Signs, signs, everywhere you go
Signs proliferate in Ottawa: how to wash your hands, how to drink from a fountain … Continue reading Signs, signs, everywhere you go
Honey, go mow the water
That we have to hire people and machinery to mow the canal is another good reason to reduce run off. Continue reading Honey, go mow the water
Our Lady of the Condos revisited
The Our Lady of the Condos project by Ashcroft on Richmond Road was controversial when revealled in the spring of this year. There has been very little coverage of the results of the review panel, which tinker with the site but don’t reduce the density. Continue reading Our Lady of the Condos revisited
Western Leg, LRT (from Bayview to Lincoln Fields via ???)
The city has set up a stakeholders group to contribute to its process of finding how the LRT will get from Bayview (or Tunney’s) to Lincoln Fields. Options include the Ottawa River NCC lands, the Otrain-Carling route, the Churchill-Carling route, and the transitway-Byron route. All options have very different features for transit users and the adjacent communities. Continue reading Western Leg, LRT (from Bayview to Lincoln Fields via ???)
Simple fountain
Example of well-designed functional urban fountain that meets a whole variety of user needs. Continue reading Simple fountain
Wet History
Logging used to be such a major industry in Ottawa-Gatineau. This historic boat is parked on the Gatineau-side shoreline. Continue reading Wet History
Perseid Meteor Shower Thursday nite
The perseid meteor shower comes every year. This year, it will peak on Thursday night. Start watching after 10pm. Peak viewing will be midnight to 1am (ie midnight thursday evening to 1am friday morning) as the moon will be absent. If you can make out lots of stars in the sky, it is dark enough. Even though I live downtown, I can lie out on my back deck and find it is dark enough. I hang some blankets on the clothesline to block street light shining from the next block. Last year, we saw about 10 meteors quite clearly in about … Continue reading Perseid Meteor Shower Thursday nite
Building a community ?
The new condos on LeBreton Flats are showing more signs of life. About 120 units are occupied, 175 more will become available on Feb 1, 2011. There is now balcony furniture, babies, and pedestrian activity. Years of construction are ahead. Continue reading Building a community ?
All roads lead to Rome
The Preston Street BIA continues to add features to the attractive Preston streetscape. One of the most challenging areas is under the Queensway.The BIA has managed to turn theirs into a silk purse. Continue reading All roads lead to Rome
CBC Newsclip available
CBC newsclip on the ridiculous transitway backups last week. Continue reading CBC Newsclip available
Bike parking posts
For the first time I noticed the new bike locking rings and posts. Too few posts are being converted to bike locking posts. I am alarmed by the City’s choice of very high standards for where to locate the posts. It means we won’t get nearly enough of them. Continue reading Bike parking posts
Dead Spot
All the proposals for the Fallen Firefighters Memorial at the NCC presentation last evening had very similar elements and wording. I suspect they reflect the rigid programming requirments edicted by the bureaucrats. The closest the proposals came to excitement also came with the most criticism, if the public comment sheet is anything to go by. The proposals all lack something to engage the public. The memorial site will truly be a dead spot. Continue reading Dead Spot
Idiot Proof
More on transit congestion in downtown Ottawa, our city’s inadequate response, and media coverage. Yesterday, I suggested a tunnel / grade-separation is required to prevent these confidence-sapping snafu’s from repeating endlessly. Continue reading Idiot Proof
Tunnel please, no shades of gray
Ottawa skeptics doubt that we need a downtown transit tunnel. They focus too much on the initial capital cost of the tunnel. A better comparison is to alternative ways to run transit through downtown Ottawa for the next century. Continue reading Tunnel please, no shades of gray
You missed the latest post …
If you get this message, you are still subscribed to or are reading WestSideAction at the OLD blog site. There is a new post at the new site, and it will not appear at this site! You are missing my post on why we need a downtown transit tunnel, no shades of Gray! Here’s what to do:Go to http://www.westsideaction.wordpress.com/ and on the right side column, the RSS buttons. Click to start your free subscription for the posts only, or the posts and readers comments. If you subscribe, all new posts are sent to you automatically. Once you subscribe to the … Continue reading You missed the latest post …
WSA is moving …
WestSideAction has moved from .blogspot to .wordpress. Please subscribe using the RSS button as future posts will be from the .wordpress site only. Continue reading WSA is moving …
WSA is moving
WestSideAction has moved from .blogspot to .wordpress. Please subscribe using the RSS button there as future posts will be from the http://www.westsideaction.wordpress.com/ site only. Sorry for the errors and omissions and oddities that appear for the next few days as I try to set up and get familiar with the .wordpress account. As always, comments and suggestions are welcome. thanks for reading, Eric Darwin Continue reading WSA is moving
More on Bronson’s fake trees
I had thought Ottawa was perhaps unique in wanting to install fake trees on concrete foundations along Bronson rather than plant real trees with real roots. The City is reconstructing Bronson next year. In their rush to pave over every possible inch of Ottawa space for rush hour commuters to head over to the greener pastures of Pointe Gatineau or out to Greely, they discovered they had no room left over for pedestrians, cyclists, transit users, residents, adjacent businesses, kids heading to school or grandma heading to the lawn bowling club. No room for bus shelters, benches, or trees … … Continue reading More on Bronson’s fake trees
Raw 60’s
Raw Sugar coffee and tea house on Somerset at Cambridge is totally decorated in chrome tables and chairs, 60’s fake leather, there are the appropriate figurines and a Hammond organ. Yesterday, it was in my aunt’s house, today it’s a museum display. But the brownies still taste good. Continue reading Raw 60’s
More on Bronson’s fake trees
I had thought Ottawa was perhaps unique in wanting to install fake trees on concrete foundations along Bronson rather than plant real trees with real roots. The City is reconstructing Bronson next year. In their rush to pave over every possible inch of Ottawa space for rush hour commuters to head over to the greener pastures of Pointe Gatineau or out to Greely, they discovered they had no room left over for pedestrians, cyclists, transit users, residents, adjacent businesses, kids heading to school or grandma heading to the lawn bowling club. No room for bus shelters, benches, or trees … … Continue reading More on Bronson’s fake trees
Raw 60’s
Raw Sugar coffee and tea house on Somerset at Cambridge is totally decorated in chrome tables and chairs, 60’s fake leather, there are the appropriate figurines and a Hammond organ. Yesterday, it was in my aunt’s house, today it’s a museum display. But the brownies still taste good. Continue reading Raw 60’s
The race is won …
A little while ago I posted this picture of the “loop” wires that were to be installed at the Preston intersection with Somerset. The street was also scheduled to be dug up … would the street diggers remove the street before the wires got burried, or would the wire people install the wires only to see them dug up the next week … The diggers won. Bell and Enbridge are busy doing their infrastructure stuff before the sewer work is done later this month. So the traffic people won’t find a street there to put their loop into. Unless … … Continue reading The race is won …
The race is won …
A little while ago I posted this picture of the “loop” wires that were to be installed at the Preston intersection with Somerset. The street was also scheduled to be dug up … would the street diggers remove the street before the wires got burried, or would the wire people install the wires only to see them dug up the next week … The diggers won. Bell and Enbridge are busy doing their infrastructure stuff before the sewer work is done later this month. So the traffic people won’t find a street there to put their loop into. Unless … … Continue reading The race is won …
Rideau Canal cruisin’
The Kawartha Voyageur seen here at Hartwell Locks, near Carleton U. If you think it looks too big to fit through the canal locks, you are right. It is too long. However, they roll up the awning at the front and the entire bow section swings up on a hinge, revealling the boat to be the square barge that lies beneath. Continue reading Rideau Canal cruisin’
Rideau Canal cruisin’
The Kawartha Voyageur seen here at Hartwell Locks, near Carleton U. If you think it looks too big to fit through the canal locks, you are right. It is too long. However, they roll up the awning at the front and the entire bow section swings up on a hinge, revealling the boat to be the square barge that lies beneath. Continue reading Rideau Canal cruisin’