Canal Rideau 1933 – 2012
Vue du canal pointant vers le nord. On peut voir la gare centrale toujours en opération, l’absence du centre Rideau et en arrière plan le bâtiment Daly.
Rideau Canal 1933-2012
Rideau Canal looking north. We can see the central train station, but notice the absence of the Rideau Centre — and at the far back of the photo, the Daly Building can be seen.
13 comments
Hi there, lovely pics. I believe it’s the Daly Building, not the Daily Building. Pronounced the same way but note spelling.
Thanks, it is now corrected.
Bring back the trains!
Bring back the trains? Are you serious? You want heavy rail running alongside the canal? Thanks, but I prefer the recreation path.
Virgina, do you support all NCC policies, or just the one that removed a vital rail link from the core of our city? I would gladly accept a few trains along the canal rather than thousands of cars.
I’m no urban planner, but here’s my observation:
Both side of the canal are dedicated to motorist and pedestrians/bikes paths. What if we simply keep one side the way it is (let’s say Queen Elizabeth dr) and have the other side (Colonel By Dr) for LRT only? Would that not be cost efficient for the NCC – maintenance of the recreational path + parks on one side of the canal only.
I agree, Bob. Those who removed the train line from the east side of the canal did a great disservice to this city. That one act is the root cause of our transportation problems.
Bring back downtown rail! Rail service to the old Union Station could be cut and covered right next to the canal, with a new, better, canal “shoreline” built on top, including the precious “recreational path”.
How about we add some life to the canal “shoreline”? The days of boring “recreation paths” must end. I love these before and after photos. Ottawa is probably the only city on the planet where the before photo is better than the after photo.
Recreation paths, usually next to vast tracts of empty grass. Great to look at from your car.
Do you ever get out of your car and use the paths? I do, all the time. I live near Clegg Street, so they are a key part of my neighbourhood. I see recreational cyclists, walkers, joggers, and lots of bike commuters. In the winter I see swarms of people heading to the canal to skate. On sunny days the grassy areas (where wide enough) are full of people lounging around. When Colonel By is shut down on Sunday mornings during the summer, thousands of people head out to ride bike and in-line skate along the water. That’s when I start fantasizing about the street being shut down to traffic permanently so that at least one shore of the canal could be dedicated to people rather than vehicles. We could get some Portland-style food carts out there in the summer, new access points for paddlers, a dedicated bike line–lots of possibilities.
Or, you know, lay down rail for diesel trains so we can go back in time 50 years. That’s sure to be a popular option.
@Joan, not to sure Ottawa is the only one. Buffalo had its moments too.
http://www.theatlanticcities.com/arts-and-lifestyle/2011/12/buffalo-then-and-now-1902-2011/716/
The recreational paths are not the problem. They are well used by pedestrians and cyclists commuting to work as well as for recreation.
Virginia’s right though. We could use some food carts. It’s strange that you can buy snacks on the canal during the winter, but not the other three months.
As for rail, I wouldn’t rule it out, but not at the expense of the human powered traffic. Now if you were willing to trade some parkway car lanes for LRT….