Category: pedestrians

infill, pedestrians, Primrose, Uncategorized1 Comment

Infills in progress

Westsideaction

Earlier this fall, the edge of the Nanny Goat Hill between Upper Lorne Place and (upper) and (lower) Primrose was chewed out and footings installed. Some previous posts showed details of the lot, and then the first floor foam block foundation system: http://westsideaction.wordpress.com/2010/06/27/cliff-becomes-hole/, and  athttp://westsideaction.wordpress.com/2010/11/13/lego-build-a-house/ and at http://westsideaction.wordpress.com/2010/10/28/bumpy-stairs/ and at http://westsideaction.wordpress.com/2010/06/15/nanny-goat-hill-infill/ and at http://westsideaction.wordpress.com/2010/05/22/stairway-to-development/ The bottom two floors, (the lower Primrose levels) are foam+concrete walls. The third floor is level with Upper Lorne, and will have the garage level opening off that street. The fourth floor (when viewed from Primrose) aka the second floor (when viewed from Upper Lorne) will be half interior space and … Continue reading Infills in progress

Albert St, design, downtown, pedestrians, sidewalks, streetscaping, Uncategorized11 Comments

Who sets the street agenda?

Westsideaction

I spent a little bit of time in Montreal over the holidays. I was struck by several huge differences between Montreal’s treatment of downtown streets vs Ottawa’s. In the following photos, notice that the traffic signal lights are pushed off to the side of the road. Their cases and mounting brackets are dark coloured, and very unobtrusive. They are mounted low, not high in the sky. The pedestrian signals, which are relatively rare in downtown Montreal compared to Ottawa, were mounted snugly close to the traffic signals.     The discreet treatment of traffic signals means that the downtown streets are not dominated or given … Continue reading Who sets the street agenda?

Bayview-Carling CDP, Chinatown, design, pedestrians, Preston street, Primrose, sidewalks, streetscaping, Uncategorized, woonerf6 Comments

Planning exercise (i)

Westsideaction

The photo above is taken a few weeks ago, looking south along Cambridge. Primrose is behind us, Somerset and the new Chinatown Royal Arch is directly ahead. The street looks closed to automobiles, which is the idea. It was reconstructed years ago using the Dutch design principles called a woonerf. Getting closer to the woonerf, it is less constricted than it first appeared. There is, indeed, plenty of room for a car … or truck, or school bus, or fire truck … to get through. The high shrubs and planters deliberately block the view and sight lines, forcing motorists to slow down. It … Continue reading Planning exercise (i)

Bronson, cycling in Ottawa, pedestrians, roads, sidewalks, streetscaping, Transit, Trees8 Comments

Public gets chance to Rescue Bronson

Westsideaction

  This flyer is making the rounds of the west side neighborhoods abutting Bronson Avenue. The above photoshopped illustration shows just ONE potential way to improve Bronson so that it meets the needs of pedestrians, cyclists, transit users, adjacent businesses and residents, as well as motorists and commuters. There are alternative ways to improve Bronson so that it makes more people happy. Anyone who travels on or across that blighted street knows that the 1950’s thinking that gave us the current “four lane” urban arterial didn’t work. Yet Ottawa seems on the way to fifty more years of a disfunctional … Continue reading Public gets chance to Rescue Bronson

pedestrians, sidewalks, streetscaping2 Comments

Posterior sight

Westsideaction

  Getting our traditional mainstreets rebuilt into a more pedestrian and neighborhood friendly format has been a long but ultimately rewarding task. It took eternal vigilance to fight off the naysayers, the city minions who thought facilitating rush hour commuter traffic was the ultimate city goal, those  residents and business people who felt that the highest duty of the city was to provide free storage for private cars … but there were many delightful moments too, and significant victories, and the fine quality of the finished streets is a tribute to all the hard work, coöperation, and trade-offs made over the years. The progress … Continue reading Posterior sight

Bayview, cycling in Ottawa, pedestrians5 Comments

Sidewalk to No-where

Westsideaction

the sidewalk on the west side of Sliddel approaching the Ottawa River Commuter Expressway The sidewalk on the east side of Sliddel Sliddel is a little street that connects the new trafic roundabout at Bayview-Burnside to the Ottawa River Commuter Expressway. As shown, it has sidewalk stubs that sort of die as they approach the NCC lands. The City and NCC had no apparent problems with deciding where to put cars, curbs, traffic signals, and sod. They have lots more problems with pedestrians and cyclists. Why dont the sidewalks go right out the traffic lights where people cross? According to … Continue reading Sidewalk to No-where

Bayview, cycling in Ottawa, pedestrians

Sidewalk to No-where

Westsideaction

the sidewalk on the west side of Sliddel approaching the Ottawa River Commuter Expressway The sidewalk on the east side of Sliddel Sliddel is a little street that connects the new trafic roundabout at Bayview-Burnside to the Ottawa River Commuter Expressway. As shown, it has sidewalk stubs that sort of die as they approach the NCC lands. The City and NCC had no apparent problems with deciding where to put cars, curbs, traffic signals, and sod. They have lots more problems with pedestrians and cyclists. Why dont the sidewalks go right out the traffic lights where people cross? According to … Continue reading Sidewalk to No-where

pedestrians, Preston street, streetscaping

Sidewalk sales

Westsideaction

One of the purposes of the new wider sidewalks on traditional mainstreets is to encourage merchants to display merchandise outside, which enlivens the environment with changing displays. Recently, Preston Hardware has started taking advantage of the very wide sidewalk in front of their store. Part of the display is pretty ordinary hardware stuff: wheelbarrows, lawnmowers. The BBQ on a stone-faced cabinet is more different, and reflects the trend to “outdoor kitchens”, although a visit to any of the remaining Italian households in the neighborhood will reveal a kitchen in the garage for summer cooking and pickling. There is a house … Continue reading Sidewalk sales

pedestrians, Preston street, streetscaping

Sidewalk sales

Westsideaction

One of the purposes of the new wider sidewalks on traditional mainstreets is to encourage merchants to display merchandise outside, which enlivens the environment with changing displays. Recently, Preston Hardware has started taking advantage of the very wide sidewalk in front of their store. Part of the display is pretty ordinary hardware stuff: wheelbarrows, lawnmowers. The BBQ on a stone-faced cabinet is more different, and reflects the trend to “outdoor kitchens”, although a visit to any of the remaining Italian households in the neighborhood will reveal a kitchen in the garage for summer cooking and pickling. There is a house … Continue reading Sidewalk sales

pedestrians, Preston street, streetscaping

Think Thin

Westsideaction

Downtown neighborhoods can have a tremendous variety of amenities, depending on the neighborhood history, road allowances, and other oddities that pre-date modern standards that too often result in in a blah uniformity of environment. I particularly like this narrow sidewalk, one block north of Beech, off Preston. This sidewalk is less attractive, mostly because of the close proximinity of the rough stucco wall of the adjacent restaurant, and the presence of the lamppost (pardon… street furniture) plopped down in the centre of the walk along with a stop sign that is about 25′ from the corner. The kitchen staff of … Continue reading Think Thin

pedestrians, Preston street, streetscaping

Think Thin

Westsideaction

Downtown neighborhoods can have a tremendous variety of amenities, depending on the neighborhood history, road allowances, and other oddities that pre-date modern standards that too often result in in a blah uniformity of environment. I particularly like this narrow sidewalk, one block north of Beech, off Preston. This sidewalk is less attractive, mostly because of the close proximinity of the rough stucco wall of the adjacent restaurant, and the presence of the lamppost (pardon… street furniture) plopped down in the centre of the walk along with a stop sign that is about 25′ from the corner. The kitchen staff of … Continue reading Think Thin

pedestrians, streetscaping

Aloha Crosswalks

Westsideaction

Faithful readers will know how disappointing I find Ottawa crosswalks. At the risk of beating the old drum one more time… examine the above crosswalks in Honalulu. They are as wide as the entire widened sidewalk, ie from building facade to curb line. They are brightly marked with zebra stripes.  While you are at it, notice the decorative lamp posts used throughout the downtown and Wakiki areas, and chinese tiles on the building awning. Now compare those picture of how Honalulu does it right… to these ones of Ottawa. Feel free to come up with your own comparisons: for example, … Continue reading Aloha Crosswalks

pedestrians, streetscaping

Aloha Crosswalks

Westsideaction

Faithful readers will know how disappointing I find Ottawa crosswalks. At the risk of beating the old drum one more time… examine the above crosswalks in Honalulu. They are as wide as the entire widened sidewalk, ie from building facade to curb line. They are brightly marked with zebra stripes.  While you are at it, notice the decorative lamp posts used throughout the downtown and Wakiki areas, and chinese tiles on the building awning. Now compare those picture of how Honalulu does it right… to these ones of Ottawa. Feel free to come up with your own comparisons: for example, … Continue reading Aloha Crosswalks

pedestrians, streetscaping3 Comments

Aloha streetscaping

Westsideaction

Downtown Honalulu and Waikiki have spent many millions improving pedestrian environments ( I heard the number $535 million spent, but cannot confirm that). The main shopping drag along Waikiki beach (a successful example of a main street environment on one side, a recreational facility on the other) goes by buildings rangeing from brand new to one hundred years old. They are all built a slightly different setbacks, elevations, and angles. So the new sidewalk, of brick, varies in width, elevation, slope, and amenity. In many places, “islands” of plantings divert ped flow into multiple chanels and create pockets of space … Continue reading Aloha streetscaping

pedestrians, streetscaping

Aloha streetscaping

Westsideaction

Downtown Honalulu and Waikiki have spent many millions improving pedestrian environments ( I heard the number $535 million spent, but cannot confirm that). The main shopping drag along Waikiki beach (a successful example of a main street environment on one side, a recreational facility on the other) goes by buildings rangeing from brand new to one hundred years old. They are all built a slightly different setbacks, elevations, and angles. So the new sidewalk, of brick, varies in width, elevation, slope, and amenity. In many places, “islands” of plantings divert ped flow into multiple chanels and create pockets of space … Continue reading Aloha streetscaping

pedestrians7 Comments

Aloha pedestrian priority

Westsideaction

In the above pic from Hawaii, the road parallel to the beach is one way for motorists from right to left across the top of the picture. They can turn onto the one way street extending downwards to the right, only on the green. There is no turn on red. When the motorists have a green light, they can go straight ahead or turn to their left; peds have a red light. When the cars have a red, peds have a green to cross in all directions, including diagonally. No diagonally crossing peds are shown in this picture, but I … Continue reading Aloha pedestrian priority

pedestrians

Aloha pedestrian priority

Westsideaction

In the above pic from Hawaii, the road parallel to the beach is one way for motorists from right to left across the top of the picture. They can turn onto the one way street extending downwards to the right, only on the green. There is no turn on red. When the motorists have a green light, they can go straight ahead or turn to their left; peds have a red light. When the cars have a red, peds have a green to cross in all directions, including diagonally. No diagonally crossing peds are shown in this picture, but I … Continue reading Aloha pedestrian priority