Dows Lake, Experimental Farm, parks2 Comments

World heritage sunbrellas

Westsideaction

I notice that at Harwell Lock, near Carleton U, the students working the canal now have sun umbrellas to shade them whilst cranking the sluices and the lock doors open. I did notice that they are not properly branded with the Parks Canada official beaver ™ or the designation of World Heritage Site ™ or a Giant Blue C.  Assuming the sunbrellas pass muster with the United Bureaucrats of Turtle Bay, I hope to see proper logo’d sunbrellas next year. Humour “off”. Continue reading World heritage sunbrellas

City Hall, cycling in Ottawa, DOTT, LRT, oc Transpo, OLRT7 Comments

Bike Parking at New LRT Stations

Westsideaction

I sit on the public advisory committee for pedestrian and cyclist access to and design of the new LRT stations. Sometimes my comments are welcome there, and sometimes I feel like the skunk at a garden party. After last week, I was a stunned bunny. The subject was (again) cyclist and pedestrian access to the new stations. There was some useful stuff, like the likely walk-in catchment zone, the cycle-in catchment zone, and the zone where it is just too much effort to get out the bike so someone might walk; and zone where someone might decide, since they were already … Continue reading Bike Parking at New LRT Stations

Bayview, Bayview Otrain, DOTT, O-Train, oc Transpo, OLRT, sidewalks, Uncategorized4 Comments

Preventive maintenance vs replacement

Westsideaction

The Bayview O-train station is only “temporary”, but like many temporary things in the City, it has a long “temporary” life. Constructed in 2001, there are long sloping pedestrian walkways connecting the O-Train and Bus platforms. The asphalt paths were laid on gravel base, but with no “shoulder” of gravel. Instead, the gravel slopes away right from the edge of the asphalt. I am sure someone dutifully looked up the correct slope in some engineering table, and that the gravel would be stable and not erode. Except … Except the stability of gravel on a slope depends on there being no load … Continue reading Preventive maintenance vs replacement

bike path, cycling in Ottawa, cyclopiste de preston, somerset street2 Comments

How to ride a bike through Thick cement

Westsideaction

Recall that the new O-Train corridor cycling path parallels the tracks on their east side. To get under Somerset Street, the City is constructing a new underpass for the multi-user path. The north portal has been cut out; here is the view from the top of the hole in Somerset:  Notice how thick is the base of the wall of the viaduct. There is no further foundation — the wall just bulbs out and rests on the dirt. It reminds me of those blocks sold to hold up decks — rather than digging a deep hole and filling it up with cement, … Continue reading How to ride a bike through Thick cement

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

Uncategorized8 Comments

Unmet transportation demand in Westboro

Westsideaction

These grocery carts are parked in a field near Island Park Towers,  upscale rental buildings just west of Island Park Drive along the Ottawa River. I suspect the building caretakers gather the carts and push them across the street, abandoning them on a dilapidated bit of … city or Ottawa Hydro land. For a brief time, I resided in Fenwick Towers, a brutal concrete high-rise in Halifax. The views were fabulous. The building inside was dubious, having been started as a luxury tower but bankrupted before completion, and then finished out in Beaver Lumber cheap by the university. This was … Continue reading Unmet transportation demand in Westboro

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

bike path, Claridge, condos, cycling in Ottawa, design, intensificatioin, LeBreton Flats7 Comments

End of the Yellow Brick road, err buildings

Westsideaction

The NCC wanted a different look and feel for the LeBreton neighborhood. They wanted a neighborhood that was distinctive. To this end they chose a particular palate of colours that all bidders had to employ. Predominate in this palate was yellow brick. It was always in the plan that as the buildings approached the south edge (I thought they meant Albert Street…) they would become two tone brick, employing the traditional red brick common to the older neighborhoods, to form a transition zone. I am not sure whether the lack of enthusiasm for the look of the recently constructed condos comes … Continue reading End of the Yellow Brick road, err buildings

cycling in Ottawa, design, Elm Street, LeBreton Flats, parks, plant recreation centre, Plouffe Park, Primrose, surface water, Uncategorized8 Comments

Waterparks in the City

Westsideaction

Dufferin Park in Toronto is justifiably well known for its innovative features. The boy on the left (picture, above) is by the spigot that flows water into this large sand lot, complete with oversize logs that seem perfect to stimulate little imaginations while containing the mess and providing bum rests for parents. Can’t you just hear Ottawa park bureaucrats commenting on the “safety” of that big log bridge? (shown above) Actually, watching the baby crawl up out of the ditch was hilarious and inspiring. The Dufferin Park neighborhood and adjacent Trinity Bellwoods neighborhoods appear to me to be in the “Glebe” level of affluence. A number of … Continue reading Waterparks in the City

oc Transpo, Transit3 Comments

Bus route reassurance

Westsideaction

OC Transpo introduces major route changes on Sept 4th. These little hang tags on bus stop signs remind users that this route will be changing. This is certainly a proactive reach-out, taking the message directly to the affected riders. The hang tags are suspended on plastic hangers, which, coupled with the low height of bus stop signs, makes them easy for vandals to swat off the sign. I have noticed a number of signs have only the little plastic loops on them; the advisory itself is gone. On routes that don’t change, there is a little sticker on the post that affirms … Continue reading Bus route reassurance

bike path, cycling in Ottawa, somerset street

Bike underpass progresses

Westsideaction

The City is inserting a new bicycle underpass parallel to the O-Train track where it goes under the Somerset Street viaduct. A viaduct is like a bridge, except it isn’t hollow underneath, it has dirt fill between side retaining walls. In the picture below, the far side wall is visible as is the wall of the O-Train underpass  on the left edge of the picture.  A construction worker, busily supervised by another, is shown with a large horizontal saw blade (about 36″ diameter) riding on rail attached to the wall, cutting a horizontal opening through the wall. I suspect this is the … Continue reading Bike underpass progresses

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

cycling in Ottawa17 Comments

More, please

Westsideaction

Hmm, high rise apartment building. With affordable rents. Tennants who ride bikes… What could be missing? Uhh, a place to park them? This unsightly mess on Bell Street reveals a) the lack of bike racks; b) the secondary utility of tree guards; c) another step in the jeeze-I’m-tired-of-cyclists syndrome; d)all of the above. Now I don’t actually believe the City should be rushing out to install bike racks on every sidewalk. Somehow, there is a niggling bit in the back of my mind that wants sidewalks for pedestrians. Convenient cycle parking yes, but not over-running every sidewalk. I recall my last … Continue reading More, please

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

Albert St, bike path, bikewest, condos, cycling in Ottawa, design, DOTT, housing policy, intensificatioin, LRT, NCC, O-Train, OLRT, parks, Richmond road, Scott street8 Comments

Air rights over the transitway/LRT

Westsideaction

Councilor Katherine Hobbs is in the news for asking the City to examine developing the air rights over the west side part of the transitway/LRT line. I have a bunch of mutually contradictory thoughts on this. 1. The City should sell air rights to help pay for the transitway. Taxpayers are forking out a bundle of money for a transit line, we can recoup some of that expenditure by selling prime access to the most-accessible locations in the city. Otherwise, many of the development benefits go to the builders on adjacent lands. In some cases, these are private developers; in the case … Continue reading Air rights over the transitway/LRT

condos, DOTT, housing policy, intensificatioin, LRT, oc Transpo, OLRT, roads, Uncategorized8 Comments

Development charges and misleading headlines

Westsideaction

Today’s Citizen has a story on development charges. The headline, picture,  and first part of the story emphasizes how much of the development charges will pay for transit. Buried deeper in the story, and not all that easy to spot, is this bit: But in general, fees for new roads are far and away the biggest chunk of any of the charges: for a new house inside the Greenbelt,You can read the whole story here: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/City+Ottawa+boosting+development+charges+transit+costs/5167823/story.html#ixzz1TPDX3NqW         Do you notice that the headline doesn’t read “rampant road construction boosts housing costs?”  There is no picture of Terry … Continue reading Development charges and misleading headlines

Uncategorized3 Comments

Concrete images

Westsideaction

Many years ago the maze of pathways around the Portage Bridge were designed with a number of landings, lookouts, or other flats spots. I once heard that these were for sculptures. Trivia fans may recall that at the time of construction, the proposed site for the new National Art Gallery was between Archives and the Supreme Court. The building would both face Wellington Street and spill down the cliff and have another face towards the river, in an area of prime waterfront that is still just another parking lot. So having a sculpture walk makes some sense. It may be 30 … Continue reading Concrete images

bike path, Bronson, cycling in Ottawa, cyclopiste de preston, design, O-Train, pedestrians, sidewalks, somerset street1 Comment

My rules vs your rules

Westsideaction

Yes, dealing with the City (and the BIA’s, the Community Associations, the Councilors, neighbours… you name it) can be frustrating. I persevere, joining traffic studies and public advisory committees because sometimes we “win”, ie speaking up effects a change or improvement in a project. But it can be terribly frustrating. The City is an impenetrable maze of rules and standards for any occasion. Too many times to count we are told “you can’t have that” because it violates some engineering code, or bylaw, or whatever. Only to turn around and see that violation employed somewhere else or to get the … Continue reading My rules vs your rules

bike path, Chinatown, cycling in Ottawa, cyclopiste de preston, roads, somerset street

Road improvement only temporary

Westsideaction

The City repaved Somerset west of Preston this morning. Don’t get too excited though. It’s just short term improvement change followed by more disruption. The section of Somerset further west, near Bayswater, is not ready for paving yet. The newly paved section will be striped next week as a two-way cul-de-sac street, ending at Musca’s. There will be no vehicular traffic, east or west, over the O-Train bridge, starting in August. The road will be completely dug out to insert a new underpass, for the north-south cycling route that parallels the east side of the O-train corridor. The contractor will keep … Continue reading Road improvement only temporary

Uncategorized1 Comment

Yucca gardening in Ottawa

Westsideaction

Several years ago I became aware of Yucca plants. Once aware of them, I started noticing them everywhere. These have heavy spiked leaves at the bottom, and once a year send up a spectacular bloom stalk. Despite being a cactus-type plant, they survive the winters here if left outdoors. The yucca shown above is on Spruce Street, but the blooms have now fallen off. The bloom stalk was about 7′ tall: Continue reading Yucca gardening in Ottawa

Carling Ave, CDP, Claridge, condos, design, DOTT, downtown, Dows Lake, housing policy, intensificatioin, LRT, O-Train, OLRT, Scott street, Soho Italia, Transit27 Comments

March of the High Rises

Westsideaction

The City has recently seen a spate of high rise applications and project announcements. Claridge has a number of downtown high rises in the high 20- storey range: beside Bell Canada, on Nepean and Gloucester, and on Queen at Lyon (currently Barbarella’s and a parking lot). There are taller applications too. The first out of the gate* was Soho Italia, proposed for 500 Preston Street near Dow’s Lake. The Soho Italia structure is notable for several features: most of the parking garage is above grade (about 7 stories of it) clad in a perforated black metal screen; the building rises straight up occupying all of … Continue reading March of the High Rises

design, DOTT, green roofs23 Comments

Green Roof at College Square

Westsideaction

The roof at Algonquin College’s new building is planted. The pic above shows the steepest part of roof, as seen from the northwest. I think the north half of the building bears a resemblance to the War Museum on LeBreton Flats. I notice the Ottawa U station will be called “Campus”; the Carleton U station is called “Carleton”; but the Algonquin College station is called “Baseline”. I think Baseline is a poor choice, since the road after which it is named is many kilometers long while the station is in one place only. Either “College Square” or “Algonquin” would be … Continue reading Green Roof at College Square