should be declared a heritage structure. It sits unused just north of Bayview O-Train station. Does the city have any maintenance plan for the bridge, or are they going to let it rust away until it collapses or requires more expensive repair? I do not know if the rust is just a surface effect to not worry about or if it is corroding away the bridge. But I do notice that other city steel structures are rust free. Just north of this … Continue reading Royal Mis-treatment

green roofs

Green Roofs – Gone? The Rideau Centre

Westsideaction

congress centre demolished Rideau Ctr rooftop path and patio narrower rooftop path In this blog’s series on rooftop greenspaces I’ve tried to illustrate that we already have a number of attractively landscaped and useful green roofs. One of the earlier roofscaping treatments was the Rideau Centre, and it’s one of the largest. It’s a maze of wide and narrow paths, trees, shrubs, lawns, patios. Not many benches though, probably to discourage loitering or using the park. Regular inhabitants include Rideau Centre staffers smoking or lunching, bunny rabbits, squirrels, birds, and transients. Main access points are from the doors at the … Continue reading Green Roofs – Gone? The Rideau Centre

Scott street, Westboro Collection

Westboro Collection

Westsideaction

click to enlarge site plan The Westboro Collection is a proposed multi-building development in Westboro. The Real Cdn Superstore (aka Loblaws) is at the bottom of the page, where the title SITE is. The building at the corner of McCrae is Bushtucka. Further north, the building at the corner of Scott is Trailhead and the Westboro transit station is on the top left. Two features of this development that I like: it removes the sidewalk back from the curb and places it along the store fronts (new and existing) running up the east side of McCrae. This should create a … Continue reading Westboro Collection

Ottawa3 Comments

DOTT Station Depth, Tie-Ins to Buildings, Etc.

Westsideaction

There has been a lot of concern lately about the deep depth of the downtown Ottawa transit tunnel(s). I share that unease. But I also sense that critics of anyLRT/tunnel/initiative are also seizing on this one issue as it is a safe one to pile onto. Recall that the shallower tunnel schemes mean that the tunnel has to fit between the existing buildings of the downtown. Neither Albert nor Slater are wide. Utilities are burried under the road and sidewalk surfaces. If the station is under the street, the access points will likely have to be up through existing buildings … Continue reading DOTT Station Depth, Tie-Ins to Buildings, Etc.

DOTT, Library, LRT, Ottawa5 Comments

Library Location Location Location

Westsideaction

While heading back from City Hall via the Library the other day, I noticed how few potential sites there are for a new Library. Recall that the new site is supposed to be on land now used for a parking lot, in the area bounded by Wellington-Bronson-Gloucester-Canal. That isn’t a very large area. And I suspect the library people will want a fairly sprawling building rather than trying to fit one onto a tight site, given their desire for public visibility, easy access, and desire for a multi-purpose building with meeting rooms, etc. So as I walked I speculated on … Continue reading Library Location Location Location

little Italy, Preston street

Bellagio Fountains on Preston Street

Westsideaction

click to enlarge On Monday, around 1pm, residents near the Primrose / Preston intersection were treated to a fine preview of the new fountains proposed for Preston Street. Shooting 20m into the air, the Bellagio-inspired waterworks show was a crowd pleaser. Later, smaller fountains displays were demonstrated, but I thought they looked a bit too much like the fountains previously removed from the Sparks Street Mall. Luigi was ecstatic though, claiming through his freshly-washed face that Preston Street businesses deserved fountains on the street and not just in select basements. I have it on authoritative rumour that Joe Contronio of … Continue reading Bellagio Fountains on Preston Street

Ottawa

Funding Municipal Politicians

Westsideaction

In the Citizen today: Cullen is preparing a “motion asking the provincial government to give the city the power to ban all corporate and union donations to municipal election campaigns, and it’s bound to be controversial. Cullen, and some other left-leaning councillors, already choose to reject donations from these groups, but other city politicians accept them.”It will be interesting to see the wording of this motion. Back in my civil service days, I was a union steward for about 7 years. Marion Dewar was running for office, and the union called all its reps out “on union business” for one … Continue reading Funding Municipal Politicians

O-Train5 Comments

Extending the O-Train

Westsideaction

There have been many calls to extend the O-Train service north to Gatineau, or to increase its frequency using existing equipment. At transportation committee next week, according to the Citizen: a motion by Kanata North Councillor Marianne Wilkinson will also be debated. She wants the city to extend the O-Train line, which currently stops at South Keys, south several kilometres to Leitrim Road. This is not called for in the city’s current rapid-transit plan, but there is growing pressure from people living in the southern part of the city for better public transportation options. Continue reading Extending the O-Train

little Italy, Preston street, streetscaping2 Comments

Guerilla Marketing

Westsideaction

I love guerilla marketing – or as it is more often called today, viral marketing – when it is well done. Joe Contronio of Pub Italia is always amusing, whether its the faux-religious themes, the faux-Queensway signs or now, making the most of the construction fences. If you enlarge the picture, you will see his fence that separates the patio from the sidewalk, then the construction fence that separates the sidewalk from the road-now-dig-up-zone, and the third fence that separates the construction zone from the travelled road surface. All of them are festooned with his advertising. Well done ! Keep … Continue reading Guerilla Marketing

little Italy, pedestrians, Preston street1 Comment

Little things make a difference

Westsideaction

Greenbelt Taggart Winter … then roadwork. How road reconstruction is handled makes a big difference to motorists and pedestrians too. Last year, on Preston, contractors used crowd control barricades to separate sidewalks from dug-up roads. These barriers, silver colored and looking vaguely like old bedsteads, have side legs that extended a full foot onto the sidewalk, narrowing the already chopped up walking space and rendering passage impossible for strollers, walkers, or wheelchairs. They also frequently toppled/were pushed over into the construction holes. This year on Preston the preferred fencing is the thin high wire fence panel system. Taggart, working on … Continue reading Little things make a difference

Carling Ave

Carlington Vet Houses celebration

Westsideaction

click to enlarge and see the lady on the verandah Carlington community association held a celebration last Sunday to honour the war vets, the veterans housing estates built just south of Westgate Shopping Centre (the first suburban shopping centre in Ottawa), and the renewal of the community. There was a parade and march past of some veterans. The parade was lead by an Ottawa police motorcycle driven by an Asian cop. The tail was another police car, driven by a Tamil (?) cop. Some of the parade-route residents were Asian. The old vets were all white. It made a nice … Continue reading Carlington Vet Houses celebration

Phoenix DCR Developments, Preston street

New Apartments on Preston

Westsideaction

A sign recently appeared at the now-vacant properties at 193 Preston, promising the construction of low-rise rental apartments above a storefront. Clicking on the photo may enlarge it enough to see the artist sketch of the building beside Photo Lux studio on the east side of Preston. I am delighted to see some additional rental housing stock appear, and to see low rise too. It is a nice change from the high-rise towers frequently proposed for the area (Acquarello, the 31 storey Phoenix project for City Centre, the 18 storey proposal for Sydney Street, the seven story proposal for Balsam). Continue reading New Apartments on Preston

Albert St, Bayview, Bayview Otrain, Carling Ave, condos, DOTT, O-Train, oc Transpo, Phoenix DCR Developments5 Comments

Leadman’s DOTT meeting May 26th

Westsideaction

Leadman’s ward bumps up against Somerset Ward where I live, almost on the border of the two, which is why this blog is named West Side Action, since I try to cover events that happen on the west side of the downtown, regardless of fiefdom. Anyhow, I joined the big turnout for her forum Tuesday evening on the DOTT. Her presentation and meeting themes covered two things: the DOTT in the downtown area, and the first-phase LRT in her ward terminating at Tunneys Pasture. She was accompanied by Renfrew Morrison, a transportation consultant that we recall was Clive Doucet’s hired … Continue reading Leadman’s DOTT meeting May 26th

Albert St, Bayview-Carling CDP, City Centre, Fleet Street, LeBreton Flats, Ottawa8 Comments

Urban Planning Nostalgia

Westsideaction

Over at the blog The Ottawa Project is a story of visiting Lorne Ave and the not-unreasonable assumption that what is visible on Lorne represents that which was demolished on the Flats in the early 1960’s. I think that overview is overly sympathetic to the demolished areas. I do not wish to take the view that it was right to demolish whole neighborhoods/built up areas in favor of total rebuilding, which was the big government view of urban renewal then (note to today’s amateur city rebuilders and commentators who too often wish for bigger govt action – be careful of … Continue reading Urban Planning Nostalgia

Ottawa, plant recreation centre, Plouffe Park, streetscaping

Plouffe Park sodded

Westsideaction

Last Wednesday, May 13 about 1/3 of the park was sodded. There was no further action until Tuesday, May 19 when the remainder of the park was sodded. Fences have been constructed to try to keep people and animals off the fields. Limited activities (not including soccer) will be permitted during the summer when the Plant Pool Rec.Assoc (PPRA) holds summer camps. The big green swatch in the middle of the ward is really welcome given all the construction and dirt elsewhere. This neighborhood has the least amount of City greenspace of any ward in the City of Ottawa. Continue reading Plouffe Park sodded