Category: streetscaping

Preston street, sidewalks, streetscaping1 Comment

Trampled

Westsideaction

At the beginning of August, I featured this pic of a porch renovation on Preston: Now the front garden on the left had the same lush landscaping as the garden on the right. But at first, only the left porch was being redone (you can guess where this is going…). I should point out, for those unaware, that the streetscaping along Preston broke new ground in City-paid-for landscaping and urban architecture. Instead of just “restoring” the usually shitty front pavement in front of houses that had been blighted by decades of a too-wide road, and decades of too many absentee landlords, … Continue reading Trampled

design, downtown, hintonburg, roads, streetscaping, Uncategorized6 Comments

The Queensway Forest

Westsideaction

One of the recommendations in the New Centretown Plan currently doing the rounds, is for a densely planted urban forest along the banks of the Queensway. Currently, there are some unpretty barren spots: And even where there is a bit more planting, it is sparse: Compare that with the lush vegetation a bit further west, along Edgar Street: A couple of observations: the lush growth shown above does not look “planned” or “planted” by landscape architects. I saw no evidence of retaining walls, gabions, well spaced hardwoods, scenic selection of trees … no, they just appear to have grown there all by themselves. Aided, … Continue reading The Queensway Forest

bike path, cycling in Ottawa, NCC, parks, sidewalks, streetscaping, Uncategorized

Toe chopping specials

Westsideaction

Residents of the national capital(e) are indeed fortunate beneficiaries of tax dollars collected from the good folks of Ecum Secum and Lower  Shubenacadie who provide us with wonderful paths and benches to sit on. I am not sure how much thinking goes into the details of bench location, though. Take the above pic, which shows the most typical installation of a bench right on the edge of the travelled portion of the path. Slouch down and you risk getting your toenails clipped by passing cyclists. If you stopped because your kid was squirming in the stroller or bike trailer, and needs to run around for … Continue reading Toe chopping specials

Albert St, bike path, bikewest, cycling in Ottawa, parking, pedestrians, sidewalks, streetscaping5 Comments

Dullsville

Westsideaction

Some days on the west side of town are just peachy. Other days are a tad … dull. Depressing, even. Someone had enough time and energy to attack this Ginkgo tree in Plouffe Park: Meanwhile, over on Albert Street, where a half-assed multi-user path runs along the north side of the road, these have appeared scattered all along the path: Some of the posts are steel, like the one shown. Others are chunky 4×4 posts, all about 10′ high. I think the city buys one size of post, digs any depth hole, plants said post, then cuts it off at … Continue reading Dullsville

somerset street, streetscaping4 Comments

New sidewalks on Somerset

Westsideaction

The first bits of concrete pavers were laid on Somerset today, just west of Preston. This is the style of paver to be used from the O-train east to Booth. It will also be the paver used if more of Chinatown is streetscaped. The pavers are a brown-red shade, with a very coarse surface grooving, which will be great for grip when climbing those hills in the winter, but which will be murder on kids’ knees one they inevitably take a tumble. All those involved in the design committee for the Somerset reconstruction will understand why the paver installation started at … Continue reading New sidewalks on Somerset

garbage, pedestrians, Preston street, sidewalks, streetscaping2 Comments

Care and enjoyment of expensive streetscaping

Westsideaction

The City spent millions to improve the look and landscaping along Preston. It is now a truly extraordinary street, a joy to walk along. (That it is extraordinary is an indictment of how bad the rest of our streets are…) The contractor repairing the porch of a house (shown above) decided these shrubs make a great place to throw his demolition debris. Who cares? And he is right, there doesn’t seem to be any penalty for those who abuse the plantings. All along the street, residents/businesses with generous paved frontages still decide to stack their garbage bags on top of the … Continue reading Care and enjoyment of expensive streetscaping

cycling in Ottawa, O-Train, sidewalks, streetscaping1 Comment

Somerset bike underpass underway

Westsideaction

Somerset rises up and over the O-Train on a viaduct. A viaduct is rather like a bridge, but it is not hollow underneath; instead two side walls hold up a long berm of dirt with the road on top. The only bridge portions are over the O-Train itself and over a bit of City Centre Avenue. Another viaduct is the portion of the transitway from the O-Train overpass west, over the top of Baysview Avenue, and then descending into the cut that enters Tunney’s Pasture. An underpass is required for the new bicycle path that parallels the east side of the O-Train corridor. A … Continue reading Somerset bike underpass underway

design, roads, streetscaping, Uncategorized4 Comments

Hope for traffic calming

Westsideaction

I came across this example of traffic calming in Port Hope. A residential collector street obviously suffers from excessive speeding traffic. And Port Hope certainly had an abundance of jacked-up pickup trucks and elderly cars with look-at-me “mufflers” (amplifiers?). I suspect cruisin’ the streets is a vehicular  passeggiata for the Hopeful. This long thin traffic island, repeated every block, effectively narrows the available lane space and forces a certain percentage of vehicles to slow down a bit. I was impressed by the intensive landscaping in the medians, which even included trees: Trees were planted both in the island and on both sides … Continue reading Hope for traffic calming

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

sidewalks, somerset street, streetscaping4 Comments

Why this catch-basin makes me happy

Westsideaction

My wife and kids already know I’m weird. No doubt many readers have come to that suspicion as well. The catch basin in the centre of the above picture makes me happy because … it is located on the future curb line. The sidewalk will be much wider. Life will be better for pedestrians. Crossing the street will be safer. The sidewalk will have three trees in it, which will shade the buildings and make eating more pleasant inside May’s Restaurant. Continue reading Why this catch-basin makes me happy

Chinatown, sidewalks, somerset street, streetscaping

Chicken pedestrians

Westsideaction

The City will reconstruct Somerset Street West between Booth and Preston later this year. As part of the streetscaping, a number of decorative granite pavers will be inserted into the concrete paver sidewalk. While the final designs haven’t yet been selected, the likely theme will be animals of the Asian zodiacs. In addition to the Chinese zodiac animals, the Vietnamese zodiac has some different characters, so there will be more than twelve designs. Each will be carved into a granite block that is then set flush in the sidewalk. These will be sure to delight children and amuse adults who watch where they … Continue reading Chicken pedestrians

downtown, sidewalks, streetscaping, Trees2 Comments

Well planted trees

Westsideaction

Here’s another bit of Ottawa sidewalk I like. It’s along Place Bell Canada. Notice how well the curbs protect the trees against snowplows, parked objects, construction vehicles and equipment, etc. The tree trunks are thick, the leaf canopy is generous. The trees appear to be happy and growing. What a difference from so many Ottawa trees so obviously struggling hopelessly along the streets. Hey, it’s a sidewalk worth walking on. Continue reading Well planted trees

downtown, pedestrians, sidewalks, streetscaping3 Comments

Good sidewalk environment

Westsideaction

It’s not “all bad” on downtown sidewalks. I love this bit of private landscaping on Gilmore Street, near Kent. The sidewalk grew a tiny bit wider, which is useful. The precast block wall is attractive and understated, not competing with the building or the street. The modest elevation increase gives more room for tree roots, defines the “garden” space, and helps keep litter out. The densely planted row of trees greens the environment and helps shade the adjacent south-facing building façade. The tough decorative grasses planted along the base puts lots of rich greenery at eye level (for those who watch … Continue reading Good sidewalk environment

design, downtown, parking, pedestrians, streetscaping, WalkSpace4 Comments

From mediocre to worse

Westsideaction

  This post originally appeared in the WalkSpace series at  www.SpacingOttawa.ca. The loss of amenity is noticeable when an attractive bit of the pedestrian realm or sidewalk is adversely affected by adjacent developments. The contrast is less sharp when a mediocre space becomes worse. Yet the result is the same: the pedestrian zone gets impinged and impoverished. I always find the C D Howe building in downtown Ottawa to be an underachiever. The building is somehow less than the sum of its parts. Inside there’s a waterfall, winter garden, soaring three storey spaces, pedestrian bridges, Jetson elevators, retail spaces, food court …. And outside offers an extra-wide sidewalk with some … Continue reading From mediocre to worse

bike path, Chinatown, chinatown arch, cycling in Ottawa, design, sewage and drains, sidewalks, somerset street, streetscaping, Uncategorized9 Comments

Somerset dog-and-pony show — new priorities

Westsideaction

The City held an open house last evening to explain to the public what is being done on Somerset Street this year. It was a mix of old news — the section west of Preston remains  unchanged from last year except for some details — and new news for the section east of Preston up to Booth. The new stuff comes in several formats. The consultants and city staff had all the public consultation team members on hand, with name badges, to explain what is proposed and to tell their neighbours about some of the tradeoffs that were made to get to these results. … Continue reading Somerset dog-and-pony show — new priorities

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

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?

Chinatown, chinatown arch, condos, infill, somerset street, streetscaping, Uncategorized6 Comments

Planning Exercise (v): Chinatown lives

Westsideaction

  For several years Chinatown has been struggling. The arrival of big-box asian-food supermarkets in the suburbs, and the shift of Asian families to suburban living, has resulted in a  number of vacancies along Somerset Street. The construction of the Chinatown Royal Arch is the first step in rejuvenating the area. The second step is the construction, in 2011, of new streetscaping from Preston up the hill to Booth. This will include new, wider brick sidewalks, lots more trees and plantings, new ped-scale lighting, benches and other street furniture. This has made a major improvement to Preston; similar but unique streetscaping should boost Chinatown’s … Continue reading Planning Exercise (v): Chinatown lives

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)

Booth St, Chinatown, sidewalks, somerset street, streetscaping, Uncategorized

Tex-Mex with a touch of China

Westsideaction

  Somerset Street will be reconstructed from Preston up to Booth next year (city budget permitting). After the underground utilities are replaced, the street gets repaved and new sidewalks, ped lights, trees, benches, garbage cans, the whole shebang gets set up for the next decades. Many of those streetscaping decisions are being made right now, and it is fun being on the committee debating the colour palette of the paving blocks, the crosswalk designs, selecting the benches, etc.  So … what Chinatown should look like is much on my mind. It is rather ironic therefore that the Southern Cross restaurant, which serves tex-mex food from its … Continue reading Tex-Mex with a touch of China

Laurier Ave, streetscaping

A tree grows … on Laurier

Westsideaction

  While trees all around Ottawa are turning colours and dropping leaves, this paper birch in front of the Laurier Ave public library remains bright green and possessing all its leaves. For a few feet this bit of sidewalk seems to time travel back to summer time. Must be an alternate fantasy universe. I wish more landscape architects could find trees like this. We could extend the feel of summer until global warming finally gets here. Continue reading A tree grows … on Laurier

Preston street, streetscaping, Uncategorized, west wellington

Tidy peastone vs au naturel

Westsideaction

A number of cities keep peastone beds around trees in the sidewalk neat and tidy. Ottawa is not among them. Toronto and Vancouver are. The peastone shown above is glued down to a porous mat which is cut to shape for the tree well. Moisture runs in; weeds do not grow out. The stones stay in place. Wheelchairs and strollers roll right over them. Little boys are frustrated. Dogs continue to pee on them. Smokers find one less spot to dump their butts. These mats are commonly available at stores for use as a foot mat on your front doorstop. On the other hand, while … Continue reading Tidy peastone vs au naturel

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

sidewalks, streetscaping2 Comments

From Ugly Utility to Street Art

Westsideaction

Have you noticed the growing proliferation of utility boxes on our sidewalks? Our engineers call them street furniture, but they are truly obstructions that they don’t dare put on the roadways. Utility functions that used to be down a personhole are more and more often mounted on posts. Those little yellow boxes that used to hold traffic signal controls are now big gray cabinets 6′ high and 3-9 feet wide. And they are always put in the primest locations, at corners, in front of commercial storefronts, etc. I had the opportunity to look inside several utility boxes this summer. The giant gray ones along Preston … Continue reading From Ugly Utility to Street Art

condos, intensificatioin, streetscaping, Uncategorized

Elegant sidewalk treatment

Westsideaction

The sidewalk treatment shown above is in front of the two Hudson condo towers by Charlesfort. In the foreground the smooth concrete band marks the public sidewalk. The brick paver area may be private property, or may be public (note the lamppost) but in any case it provides a pleasant widening on the corner. The pattern is simple yet dynamic and intriguing. The eye follows the curving lines to the edge of the installation and tries to extend it beyond. The pattern must also work when seen from above, as the condo towers are about 18 stories high. This bit of … Continue reading Elegant sidewalk treatment