Category: Preston street

Preston street, streetscaping

Sculptural maintenance

Westsideaction

  The granite sculptures along Preston by artist c j fleury are both carved and painted. The carved elements– grape leaves and vine on this sculpture — she highlighted with black paint. Over the winter, a lot of this paint faded or even washed-off completely. Most heavily affected was the Marco Polo sculpture by the Plant Recreation Centre, where most of the colour disappeared. This might have something to do with salt, since it is just north of the salt-infested Somerset-Preston intersection. Is it coincidental that most of the hardy plants surrounding the Marco Polo sculpture also seem to have suffered … Continue reading Sculptural maintenance

little Italy, Preston street, Uncategorized1 Comment

Inside the new Bridgehead

Westsideaction

Bridgehead will be opening their Preston location in the fall. While the building faces Preston, their entrance will be just around the corner, off Anderson, approximately where the Preston&Leif Glass doors are now. Above: view of building along Preston St Above: view along Anderson Street. The boulevard along the sidewalk will be much improved and landscaped, and will include a patio. Bridgehead is proposing some major renovations to the building façade, closing up some doors, opening new ones, extending openings the full height. The mis-matched brick, which apparently is not original to the building, will be reclad in new material. The coffee shop … Continue reading Inside the new Bridgehead

Albert St, aquaduct, bike path, Booth St, Claridge, condos, design, DOTT, Fleet Street, LeBreton Flats, LRT, OLRT, Preston street6 Comments

LRT Stations (part iv) LeBreton

Westsideaction

There is currently a bus transitway station at LeBreton Flats. The proposed LRT station is essentially at the same location, except it extends further west under Booth Street and is a few feet south of the current station, allowing room for landscaping and breathing space between it and the aqueduct. On the aerial photo above, note also the pedestrian crossing of the aqueduct off to the left side of the picture, this is the old Broad Street right of way and ped bridge. The site analysis drawing, above, shows the proximity of the current LeBreton residential neighborhood. Blue arrows show view planes, but both are rather curiously … Continue reading LRT Stations (part iv) LeBreton

Bronson, Carling Ave, Chinatown, downtown, Laurier Ave, pedestrians, Preston street, sidewalks, Uncategorized4 Comments

More Empty Parking lots and underused streets

Westsideaction

There are turning moments in the urban paradigm whereby all that was “normal” before gets swept away and is replaced by a new version of “normal”. I think we are in the midst of a paradigm shift to a new normal with respect to parking and streets in central cities. We saw this once in the 70’s when the anti-freeway mobilizers successfully beat down the Spadina Expressway in Toronto. This inspired decades of courage to residents of Canadian cities coast to coast to object to road building. It was only a partial victory of course. Freeways were renamed parkways, or arterials. The Hunt … Continue reading More Empty Parking lots and underused streets

Gladstone, kayaking, pedestrians, Preston street, Uncategorized13 Comments

Sidewalk reflections

Westsideaction

Any pedestrian in Ottawa recognizes the scene: melting snow puddles on the sidewalks, roads, and crosswalks. Such puddles are to be expected when the roads are old, breaking up, sagging, worn out.But the pic above is of a main street rebuilt … last year! Why can’t our engineers get it right? Surely it isn’t rocket science to build crosswalks that drain to catch basins? The answer lies in an equally predictable realm. The intersections are not designed for pedestrians, but for motorists. To build that concrete crosswalk one or two inches higher would ensure drainage, but then motorists would feel a … Continue reading Sidewalk reflections

Chinatown, City Centre, condos, Elm Street, little Italy, Preston street, Spruce St13 Comments

The Secret West Side

Westsideaction

Everyone knows the traditional main streets: West Wellie, Preston, Chinatown, Bank Street … The very success of these streets ensure they attract popular businesses with enough clientele to afford the rents. But where are the retailers that cannot afford main street? Ottawa lacks many low-value retail spaces, where specialty niche businesses, startups, and some just-plain marginal businesses can locate. Gentrification and the revival of main streets are desirable, but have the effect of squeezing out these small firms. So they slip into little-noticed spots unattractive to mainstream, main street retailers. I previously mentioned the hotbed of nifty niche novelty firms on the west side*. … Continue reading The Secret West Side

Claridge, condos, pedestrians, Preston street, Primrose, sidewalks, WalkSpace5 Comments

Good neighbours on snowy sidewalks

Westsideaction

Note: this post was originally written for WalkSpace over at www.SpacingOttawa.ca site. I repeat it here just in case you don’t also read Spacing — shame on you! Go subscribe right now! ______________________ Whether or not you enjoy well-plowed winter sidewalks depends on where you live, when you use them, and your neighbours. Sidewalks get a lot of use in the urban bits of the City. Especially where the road is a grid pattern, pedestrians can get from point A to B directly and easily on a route easily understood. The City plows the sidewalks in winter. If you are an early riser … Continue reading Good neighbours on snowy sidewalks

Booth St, Bronson, cycling in Ottawa, little Italy, O-Train, oc Transpo, pedestrians, Preston street, Uncategorized17 Comments

Be careful what you wish for … the story of Carling Avenue

Westsideaction

Life, especially when it comes to municipal planning in Ottawa, is full of inadvertent disasters. Sometimes these come from the law of unintended consequences, whereby something ostensibly for the good turns out to be awful. Other times is results from good wishes, which when delivered, make you wish you had never asked in the first place. That sounds like something from Grimm’s Fairy Tales, and the proposed reconstruction of Carling between the O-Train and Bronson is looking a bit grimm to me today. In a city whose new mantra is taxpayer dollar value, we are looking at an expensive road scheme that will be … Continue reading Be careful what you wish for … the story of Carling Avenue

500 Preston, infill, intensificatioin, little Italy, Preston street23 Comments

It’s a Soho World After All …

Westsideaction

Soho Champagne & Soho Italia have a sales office at the south end of Preston, on the proposed Soho Italia site. Now the sales office is really an information office, as there isn’t yet anything to sell on either location, nor is there much information. They will take your name if you are interested in the Soho Champagne (first tower of which is at the top of the photo, in dark; its larger sibling is shown transparent, as is the Soho Italia tower) and ask for “community support” for the Italia Tower. I declined to give my support, and the rep … Continue reading It’s a Soho World After All …

infill, little Italy, Preston street, Uncategorized8 Comments

Preston/Norman infill detailed …

Westsideaction

Recall that a previous post looked at the potential redevelopment of this lot at the corner of Norman and Preston. In essence, the proposal is to demolish the garage and build a 3 storey apartment unit.  See http://westsideaction.wordpress.com/2011/02/02/infill-what-might-fit/,   I asked readers what they thought of the infill, and got a number of intelligent replies. So, end the suspense, what does the site owner propose? What does the project look like? These two elevations are from the City development application:   And this one is from the developer:       The landscaping plan shows the ground between the building and the street to … Continue reading Preston/Norman infill detailed …

500 Preston, Albert St, condos, design, downtown, Preston street, Soho Italia12 Comments

Downtown’s changing skyline

Westsideaction

Ottawa has a curious bunch of downtown buildings dating from the Robert Campeau era (1960’s and 70’s). They all share a certain formula: towers “inspired” by famous buildings elsewhere, usually built on massive ugly windowless podiums, and with no apparent front doors. Consider the Centennial Towers, whose entrance used to be facing a drive through arch, mercifully removed during its last renovation. Or the Marriott hotel, also sitting on a rough concrete windowless podium, its entrance facing a mid-block driveway well concealed from motorists and pedestrians alike. Or the black cube Place de Ville office towers, some of which still have their entrances … Continue reading Downtown’s changing skyline

infill, little Italy, Preston street13 Comments

Infill: what might fit?

Westsideaction

As seen from Preston Street (off camera slightly to the left) looking along Pamilla Street (pronounced locally as Pa-milla). The brick house is long established; its back yard also abutted Pamilla. A double garage was built, with a ped door between the two garage doors, leading to apartments above.  It looks like it may have been commercial premises at one time, converted to housing in … when?… the forties or fifties? It has … character, and interest, and adds to the variety of the neighborhood. And provides a lot of housing units between the two buildings on the one lot. Behind the house is … Continue reading Infill: what might fit?

design, Elm Street, Preston street, Spruce St9 Comments

Industrial gentrification on the west side

Westsideaction

Costco likes to locate in industrial parks. They essentially run a retail store but in industrial space. The reason for this is that they then pay industrial property taxes, which are hugely lower than retail commercial property taxes. On a smaller scale, we see the flight of retail businesses out of Westboro as it becomes “trendier” — same way as businesses fled the Glebe or New Edinburgh in their heydays of rapid gentrification. I previously mentioned that Cohen’s Vintage Lighting moved out of Westboro and onto Spruce Street. (Before that, they had been elsewhere as Architectural Antiques, then Hintonburg, then Westboro, now back to … Continue reading Industrial gentrification on the west side

500 Preston, pedestrians, Preston street8 Comments

Soho Italia gets one councillor’s vote

Westsideaction

The strategy behind Starwood Mastercraft’s approach to getting the city tallest tower put on the city’s smallest lot seems to be working. Recall that Starwood has not gone to the planning department with their proposal, but instead has been shopping it around to the Mayor and Councilors first. They are getting their sales pitch in well before the planning “experts” the city has on staff are even allowed to look at the proposal. This blog is “blocked” at City Hall, so employees cannot read it at work. So the if the planners at the planning dept want to know what is proposed in their city, … Continue reading Soho Italia gets one councillor’s vote

125 Hickory, 500 Preston, bike path, condos, cycling in Ottawa, cyclopiste de preston, Dows Lake, intensificatioin, little Italy, LRT, O-Train, pedestrians, Preston street, Soho Italia, Uncategorized20 Comments

Soho Italia – the developer’s proposal

Westsideaction

 Note: the land on the south side of Carling on each side of the O-train corridor is shown as green space. It is NOT parkland. The City’s Official Plan calls for this area along Carling to be developed as a high-density mixed-use centre, ie more condos and offices.  The facade of the podium facing Preston appears to have a fair bit of glass. Unfortunately, I was unable to get a Photoshop rendering of this facade. How the building relates to the street is very important for a livable street. In the background of the above picture you can spot the 125 Hickory … Continue reading Soho Italia – the developer’s proposal

125 Hickory, 855 Carling, Bayview-Carling CDP, bike path, Claridge, condos, cyclopiste de preston, Dows Lake, intensificatioin, O-Train, Preston street19 Comments

Highest High Rise

Westsideaction

Starwood Mastercraft was an Ottawa builder decades ago, got more active in Toronto, and is now back in Ottawa building condos on Parkdale (north of Scott), Lisgar (old Canus plastics site), Champagne at Hickory (a few feet west of the O-Train, near the dog shelter). They also bought the site at Preston and Sydney and are proposing a condo tower there. As predicted, they are asking for a 35 storey condo tower, which would be the tallest in Ottawa. Taller than Tower C, Place de Ville; taller than the Metropole on Lanark/Scott. Like the rush of downtown applications by Claridge for 28 storey condos on tiny lots, … Continue reading Highest High Rise

Albert St, Preston street, streetscaping1 Comment

Equipment size matters

Westsideaction

The City owns a parking lot on the north side of Albert, between Brickhill Street and Commissioner (ie, just west of Bronson, on LeBreton Flats). On the western edge of the lot, they installed landscaping consisting of a low berm, some swizzle-stick-caliper trees, and some shrubs. It’s enough to gently direct motorists to the proper driveway entrance. Then the City sends a grader to plow the lot. Notice that a grader has its snow-clearing blade in the centre of the vehicle. To get to the edge of the parking lot, half the considerable length of the grader must extend beyond the … Continue reading Equipment size matters

Bayview, DOTT, downtown, Plouffe Park, Preston street, Rideau Canal, Scott street, surface water, Uncategorized2 Comments

Finding Fault with DOTT

Westsideaction

The City released its first report on the test bores along the route of the proposed LRT through the downtown of Ottawa (DOTT). There was a lot of confusing fuss over the Campus Station (is there too much rock or not enough? will the tunnel there be bored or cut-and-cover? why would a open-to-the-surface slope into the tunnel cost about the same as a tunnel itself?) and not enough answers. There was also some fuss about the existence of fault lines crossing the DOTT route. Unfortunately, no one seemed to have the time to call an expert or even a geology professor at … Continue reading Finding Fault with DOTT

145 Elm, Elm Street, infill, LRT, Preston street, Uncategorized2 Comments

Archeological Dig on Elm Street

Westsideaction

  Some infill houses are going in on the west end of Elm Street, near the Just Rite storage building, which formerly was the Vimy House war museum workshops, and before that the Champagne Streetcar Barn. Champagne was a mayor of Ottawa. The old barn is the building to the left, in the picture; it has a new stucco façade facing the street but the original brick walls on the residential sides. The backhoe is digging trenches in the street to connect to sewer and water mains. Looking at the piles of dirt dug up, notice all the timbers. These are … Continue reading Archeological Dig on Elm Street

Bayview-Carling CDP, condos, cyclopiste de preston, design, Gladstone, housing policy, intensificatioin, LRT, O-Train, parks, plant recreation centre, Plouffe Park, Preston street, Uncategorized, woonerf10 Comments

Planning Exercise (ii)

Westsideaction

There is a large parcel of land owned by the Feds. It runs from Somerset Street to Gladstone, on the east side of the OTrain corridor. At the Somerset end, it has the address 1010 Somerset Street; at the Gladstone end it is 943 Gladstone; in the middle it has an Oak Street address. Most of the site is covered with a giant brick and concrete warehouse dating from the Second World War era. Before that, it was open field, my father tells me he attended the Ringling Circus there when he was a boy in the ’30’s. The circus arrived … Continue reading Planning Exercise (ii)

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)

little Italy, Preston street3 Comments

Preparing for Winter (i)

Westsideaction

Sculptures were installed on Preston and West Wellie this past fall. What would the City do to protect them from winter damage? I suggested adding 2×6 curb of boards about a foot out from the sculpture to protect it from errant sidewalk plows. Instead, the City opted for yellow fibreglass poles to alert snow crews not to “back stop” their plows (ie, don’t bang into these things, they are expensive!). Note to Randall: the yellow poles are not part of the sculptures, and were not added to confuse you or make them less understandable. The Preston BIA still has interpretive leaflets that … Continue reading Preparing for Winter (i)

little Italy, Preston street3 Comments

Sidewalk dining

Westsideaction

Caffe Italia used to offer a blank wall to Gladstone sidewalk users. The wall is much banged up and patched as motorists periodically fail to make the turn. These cracks and patches are now so frequent that they make an interesting old-world texture on the building. Recently, they added a row of pictures to the wall. Neatly framed, they mimic windows, with a viewpoint  that changes as you walk along the sidewalk and see the bar and dining areas “inside”. Clever, simple, and very well done, they successfully enliven the sidewalk experience. Just another reason Preston deserves it’s destination reputation. Continue reading Sidewalk dining