The new Gladstone CDP planners had a new community group to deal with this time around. Distressed at the treatment of the low rise neighbourhoods south of the Queensway in last year’s Preston-Carling CDP, and seeing the same fate coming … Continue reading Gladstone CDP (part iii) : dealing with BLISS

  You all recall the big brou-ha-ha when Ashcroft bought the site of Our Lady of the Condos on Richmond Road, just west of Island Park. They already owned the sites on the north side of the street, with several 6+ storey buildings underway or in planning. The agreed with the City to increase the height of the just-completed one on the north side (111 Richmond), and the south side ones are notably higher, as shown in the picture above. The top floors of these buildings are set back a bit, so the top floors are less noticeable when the … Continue reading Gladstone CDP (part i): Ashcroft Canyon … a prototype?

  Looking down the line of bus shelters ( pictured)  at Lincoln Fields quickly reveals which shelter is heated. While the other shelters are awash in slush and cold, the damp floors of the heated zone are welcome respite from the cold. One of the sensitive decisions taken for the first transitway in the 1980’s was to have a heated waiting area at most stations. I mutter a blessing to those engineers when I reach that heated shelter on bitterly cold or windy days. And lament that my local station (Bayview) is merely a bus shelter in windswept isolation. In … Continue reading Which one is heated (for now…)

Ottawa has a public art program. It is run by bureaucrats, with all the rule making, processes, policies, procedures, and cost escalations that entails. The art along Preston and West Wellington, for example, are on independent sunk-below-the-frost-line concrete pedestals. Art that is actually incorporated into other materials — for example, the Chinese zodiac granite figures set in the Somerset Chinatown sidewalks — don’t count as art, and are maintained by the BIA. The Preston BIA broke new ground when it installed their heritage murals in the Queensway underpass. The BIA pays the artist to come back periodically for two or … Continue reading Utility Art

  The Old Colony Rail Trail left the Cape Cod trail at the bike rotary (roundabout, or traffic circle). This was our third cycle date.  It was built to a different standard than the Cape Cod trail so I suspect it wasn’t a state recreational facility. As everywhere, signage was excellent:   The rail line used to run through an area now used for the airport, called Training Field. It is very relaxed: residential houses and backyards back onto the runways, so you can sit on your patio and watch the planes take off. While there were perimeter fences, they … Continue reading Old Colony Bike Trail

  There were several marked places where cyclists could leave the Cape Cod Bike Trail and follow side roads to the coast, coastal villages, or beaches. The north-east end of the trail near Wellfleet offered cyclists the chance to go west to the town and its beaches, or east to the National Seashore. We cycled along the highway east. It was hillier than the rail trail, and the shoulder was non-existent. Traffic was light; but it would be intimidating to cycle here in peak season. After a few miles of cycling past country lots, we arrived at the seashore: The … Continue reading Cape Cod Bike Trail: part v, to the seashore

  The trail follows the bed of the former railway, which was lifeline of the Cape (it was killed-off by government-subsidized highway construction …) and therefore went through many villages. The bike trail then goes through the centre of many villages. It is common to find services along the trail, as shown in the picture above. Many commercial establishments recognized the value of the trail riders, and provided facilities:   Sometimes businesses put their signage on the trail. While this example isn’t of the highest aesthetic quality, it does tell what is available. Note that the roadside restaurant also provided … Continue reading Cape Cod Bike Trail, part iv

The Cape Cod Bike Trail has lots of signage, in several different formats. In some places, mileage markers were painted on the path itself:   The original railroad used granite posts and sign markers, so they wouldn’t rot in the rainy climate. Many are still in place along the trail, and some of the new bike markers are in the same style. The marker below reminds you are on the Cape Cod Rail Trail, at mile 12, en route to Orleans:   There were also information maps and interpretative signage to get the most out of your sightseeing:   Other … Continue reading Cape Cod Bike Trail, part iii

The path follows the course of a former rail line. It is not boring and straight, there are a number of gentle hills and the trail winds it way through a varied landscape that is always interesting. There are farms, some industry, and some backyards. And lakes, and beaches. We started from the Harwich Centre end of the route (south-western end). The first few blocks went through an industrial area dating back to the railway era. Note, however, the landscaping on the left in the photo below, as we approach the first road crossing:   The road crossings were always … Continue reading Cape Cod Trail, part ii

This is the first of several posts about a bike trail trip on the Cape Cod Trail taken in autumn, 2013.  The main paved trail, a Massachusetts state recreational facility, is about 35  km long. There is a branch off to the Old Colony Trail, and several other segments are done but not yet fully connected to the main trail. The trail does not extend all the way to Provincetown (which has ferry service back to Boston) but the public transit carries your bike from the end of the trail to Provincetown for the price of a regular fare. Local … Continue reading Dreamin’ of summertime bike riding: Cape Cod Bike Trail

There was a bunny rabbit that moved into the back walkway of a neighbouring bunch of townhouses. Here’s a picture taken at 10 o’clock at night: In sympathy for it in the bitterly cold weather, we starting putting out bits of carrot and broccoli stems every few days. As soon as it started getting dusk, it appeared at my front sidewalk for munchies. Alas, after a few weeks of the globally-warmed December weather, it ceased coming, and there were no bunnyprints around the neighbours’ either. Nature is a ruthless mother. Rabbits that don’t find a good winter feeding ground don’t … Continue reading Caring for wildlife

  while walking along the Byron tramway park, I raised my eyes for a few risky moments (watch out for the dog poop) and noticed this condo building actually looked like those dreamy artist impressions. The pattern of balconies on the left actually formed a chequerboard. It’s such a rare event that I had to snap a pic. Barry Hobin is the architect. Continue reading Trust the renderings (sometimes)

On a trip last autumn through Massachusetts, I Googled/Binged my way through the internet looking for new urbanist communities to visit. The only one I found was Mashpee Common, on Cape Cod. So we entered the address into the GPS in case we were nearby. Most new urbanist communities fit a similar template, of a quaint village town square and faux historic — or at least traditional architecture —  buildings outlining the shopping district. See previous stories here on Tradition, Fl; Garrison Village, On; Coburg, On;  and Celebration, Fl. These shopping “downtowns” tend to be small, as the new town … Continue reading New Urbanist Shopping Mall

  This picture circa 1960 shows the NRCan complex under construction. That’s Commissioner’s Park in the foreground, Carling Avenue runs through the caption.  Running parallel to Carling across the top of the picture is the old railway tracks, the Queensway being not yet built. What is sorta fun, if you are inclined that way, are the number of bridges over the railway tracks. From left to right, you can see Rochester, then Booth. The next one beyond Booth is LeBreton (running immediately behind the new office towers), and a bit further east, up above the escarpment is Bell Street. If … Continue reading Lost Bridges over the Queensway

At 7am this morning protesters were out in force at the Preston – Albert intersection. They were objecting to the city’s secretly-decided-upon plan to divert 2500 buses a day from the transitway onto Scott-Albert for the duration of LRT construction, about 2 1/2 years. Quite a few people turned up in the minus 7,000 degree cold:   That so many people turned out in the cold and the early hour must clearly convey the degree of concern amongst residents. Paul Dewar showed up; but I didn’t notice any city bureaucrats (other than a few who lived nearby and actually held … Continue reading Frozen in Protest

All pedestrians experience the frustration of puddles at corners (these are in addition to the puddles that form at most driveways). There is a solution, it is simple, and it calms traffic too. Don’t dip the sidewalk when crossing side streets. Simple, eh? Now this is different from Ottawa’s too-gentle experiments with “intersection tables” and other timidities. Here’s some close up pictures of what a pedestrian-first crossing of a sidestreet could look like. And there won’t be slush or puddles designed in from the beginning, like in Ottawa.   Isn’t that simple? And workable? And it will succeed in slowing … Continue reading There is a solution to puddles at corners

Sometime around Christmas I noticed this city sewer was missing it’s lid. This area, near the Bayview Station, has a lot of really huge main storm sewers here. I forgot about it, until I renoticed it yesterday.  Ironically, the little plowed road just off to the left is maintained all winter for daily checks of the main sewers in this field, but they are checked a bit further west, thus missing this one closer to the intersection of Albert and City Centre Avenue. If anyone has fallen down it, they are likely to have been flushed out into the Ottawa … Continue reading Invitation to Death

There is a new structure going up near Percy and Lisgar. The exterior is quite unusual; here is a shot when they were cutting holes in the exterior:   Excitement builds as the windows then appear to fill in that pattern:   That is one house I certainly am curious to get inside. Wonder what the exterior cladding will be? Continue reading Checkered exterior window pattern

  While the Assaly-built building in this photo is about 25 years old, it is built right up to the street lot line, much like the City planner’s insist on today. There are predictable consequences to this design. The loading dock opens up onto the sidewalk. Sometimes truck stop in the curb lane, and unload from the back, carrying goods across the walkway. But mostly they open the side door of the van and drop a ramp down, forcing pedestrians to duck under the ramp, or sorta climb over it, or else walk out onto the street, not that one … Continue reading Tight to the street, with consequences

Back in the early 80’s, a city crew arrived in front of my (new to me)  house to do a “test bore” into the ground. Natch, I asked what they found. In bored voices, they said 35′ of gritty sand and gravel mixed, ie riverbed or glacial till. Very interesting, I thought, this means I should have a fairly stable foundation and good drainage. Sure enough, pour a bucket of water on my driveway or garden, and it disappears straight down. All the rain the runs off my roofs on the west side of my house lands on my deliberately-permeable … Continue reading Surficial Geology and your house

I’ve been waiting quite a while to get my hands on A House in the City, home truths in architecture, by Robert Dalziel and Sheila Cortale. I found it a worthwhile read, but not as wonderful as I had hoped. I will brief you on what is in the book, with some commentary from me using inset paragraphs.  The OPL has copies; feel free to join the waiting list. The central premise of the book is that there is a place for high-density low-rise communities near the centre of cities. And furthermore, buildings in such inner ring neighbourhoods need to … Continue reading Planning Library: A House in the City

  Yonge Street in Toronto has these illuminated decorative banners strung from side to side over the street. They repeat every block. They look nice from the walkways, and from the driving lane. I drove up Yonge after dusk, and the pretty lights didn’t distract me from driving. A few years ago I had a conversation with a local BIA about stringing overhead lights on a traditional mainstreet to help enclose the big overhead empty space along the road. We both felt the unbounded space encouraged faster car movement. Alas, can’t be done. Traffic people won’t allow it. Too unsafe. … Continue reading Christmas Grinch forbids decorations in Ottawa

I caught a glance through a storefront sales office window of this new condo tower in Toronto, and my first thought was leap of excitement that it was another Habitat 67 type building:   True, the building steps up wedding-cake like on each end. The façade is interesting, with units jutting forward and back. But closer examination revealed those “forward” sections are balconies that have been enclosed on three sides with building panels. Reminds me of wimples on nuns in an old Bing Crosby movie. Unlike Habitat, there are no “negative spaces” or indents on the building mass. Essentially, most … Continue reading Exciting facade, at first glance …