{"id":7401,"date":"2011-12-13T16:22:48","date_gmt":"2011-12-13T21:22:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/spacingottawa.ca\/?p=7401"},"modified":"2013-01-21T09:28:02","modified_gmt":"2013-01-21T14:28:02","slug":"inside-downtown-moves","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/ottawa\/2011\/12\/13\/inside-downtown-moves\/","title":{"rendered":"Inside Downtown Moves"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Photo: Noah Kazis\/Streetsblog<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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The City is running a study to produce an integrated urban design and transportation strategy for the future of downtown Ottawa streets. The triggering factor are the circulation patterns to be caused by the new LRT stations, the removal of some\/many\/but not all buses, and to restore a balance amongst users (surely a reference to the auto-domination of the previous decades).<\/p>\n

The study team held workshops earlier this fall, and brought in significant guest speakers who gave well-attended talks. Yours truly was amongst the throng of attendees and is on the public advisory committee (PAC).<\/p>\n

I do not intend to give a balanced overview or summary of the process, or the discussions. I will give a biased\/slanted\/opinionated version sure to infuriate everyone at some point.<\/p>\n

The second “workshop” event was held last week. The first half was lecture style; the second half was spent discussing a bunch of ideas. The consultants have identified eight “big moves” from the huge variety of ideas generated at the first workshop.<\/p>\n

The big moves are<\/p>\n

1. Queen Street \u2014 how can we green it and its cross streets, to promote pedestrian activity and handle the station exit crowds?<\/p>\n

2. Elgin Street \u2014 can we reconnect it to the downtown and lowertown, perhaps remake it as a grand boulevard?<\/p>\n

3. Sparks Street \u2014 how do we revitalize?<\/p>\n

4. Albert\/Slater pair \u2014 how to refocus to a new lower-bus-volume street<\/p>\n

5. Laurier Avenue \u2014 how to work with\/leverage the separated bike lanes (SBL)<\/p>\n

6. north\/south streets \u2014 how to improve, and should they become two-way just north or just south of Laurier?<\/p>\n

7. Identifying 8 demo sites where big moves can be done<\/p>\n

Now being the rep from the West Side (more specifically the Dalhousie Community Assoc) the first thing I noticed was there were no big moves identified for the west side. No major consideration for what the Albert Street reconstruction (from Bronson to Parkdale) in 2012-13 should try to do; no mention of the current commuter-focused-Bronson reconstruction which flies totally in the face of what the Downtown Moves is trying to do; and no mention of linking the west side neighborhoods of LeBreton, Dalhousie, or Chinatown to the downtown. No mention of updating the LeBreton agreement with the NCC to permit treed boulevards (the City insisted the Flats cannot have them, according to the City policy then in effect, but the City now permits treed side boulevards, but alas the Agreement still prohibits them…).<\/p>\n

I hope the failure to notice the west side was merely an oversight that might soon be corrected? Pardon me if I get a bit defensive about how the west side always seems to get ignored and shunted aside.<\/p>\n

I divide the ideas discussed into two types:<\/p>\n