Balconville
Balconville: some Ottawa building feature recessed balconies and some sport them on the exterior of the facade. The recessed ones look better, here are some examples. Continue reading Balconville
Graphic demo of road use
Three modes of travel; three different degrees of space consumption, with drastic consequences for our urban form. Continue reading Graphic demo of road use
Bicycle Crosswalks
The very name crossWALK is pedestrian oriented. Carleton U has a neat crosswalk that handles cyclists and pedestrians and motorists very well, all in one neat package. Can we have more of these, please? Continue reading Bicycle Crosswalks
Green, Urban, Trendy…and affordable
Guest post on new infill housing project on Catherine Street, Beaver Barracks is green, urban, trendy … and affordable. Continue reading Green, Urban, Trendy…and affordable
More Postcards from Preston
More pictures of the sculptures just installed on Preston Street. Continue reading More Postcards from Preston
Preston Street sculptures installed
The first group of sculptures was installed as part of the Preston mainstreet revitalization program. Stunning ! Continue reading Preston Street sculptures installed
Walk and talk sculpture on the West Side
Eye-catching sculptures will soon be installed along West Side mainstreets as part of the major construction projects that have transformed neighbourhoods with new infrastructure and beautiful streetscapes. Continue reading Walk and talk sculpture on the West Side
Bikes — and racks — hit the Dumpster
Bike racks and bikes prove to be disposable at apartment renovation site. Continue reading Bikes — and racks — hit the Dumpster
And on the other hand(s)
OBrien and Watson mention transportation in their campaign re-launches. Continue reading And on the other hand(s)
Ugly Betty Building Better Brown is a real stretch
Ugly Betty Building Better Brown is a real stretch: extension poles are useful. Continue reading Ugly Betty Building Better Brown is a real stretch
On the Left Track
Clive Doucet’s transportation plan has five key planks, only one of which thrills me. The rest leave me cold. Continue reading On the Left Track
At the corner of Heron and the Canal
At sunset, along the Canal near Bronson, a Heron stands on a post. Continue reading At the corner of Heron and the Canal
Ecole St Francois d’Assise
Many changes have been made to the park behind the Hintonburg community centre and Ecole St Francois. Continue reading Ecole St Francois d’Assise
Ugly Betty Building Better Brown?
The City Centre warehouse/office complex on City Centre Avenue near the Bayview Otrain station is often derided as the ugliest (commercial) building in the city. Actually, there are other contenders. And a frequently mentioned ugliest (residential) building is not so far away. The owners — Equity International — have recently made some changes to the building. About a year ago, the huge Citv Centre red neon signs were removed from the top of the building. Then earlier this year, the building was washed. Now it’s undergoing a brownwash. The horizontal concrete stripes around the building are being painted black. While I give thanks that the building … Continue reading Ugly Betty Building Better Brown?
Bronson Engineers Going on a Diet !
After relentlessly mocking the City for its proposals to widen Bronson, and to make the sidewalks narrower, and for its myopic focus on commuter-traffic-and-damn-all-the-rest, word percolates out of City Hall today that the scheduled Bronson stakeholder meeting for the fall has been postponed to allow the engineers time to examine a road diet for Bronson. Continue reading Bronson Engineers Going on a Diet !
The stop-light pitch
Here is a stop-light pitch for candidates for City Councillor, a one-line cycling policy. Continue reading The stop-light pitch
Cycling Along the CBC
CBC Ottawa bikes were spotted at City Hall recently. See the interview on expanding the Ottawa bike paths. Continue reading Cycling Along the CBC
What stores turn you on?
The Preston Street BIA is turning to crowd-sourcing to identify what people want to see on their local main street. Then the BIA plans to go searching for those merchants to point out there is a demand for their services on the street. Who knows, it just might work — it has elsewhere! Continue reading What stores turn you on?
Community Building is Play
Volunteers work to build a play structure in Dalhousie at a housing project. Volunteers came from China and Ottawa. Many hands make … play. Continue reading Community Building is Play
Making sidewalks safer
Occasionally the City does make the pedestrian sidewalk more pleasant for pedestrians, but this is far from common. Sometimes the city uses planters to separate speeding traffic from peds. These work really well. Continue reading Making sidewalks safer
Chinatown Arch being foiled …
The huge Chinatown Royal Arch on Somerset Street is being decorated with real gold foil by Chinese artisans. The finished results are stunning, and the process itself is well worth a look. Continue reading Chinatown Arch being foiled …
Bike Post on Somerset
The City is reusing about 12% of its retireing parking meter posts as bike posts Continue reading Bike Post on Somerset
Transportation Committee approves Otrain corridor bike path
Transportation Committee approved construction of the Otrain corridor bike path for 2011-12. The path runs from the Ottawa River at the Prince of Wales bridge, south to Carling Avenue and Dows Lake. Continue reading Transportation Committee approves Otrain corridor bike path
Our Lady of the Condos attracts attention of MSM
Today the MSM breaks the story of the Our Lady of the Condos site development that you read about here, last week. Continue reading Our Lady of the Condos attracts attention of MSM
Pedestrian Harassment
The city’s advice to pedestrians is awful, it verges on harassment. Read the rant to find out why. Continue reading Pedestrian Harassment