n my column last month, I reported on an application from the Tim Horton franchisee in Ontario to demolish the Strand Theatre on Bank Street and construct a retail shop. OSWATCH, the board's land use committee, has now done an in-depth review of the proposal and has written the city to oppose it for the following reasons:
At its September meeting the OSCA Board passed a motion in support of Councillor Clive Doucet's initiative to encourage the owner of the Strand to consider other options calling for more intensive use of one of the largest single commercial parcels of land in Old Ottawa South. Specifically, Clive will be proposing a multi-story development to encompass residential units along with pedestrian friendly retail space on the ground floor. More on this in next month's column.
Mr. Neil Stout, a senior project manager with the city, gave the board an overview of plans for the rebuilding of Bank Street next year. The city has now allocated funds in its capital budget to dig up the street between the bridges, replace existing utilities such as sewer lines and then rebuild the entire street along with the sidewalks. Moreover, the side-walks will be wider while still allowing for two lanes of traffic in each direction. The downside to this new configuration is less room for cyclists. The good news is that there are sufficient funds in the budget (about 5% of the total cost) for some imaginative "streetscapin" to include such things as the treatment of intersections, bike racks, lighting, flower displays and so on. The city would also welcome co-operation with private land owners in providing them with trees to plant on their properties. Finally, the city will consider options for scheduling construction over the five-to-six- month period. Total closure of the street for a period of time, longer construction days, weekend work - these are some of the possibilities that might speed up construction but each comes with a cost.
To assist the city in dealing with these issues, the board agreed to Mr. Stout's proposal to strike an advisory committee to be composed of four representatives from the business community, four from OSCA, and one each from the two school councils in the neighbourhood. Michael Jenkin, Sue Potter, Michael Loewen and Leo Doyle agreed to represent OSCA. Among other things, this committee will help the city organize three public meetings before the new year to seek community input into the possible options relating to streetscaping and construction scheduling. Committee members will also serve as on-going contact points with concerned citizens throughout the construction period. The third week in February is Mr. Stout's target for bringing a rebuilding plan to the city's Transportation and Transit Committee.
One of the public meetings on the rebuilding of Bank Street will occur the night of OSCA's Annual General Meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 6. So why not come to the Firehall at 7:30 p.m. for some wine and cheese and have a say on the design of our community's main street?
Led by spokesperson Duncan McDowell, some 25 residents living near the west end of Hopewell Avenue (close to the entrance to Brewer Park) made their case for some dramatic changes to counter mounting traffic problems affecting them. Particularly vexing are the significant increase in traffic and traffic speed coupled with an almost universal ignoring of the "no right hand turn" sign as vehicles exit the Brewer complex at Hopewell. These problems have been exacerbated this summer by the new Brewer Gate development.
After listening to several residents and hearing of the efforts of Councillor Doucet to resolve their problems, the board agreed to support the residents and Councillor Doucet in proposing that the Brewer Park complex be accessed only via Bronson Avenue - that is, the existing Sunnyside-Sloan-Hopewell access would be closed to traffic entering or leaving the park. This solution will not be easy to effect. So the board also agreed to assist residents in pursuing some shorter term solutions such as asking the police to step up enforcement, posting additional signs throughout the Brewer Park complex and asking the city to consider adding planters to discourage the illegal right hand turn onto Hopewell. As a next step, the board will invite representatives from the police department and the city to our October Board meeting (on Tuesday October 16).
In response to an invitation by Councillor Doucet to share ideas about how we the city can better meet the needs of all the people of Old Ottawa South, the OSCA Board adopted the following three priorities for the upcoming year (OSCA's fiscal year begins September 1st):
We have established a charitable organization to help accomplish the first priority and have plans for an aggressive fundraising campaign (stay tuned!). As I noted above, we are in good shape to make significant progress on the second priority. As for the third priority, making progress here will take a sustained effort over many years. Anyone with ideas and energy should contact OSCA's Executive Director, Deirdre McQuillan at 247-4872 or by e-mail at osca@cyberus.ca.