Category: sidewalks

pedestrians, walkways4 Comments

Sparks Street Mall — SOUTH (part ii)

Westsideaction

The Burlington VT marketplace is in a much smaller town than Ottawa, with a metro population of about 200,000 (Ottawa is 1 million or so, depending on combien des Gatineaux you count). Yet their mall showed much more vitality than the Ottawa version. Some of this may be due to the proximity of a college; students were visible on the street. It is also surrounded by a residential and commercial hinterland, whereas Sparks is shoved off to the side of the Ottawa downtown commercial district and centretown residential areas. I saw several kindergarten or daycare rope-trains of tykes walking the … Continue reading Sparks Street Mall — SOUTH (part ii)

Ottawa, streetscaping, walkways5 Comments

Sparks Street Mall — SOUTH (part i)

Westsideaction

I was delighted to see the more proactive role taken by the Ottawa Sparks Street Mall for the New Year’s Eve celebrations. While I cannot say whether the crowds justified the event, or if it broke even, it was valiant marketing and so necessary to revitalize this mall. It made me think of another urban mall I visited in the fall: Burlington VT’s Church Street Marketplace. I don’t know when it was inaugurated  but I suspect the late sixties or seventies, and it appeared to have the original brick pavement: Most of the centre area of the mall is left open, … Continue reading Sparks Street Mall — SOUTH (part i)

Confederation Line, Minto Place, pedestrians, walkways

Where loading docks and walkways conflict

Westsideaction

One of the exciting things about being in an urban environment is the variety of people doing different things, of different vehicles, and the shear jumble of activities. Sometimes it is wise to separate these activities, sometimes not. One area I am very undecided about is delivery docks for downtown buildings. Consider the south side of Constitution Square: There are several indoor loading docks, behind the garage doors. Beyond that is a busy entrance and exit to the underground parking garage. Beyond that, is the pedestrian entrance, conveniently located mid-block, opposite the mid-block transit station. The concrete surface is all broken up … Continue reading Where loading docks and walkways conflict

pedestrians, somerset street, streetscaping, walkways2 Comments

The joys of winter

Westsideaction

  The front of these stores on Somerset is much the worse for wear. The cause: walk  plowing. I have every sympathy for the walkway plow drivers. The pavements are uneven. Obstacles abound. Throw in hidden objects and frozen masses of snow, and its a recipe for difficulty. In this case, the plows seem to be crashing into the buildings to avoid the parking meter kiosks:   I have no doubt that the minimum 5′ gap was allowed for when positioning the parking meter kiosk. I did the walkabout with the meter installers with both the Preston and Somerset BIA’s, … Continue reading The joys of winter

Bronson, Ottawa, roads, somerset street, streetscaping, walkways4 Comments

Maybe the temporary on Bronson should be permanent

Westsideaction

The noisy work crews on Bronson have taken a winter break. They need one. It must be dispiriting for them to be reconstructing Bronson in the same dysfunctional 1950’s pattern of urban abuse. Our city is sometimes like a dysfunctional family, where the mistakes of the prior-generation parents are doomed to be repeated by the so-called adults of the present. Here’s a view of the Bronson-Somerset intersection prior to the construction. Note the big yellow signal lights we so love to festoon above the traffic lanes, suspended on long metal arms in turn supported by freestanding metal posts, sometimes known as “street furniture”. For … Continue reading Maybe the temporary on Bronson should be permanent

pedestrians, walkways1 Comment

Pedestrian safety sheds: treat people like sh*t and they won’t come!

Westsideaction

Do you recall when downtown construction sites built wooden structures along the walkways to protect pedestrians from falling objects, dust or dirt? These used to be the full width of the walk; had a waterproof roof; and ceiling lighting. Often they had wooden floors, too, for a level walking surface. I see fewer and fewer of these each year. More often, the walk is simply closed for months at a time. The Albert – Elgin – Slater construction site is an example. It’s a if pedestrian movements in the downtown are discretionary, and can be foregone when convenient. Here is … Continue reading Pedestrian safety sheds: treat people like sh*t and they won’t come!

design, OTrain bike path, streetscaping, walkways

New Brutalism where least expected

Westsideaction

The Somerset Viaduct is a long bridge-like structure that extends from near the Plant Rec complex to Breezehill Ave. Unlike a bridge, the underside isn’t an open space, but is earth fill. Sort of like a dam. Nonetheless, the sides of the road are elevated above the surrounding terrain, and that is what is of interest here. The viaduct has guardrails on both sides. They consist of horizontal pipes, designed to keep cars from falling off the viaduct. They are of an older, un-crash-tested design, so the city is wary about modifications. A dozen years back (or maybe two dozen) … Continue reading New Brutalism where least expected

downtown, Ottawa, pedestrians, streetscaping, walkways

Playing Pedestrian in the Middle

Westsideaction

It’s easy to make excuses why sidewalks so often don’t meet pedestrians’ basic needs. And sometimes there are genuine instances of “falling between the gaps” Like this one Here the view westwards, along Lisgar: .Do you see it? Try this view, looking eastwards on the same sidewalk: In the foreground of pic two is Hudson Park, condo by Charlesfort. It has a wider-than-normal sidewalk, about 6′ instead of the regulated 5′. Which is good, because the walk is busy. The brick condo is by Domicile. The Domicile condo widened the walk in front of their building with cobbles and a … Continue reading Playing Pedestrian in the Middle

801 Albert, OLRT, pedestrians, sidewalks8 Comments

Will Council give equal space to pedestrians?

Westsideaction

The City engineers have  voluminous tables of how much space to allocate to motorists. They use these all the time, requiring developers to provide turn lanes, traffic signals, and road widenings, at the developer’s expense, as a required part of the building approval process. Yet we are seeing more and more new buildings with minimal parking, which means lots of dependence on pedestrian access to the building. These people have to move to and from the building on the sidewalks. Yet I don’t recall the approvals of the new high rises on Parkdale, or Preston, or Carling, or anywhere else, getting into the … Continue reading Will Council give equal space to pedestrians?

Chinatown, Dalhousie, design, little Italy, O-Train, pedestrians, sidewalks, somerset street, streetscaping, Trees, west wellington18 Comments

Chinatown Art Installation

Westsideaction

The City sets aside a certain small percentage of its major capital projects budget (such as road reconstruction) for art installations. West Siders know the ones: Preston Street granite postcards from the piazzas, West Wellie’s marble veggies, the red chairs in the Glebe. The just-getting-completed reconstruction of Somerset between the OTrain tracks and Booth had a very small art budget. One that had to cope with three distinct areas: Chinatown, the bit of Little Italy around Preston, and the OTrain viaduct-bridge. With public consultation, the decision was made to have two installations: one on the Chinatown hill, and one on the viaduct … Continue reading Chinatown Art Installation

cycling in Ottawa, downtown, sidewalks, streetscaping1 Comment

Doing something about the lack of trees downtown

Westsideaction

and and stepping back a few feet, here is a view of the whole installation, on top of one of the select few parking meters posts that got turned into a bike rack. Hey, it could be worse. Mayor Watson might have added a pole with tin leaves to make fake plastic trees, as were proposed for Bronson Avenue.      Continue reading Doing something about the lack of trees downtown

design, downtown, pedestrians, sidewalks4 Comments

Integrated intuitive wayfinding system for pedestrians

Westsideaction

These few pictures are from a tourist-oriented city. No, not Ottawa. This is a cross walk, of course. You recognized it right a way. Red, for visibility. With a decorative wiggling line through the middle that invites walkers. Very unrigid. And this is a similar shot, except now we can see both this intersection and the adjacent cross walk. The line leads the pedestrian on to the park and to harbour front area. Note the lack of signs on posts explaining to pedestrians that this is the way to walk. And the line continues through the park, leading us to … Continue reading Integrated intuitive wayfinding system for pedestrians

Dalhousie, design, hintonburg, pedestrians, Preston street, Richmond road, sidewalks, somerset street, streetscaping, Uncategorized3 Comments

Putting the pieces back together in the right order

Westsideaction

Sometimes streetscaping projects by the City use lots of bricks or other paving blocks to enhance the sidewalk experience. Other times they use good ole’ concrete. I have mixed feelings about both. The biggest advantage of concrete is that it begs to be trowelled off level. No matter how crude the installation, or unskilled or careless the crew, the finished walk is usually usable. In other words, it’s a forgiving substance. Pavers look nice, but because each one is small they are subject to being laid with an uneven surface. Pavers have the advantage of being removable and relayable after disruption. When pavers … Continue reading Putting the pieces back together in the right order

Albert St, Bank Street, bike path, cycling in Ottawa, design, DOTT, downtown, Laurier Ave, LRT, oc Transpo, OLRT, parking, pedestrians, road diet, roads, sidewalks, streetscaping18 Comments

Major changes coming to downtown streets

Westsideaction

The current downtown Ottawa is rather blah. Some might even call it bleh. Over the decades, it has become a motor-vehicle-oriented environment, with the fast movement of vehicles the main only priority. We all know about the walls of buses. And the priority given to automobile commuters over pedestrians. Trees: rare as hen’s teeth. It has become a downtown one goes to because you have to. It is not a shopping, or even much of a recreation destination. All rather sad. When the LRT is opened, there will be major changes. Most OC Transpo buses will be off the Albert … Continue reading Major changes coming to downtown streets

beaver barracks, Dalhousie, design, Elm Street, sidewalks, streetscaping, Uncategorized3 Comments

From Parking to Parks

Westsideaction

Miracles do happen at City Hall. Not often. But one is unfolding right now. Pay attention. Instead of paving over more of our scarce parkland for vehicle parking, instead of just whining forever about the lack of City park space in our downtown neighborhoods … our parks dept has actually agreed to expand a park onto the road allowance. And removing some vehicle parking too! Yes, this miraculous green space expansion is happening right here in little ole’ Ottawa. Chaudiere Park is a small pocket park on Elm Street in West Side Ottawa. The proposed expansion replaces on-street parking with a … Continue reading From Parking to Parks

pedestrians, Preston street, roads, sidewalks, streetscaping, Uncategorized4 Comments

Crackin’ Up is Easy to Do

Westsideaction

The City lays new sidewalks during road reconstructions. They are supposed to last many decades. I notice they do not. Every pedestrian walking the City knows that many sidewalk squares get cracked, heaved, or otherwise broken. Sometimes the squares are too big: when the portion of Somerset between Lyon and Percy was done years ago, the sidewalk squares were huge, and by the first spring half of them had cracked. They were replaced by the contractor, but don’t think that cost wasn’t borne by the taxpayer somewhere, somehow. The City avoids putting rebars or reinforcing wire mesh into the sidewalks to save … Continue reading Crackin’ Up is Easy to Do

cycling in Ottawa, downtown, Laurier Ave, pedestrians, sidewalks

Mr Clean’s Magic Eraser hits Downtown streets

Westsideaction

Installing the separated bike lane (SBL) on Laurier Street downtown was a new experience, with lots of little details to figure out. Fortunately Laurier had just been resurfaced, so City staff had a clean slate to work with. Less aesthetically, the lines were painted on the street, changed slightly, repainted, shifted again, repainted… leaving a rather confusing mess. At the last minute, just in time for the SBL opening,  work crews painted over the ‘wrong’ lines with black paint. This was obviously a short term fix, since the first thing to wear off would be the black paint, revealing the white lines again, which … Continue reading Mr Clean’s Magic Eraser hits Downtown streets

Chinatown, sidewalks, somerset street, streetscaping8 Comments

Improved sidewalk, honestly !

Westsideaction

I must confess that I found it easy to avoid the construction on Somerset through Chinatown during the fall. Primrose runs parallel, and is car-free for a block of it, to boot! But I did notice a safety cone marking some sort of sidewalk obstruction, right in the middle of the sidewalk near Rochester. I figured it was covering a little hole in the new walk, like a water shut off valve or something innocuous. Unfortunately winter came and no doubt crews would be back first thing in the spring to complete the job. But no, it was covering something much … Continue reading Improved sidewalk, honestly !

Bronson, cycling in Ottawa, Dalhousie, Gladstone, pedestrians, road diet, roads, sidewalks, somerset street25 Comments

Progress on Rescuing Bronson

Westsideaction

The City has compromised on some Bronson issues. They have agreed to remove their proposal to widen the street, which would have speeded up vehicular traffic while simultaneously making the corridor less cycling and pedestrian friendly and chopping off numerous front yards, church entries, and mature trees. In our opinion, it didn’t make the road any safer for motorists either. I like to think it had a lot to do with people objecting. Rescue Bronson encouraged many people to have their say. This included residents, landlords, school principals, recreation coordinators, churches … and yup, we even got some of Ottawa’s condo … Continue reading Progress on Rescuing Bronson

cycling in Ottawa, downtown, parking, pedestrians, sidewalks5 Comments

Downtown Moves

Westsideaction

The folks running the Downtown Moves study had an open house last evening. I was very pleased and surprised at the large turnout  around 6pm. Some attendees were the usual suspects we find at these events, ie the city builder activists and those promoting their favourite causes. There were a l0t of “new” faces as well. All good. One of the display boards offered attendees the opportunity to put a dot on the main cycling and pedestrian problems in the core. Jumping right out at any viewer was the cluster of both ped and cyclist dots at the Albert-Bronson intersection, especially … Continue reading Downtown Moves

175 Richmond, Claridge, condos, design, intensificatioin, parking, Richmond road, sidewalks, streetscaping, Uncategorized, west wellington, Westboro34 Comments

Proposed condo, 175 Richmond Road

Westsideaction

Claridge is proposing a six and nine story condo buildings at the corner of Richmond and Kirkwood, opposite the Real Canadian Superstore: The lot is currently occupied by a three storey industrial building, with strip-mall type retail on the Richmond side; with undefined street/parking lot on the east side where Kirkwood sort-of runs northwards from Richmond; and with loading docks and a very industrial frontage on the north side, Wilbur Street.  The current industrial building is zero lot line on the west, where it abuts the rear lot lines of homes. This is quite similar to my own home, and I greatly … Continue reading Proposed condo, 175 Richmond Road

design, downtown, NCC, Preston street, sidewalks, somerset street, surface water, Uncategorized12 Comments

Could the city actually install benches ?

Westsideaction

This is another post building more detail on the original Downtown Moves series in www.spacingOttawa.ca. While health and fitness naggards complain we sit too much, everyone wants to sit sometimes. I love to walk to places in my west side neighborhood, and walk into the core at least three times a week in the winter. (In the summer, I bike many of these trips, plus my travel zone expands…). Twenty years ago, most shopping malls had few benches in the mall area. Those that were there were to catch collapsing shoppers before they hit the deck. But there seemed to … Continue reading Could the city actually install benches ?

bike path, cycling in Ottawa, design, downtown, LRT, OLRT, pedestrians, sidewalks, streetscaping, Uncategorized9 Comments

Is it time for a Sparks Street bike mall ?

Westsideaction

Late last year I wrote a two part post for www.SpacingOttawa.ca on the Downtown Moves project, a scheme aimed at improving the downtown pedestrian and cycling environment. This improvement is to make the LRT project work better by improving access to the stations; and to improve the downtown post-LRT implementation when the space currently occupied by bus movements will be much reduced. There were a lot of ideas in those posts, and some are worth elaborating on.   Today, can the Sparks Street mall be improved by making it a bike mall? Downtown pedestrian malls were all the rage a few decades ago. Some are still thriving; many … Continue reading Is it time for a Sparks Street bike mall ?

condos, cycling in Ottawa, infill, intensificatioin, pedestrians, Richmond road, sidewalks, streetscaping, Uncategorized, Westboro27 Comments

Westboro tizzy (iii)

Westsideaction

As part of the Uniform Developments condo proposal for Roosevelt Avenue, the City/Councillor negotiated some “community benefits”. This consists of $200,000 worth of traffic calming and streetscaping to be paid for by Uniform. Here is an overview of the changes to Roosevelt (top street in pic) and Winston (lower street in pic) (transitway trench is running up the right side of the pic): Double click on the picture to enlarge it. The south end of Roosevelt Avenue, to the left in the above pic, where it meets Richmond Road, gets redesigned to be more pedestrian friendly. Midway along the block are some traffic … Continue reading Westboro tizzy (iii)