t was with much regret that I accepted the resignation of The OSCAR's editor, Peter Hecht, on behalf of the Board of OSCA. Peter's last edition of the Review will appear in June. He has worked tirelessly over the past nine years to nurture what we believe is the best community paper in Ottawa. Moreover, that he has created such a high quality paper in a fiscally responsible manner is truly commendable. Thanks to Peter and his staff, The OSCAR now operates at a modest profit to ensure a healthy working capital base. Congratulations, Peter, on a great 'run'. You have served your community well and deserve much thanks from all of us in Old Ottawa South.
To replace Peter, the Board has struck a search committee made up of Board members Doug Stickley, Peggi McNeil and me. Peter Hecht has also graciously agreed to serve on this committee. If you are interested in applying, please send your resume to any member of the search committee or to OSCA's Executive Director, Deirdre McQuillan, at the Old Firehall. Deirdre can also be reached by e-mail at osca@cyberus.ca.
Here are a few of the principal parameters of the editor's job:
Prospective candidates for the editor's job should have writing and editing experience coupled with a genuine interest in the community. Patience, tact, good communication skills, computer and management skills, a history of volunteering, creativity - these are some of the other key experiences and skills that we will be looking for in assessing candidates. The editor should also be willing to attend periodic OSCA Board meetings to report on the Review's activities and finances.
In the April edition of OSCAR, I reported on the draft terms of reference for conducting an environmental assessment of the proposed Alta Vista Transportation Corridor. This corridor would run from Walkley Road and Conroy Avenue northwest to the Riverview Hospital and then proceed to cross the Rideau River over a newly constructed bridge to eventually join Nicholas Street.
OSCA was successful in gaining membership on a formal advisory group to be established during the assessment process. Further, out of some 10 other recommendations that we made to the City on structuring the assessment process, six were accepted - all in all, not a bad batting average.
Of some disappointment, however, was the City's decision to go forward with a 'class' assessment, based on the corridor being a road. Should the corridor develop into something more than just a road, for example, if it were to include a public transit dimension, then an 'individual' as opposed to a 'class' assessment will be required. In short, the assessment will have to be redone.
The Alta Vista corridor will present an interesting challenge for Old Ottawa South. On the one hand, its construction might ease traffic congestion for us, at least in the short term, by siphoning off vehicles that might otherwise use Bank, Main or Bronson. On the other, there may be some options that will not ease traffic even in the short turn. Moreover, we need to maintain solid relationships with our sister community associations in the inner city on a variety of issues affecting us in the long term. Ensuring that this issue gets a thorough airing in the community will be an important priority of the Board in the months to come.
Councillor Doucet reported at the April Board meeting that he has been successful in securing City funding to conduct a 'street-scaping study' to assist in the planning for the reconstruction of Bank Street between the Rideau River and the Canal. This project is scheduled to commence in the spring of 2002 and will include new wider side walks, sewers, watermains, street lights and, of course, a new road surface.
The traditional approach to this type of project is to leave the roadway open to all traffic and restrict the contractor to, for example, two blocks on one side of the street at any one time. Businesses would remain open at all times. Such an approach would necessitate construction lasting from May until the end of October.
Alternatives to this traditional approach might include: complete road closure, greatly extended hours or financial incentives to the contractor for rapid completion. Some of these might be preferred by the business community but unacceptable to nearby residents. Consequently, Clive expects to initiate meetings in the fall of this year with stakeholders, assuming that Bank Street remains in the budget for the 2002 construction season. Thus this issue as well promises to be an increasingly important one for the Board.
The Board has agreed to the request of the Hopewell School's Grass Yard Committee to provide $600 to help purchase a plaque to list and thank all of the persons and organizations who contributed to the project. The plaque will be placed on a rock or post in the grass yard. Congratulations to Committee co-chair Wilder Boucaud and the other volunteers on his committee for bringing to a successful close this important project for our community.