This is a blog about the West side of the downtown, not the East. But I cannot resist a few comments on the proposed East stations. They are so dismaying. First, I remain appalled that the City decided to run … Continue reading Confederation Line’s new East stations Dismay
Here’s part 2 of the Portland series, from 2015. They did an excellent job of creating lively streets. We haven’t done nearly as well here in Ottawa. Yet the formulas for success are out there. Do note that since this story was first written, Claridge’s Flats project has greatly improved, with benches and gardens and resident participation and involvement growing. (We might look at that in a future story). Alas, the city continues to shun the area, except to collect fees and taxes, but not providing so much as a tot lot for the scads of kids that live there. … Continue reading Walking Portland’s SouthWaterfront streets
OC Transpo has put up schematics for all the stations. These illustrations are like sandwiches and somewhat difficult for the non-geek to interpret. You can find them all here: http://www.octranspo.com/ready4rail/my_station http://www.octranspo.com/ready4rail/my_station I recommend you not to try to read … Continue reading Wayfinding for the Bayview and Pimisi stations
With the increasing popularity of vehicular homicide as a form of political expression, our public spaces have become less welcoming, forever. Which is of course how terrorists and political extremists win. Fortunately, the public memory is short, and decorative planters, … Continue reading Protect me from motorists? terrorists? whomever !
Recall that a half dozen years back artworks appeared along Preston and West Wellington Streets. Granite poly-coloured ones on Preston; white marble on the other. For the first few winters, the spray of road salt actually washed the paint colours … Continue reading Sculpture on the street, Winter Edition
I live on the south side of the street. The houses cast shade on the sidewalk all winter. The sidewalks were built in the “roller coaster” style with “crazy kitchen”-style tilts. The results are known. Always icy. Always slippery. Frequently … Continue reading Walking in winter
There is a classic west side semi-detached home at the corner of Oak and Preston, opposite Plouffe Park. Many decades ago proud homeowners planted matching young trees on the front lawn. Here’s an aerial photo from 1928 showing the trees … Continue reading Killed from the roots
Q: How is a tree like a pancake? A: When it’s on Somerset Street. I wonder how someone managed to hit it so hard, and with what? That metal “tree guard” (designed mostly to ward of bicycles) didn’t help much … Continue reading The tree pancake
OK, so having said some nice things about OC Transpo shelters, it’s back to griping again. Taking the Trillium O-Train Line (aka route Number 2, aka the Green Line) through Carleton U one is struck by the just-OK collection of … Continue reading The rail Stations that didn’t quite make it … and one that will
Albert-Scott Interim alignment, west from Champagne Avenue Open house 11 Dec 2017 at Tom Brown arena, 6pm to 8.30pm This story is mostly aimed at those citizens who are keen on city planning and the details of what is planned … Continue reading Scott Street interim alignment meeting Dec 11
I was astounded to find this puddle still there. Perhaps I shouldn’t have been. After all, it was there for months last winter, why should it have gone away? For two months last winter I trudged – seven times a … Continue reading The Persistent Puddle
This is part iii of a series on downtown bus routes once the Confederation Line opens in 2018. Part i was on STO routes. Part ii was aimed at understanding what OC Transpo is trying to achieve with the new bus … Continue reading OC Transpo bus routes in the downtown, 2018 version
So, having seen in Part i, what is planned (subject to change) for STO buses in downtown Ottawa once the Confederation Line LRT opens in or around August 2018 … let’s look at the OC Transpo routes. These OC Transpo … Continue reading Buses in the downtown in LRT era, part ii, OC Transpo
The City is hosting an “open house” on Tuesday (Nov 28, 5.30pm onwards ) to show their plans for the future Albert and Slater Streets between Empress (the Good Companions) and Waller (Rideau Centre, UOttawa U). Here are some things … Continue reading West Side Transportation Cornucopia, part viii – Albert-Slater alert
Our streets have to be public spaces that are active and lively, not just traffic sewers. How are we doing? As Canada’s 150th whimpers away, here’s a reminder of a more optimistic era: the Centennial and Expo 67, as evidence … Continue reading West Side Transportation Cornucopia, part vii – Liveable Streets
Let’s look at that confusing stretch of road between Bayview Avenue and City Centre Avenue. Legally known as Albert Street, many folks persist in calling it Scott Street (which only runs west of Bayview). It’s a bleak and uninviting bit … Continue reading West Side Transportation Cornucopia, part vi – Bayview Station overpass
There is yet a third segment of Booth Street to consider. That’s the portion running from the Queensway south to Carling Avenue. That segment is not residential, it is mostly government offices, ranging from heritage Mineral and Mines brick buildings … Continue reading West Side Transportation Cornucopia, part iii – NRCan
There is more to Booth Street than the ignoble Freeway portion running north from Albert out to the War Museum intersection with Wellington/Sir JAM Parkway. There is the long suffering residential section to the south of Albert, running to the … Continue reading West Side Transportation Cornucopia, part ii
Am I paranormal? Do I see opportunities where others (for eg, the City) see nothing? Are the skeptics about government right when they charge it cannot miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity? In the three short weeks since I … Continue reading When Opportunity knocks …
Apparently, DIY Decks aren’t the only infrastructures that can be disasters. At the corner of Preston and Laurel a little apartment building infill is almost complete. Landscaping is underway. And soon, I suspect, to be torn up and redone at … Continue reading DIY Sidewalk Disaster
Bureaucracies are wonderful machines for obfuscating responsibility. Even the simplest, most mundane task is endlessly parsed into hundreds of discrete tasks and assigned to a variety of people … staff, consultants, and “public opinion” and politicians. When something goes wrong, … Continue reading Who is responsible for bad street design?
So I gather Vancouver has built a few centre-draining streets, and is considering them to be a regular feature of some future streets. Amongst other features, pedestrians don’t get splashed or perpetually soaked in salt spray all winter. If the … Continue reading Revolutionary street design avoids splashing people
What is invading downtown sidewalks and snatching away space, replacing it with stainless steel boxes? Are any pedestrians safe? Are pedestrians and street beggars (err, sidewalk entrepreneurs) safe or will they be captured by some unknown power and put into a stainless … Continue reading Invasion of the Sidewalk Snatchers
It is hard to persuade some parts of the city bureaucracy that there are people other than motorists, and that non-automobile transportation is real. I’ve ranted here before that people on cycle paths or multi-user paths (MUPs) are expected to … Continue reading Almost knowing where we are
Safer Roads Ottawa has used city collision data and Bikemaps.org collision and near miss reports for a multi-year period to identify the bike incident hotspots. At first, I was surprised how many of them are clustered along Somerset Street. Recall … Continue reading Ottawa’s top bike incident hotspots
