hope everyone had a relaxing and rejuvenating summer. Let me fill you in on what's surfaced over the summer months.
The "Bronson People" painted figures: We lowered them on the hydro poles so they are more visible to drivers on Bronson Avenue.
Red light camera: We're getting one at Carling and Bronson.
Data Road Centre Motorbike Racing: It has proved much more difficult than we expected to come up with grooving in the pavement that will deter late night racers. We tested four different types of grooves at Lansdowne and none of them worked. We're now looking at simply roughing up the road as you would for an overlay and trying this out.
This is a really noxious problem and I encourage everyone to take the time to phone the police to register your complaints when they disturb your sleep as the only short term solution seems to be more vigorous policing.
Botanical Garden Proposal at the Central Experimental Farm: After listening to the proponent of this idea and to the reaction of the community, it seems clear that it is an excellent idea and I would strongly support it at say the Mile Circle in Manor Park or some other pleasant site in the Ottawa area but not at the Central Experimental Farm.
While the farm is in some decay due to lack of funding, the deterioration does not diminish its importance to the history of our country as a centerpiece for agricultural innovation and an impetus for western rural settlement. It also has a special place in the landscape of the Capital. The lake and its environs have been for a long time one of the most popular places to visit in the Capital for a variety of festivals and just as a place to promenade, skiand toboggan.
I have proposed the following action to the respective federal Ministers of Agriculture and Heritage. If Agriculture Canada no longer wishes to maintain 'the farm' because it is seen as having evolved out of an agricultural research station and into an urban park, then why not transfer it to Parks Canada under whose mandate it now seems to fall more naturally?
Parks Canada could maintain this Heritage Site in the manner it deserves, with the proviso that Agriculture Canada would be able to lease back whatever land and laboratories it still regards as useful to its research needs.
That done, we could proceed with the task of finding an appropriate site in the Ottawa area for the Botanical Gardens that would be acceptable to supporters of this project but would not involve changing the Central Experimental Farm Historic site, with glass pavilions, representative gardens, gates, fences, access routes and all the other aspects a Botanical Garden requires.
New Defibrillation Machines: Brewer Pool and the Firehall will both be getting debrillation machines (jumper cables for human chests) as will police cruisers and, of course, ambulances. Getting these machines out into the community improves the survival rate dramatically for those unfortunate enough to suffer a cardiac arrest. Training programs on the use of these machines will be announced in the new year.
The Green Agenda: I'm interested in bringing forward a Green Agenda at council which has is project-based, a kind of green infrastructure for the region. In other words, just as we have roads and sewers and transit projects in the Official Plan, we should have a list of green projects.
One of the initiatives we need on this Green Agenda list is to protect a green corridor out of the city behind the airport. Recreational cycling should not be confined to NCC pathways. The Gatineau Park works because it is in a pie shape and provides easy access to cyclists and hikers as well as car drivers.
We need this kind of access to the country on the Ontario side also. But development is quickly closing off these opportunities by ringing the city with suburban development. (Think about how long it takes to get to the country via Kanata or Orleans.)
The Leitrim wetlands and adjacent farmlands south of the airport is the only green corridor that we have left that is easily accessible from the centre of the city. (Twenty minutes from Brewer Park.) We need to expand and protect a rural corridor here as part of our green agenda. If we don't, it won't be there, just as the Gatineau Park wouldn't he here now if the NCC hadn't moved to protect this green corridor fifty years ago.
We've got to make the canal more pedestrian, community and bicycle friendly by building pedestrian bridges at Somerset and the Driveway and Fifth and the Driveway sooner rather than later.
I spent part of my holidays visiting relatives in Halifax and was struck once again by just how beautiful the Halifax PublicGardens are. There is no reason we can't have this kind of wonderful green space between the Aberdeen Pavilion and the Driveway. There is enough land there, we've just got to find the courage to tear up the asphalt and I am confident that the will is there.
As for the loss of parking, it comes down to a choice. What is more important to the community and the Region? To make sure parking is maximized at Lansdowne or have the Aberdeen Pavilion sitting as the jewel in a magnificent public garden instead of floating on the edge of a pan of asphalt?
For me the choice is easy. If you have ideas or opinions on how we might put together a green agenda for the new council, just give my office a call.
Losses: We lost on the Walkley Ramp south vote. Councillor Stewart's motion to move forward with this addition to the airport won on a tie vote. It was a bitter pill. We worked very hard to stop it, convincing Chair Chiarelli and almost all of the chairs of the Regional committees to vote against it, but it wasn't enough. The split was 9 to 9.
Councillor Berg has announced she will not contest the next election. Her hard work for the community will be missed.
Best wishes to all,
Clive Doucet