Empty 50 Sussex Dr. to Become Geography Centre And
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December 2016 www.newedinburgh.ca Sketch by Martha Markowsky Anger, frustration and The landscape this past summer on Crichton Street, now but a memory as new paving has been laid. concern over CSST Business as usual at pharmacy impact on community despite change in ownership By Christina Leadlay was far greater than they had By Jane Heintzman local clients will notice no but which Matthew promises realized or had been lead to Frank Tonon, our communi- cataclysmic changes flowing will be impressive. He is well The tension and anger were from the transfer of owner- aware that the neighbour- palpable on Oct. 27 as more believe, and they demanded ty’s revered local pharmacist to know (among other ques- for more than three decades, ship. hood has had its fill of major than 100 New Edinburgh While on the whole it’s construction activities, but residents crammed into St. tions) why the City had not sold the New Edinburgh made greater efforts to con- Pharmacy to new owners at steady as she goes at 5 believes the renovation work Bartholomew’s Church hall Beechwood Ave., there will can be accomplished with to hear from City of Ottawa sult the community earlier— the end of November. Far before all the major deci- from being an impulsive, last- be a couple of welcome minimal disruption. One way officials about the impend- changes introduced in tandem or another, it will be all in the ing infrastructure project sions were taken—and why minute decision, the change of ownership was in fact the with the sale. First, begin- interests of a new, spruced-up called the Combined Sewage the bulk of the construction culmination of an extended ning shortly after the release look and layout! Storage Tunnel (CSST) and was slated to happen in New search for a buyer prepared of this edition of the NEN, As the sale of the pharmacy its impact on our neighbour- Edinburgh’s collective back- to agree to Frank’s terms of the store will be open on was breaking news just as the hood. yard. sale: that is, that the opera- Sundays, an innovation Frank NEN launched into produc- The information session, In brief, the CSST (aka the “Big Dig”) is a massive city- tion continue exactly “as has long been contemplating, tion mode, we have not yet which directly followed the is,” with current staff and and which dovetails handily had an opportunity to speak New Edinburgh Community wide infrastructure project to build a new sewage storage the team at the dispensary, with the increasing number of with Frank Tonon about the Alliance’s (NECA’s) annual including Frank himself and local Beechwood businesses background to the story, so general meeting, left resi- tunnel from LeBreton Flats to New Edinburgh in an attempt son Matthew, staying on the offering Sunday service. stay tuned—we’ll be sure to dents with more questions scene to maintain daily opera- And in the New Year, we bring you more news in our than answers as project team to prevent raw sewage from being dumped into the Ottawa tions in their present form. can look forward to some February edition. members attempted to pro- The business will remain exciting renovations to the For more on the Beechwood vide details about how the River during significant rain- storms. It has been in the under the Guardian banner, store’s interior, the details of business scene, see the project will affect traffic, and for all practical purposes, which have yet to be revealed, Business Briefs on page 10. property, the environment and planning stages for almost a the safety of residents. decade. It was clear that for the The north end of New Empty 50 Sussex Dr. to become majority of residents in atten- Edinburgh Park (also known dance, the impact of the CSST Continued on page 4 geography centre and headquarters By Jane Heintzman Two decades ago, our abandoned. After 11 years in limbo, community fought strenu- Once again, our community 50 Sussex Dr. has a new ously to block an NCC plan rallied to make a forceful case lease on life. The aban- to encroach on Rideau Falls to the NCC that whatever new doned building overlooking Park by erecting an impos- use might be found for the one of Ottawa’s most mag- ing modern building to house structure, it must remain open nificent vistas is about to a museum with the rather to the public, with no restric- become Canada’s Centre for hazily defined objective of tions on public access to the Geography and Exploration highlighting the international surrounding park and lookout and the headquarters for the achievements of Canadians. area, which might have been Royal Canadian Geographical We lost that battle, and in imposed had it been turned Society (RCGS). 2000, the Canada and the over to a foreign embassy, as This comes as welcome World Pavilion opened in a was rumoured. To its credit, new to New Edinburgh resi- new glass and steel structure the NCC did ultimately make dents who have long been at 50 Sussex Dr. public access a leading crite- concerned about the use of After only five years, the rion in its search for a suitable that unique parcel of land. museum closed, leaving the Continued on page 17 new building tenantless and Page 2 NEW EDINBURGH NEWS December 2016 Thanks for your remarkable energy on the CSST issue of the Ottawa River from mucking-out sites occurred work being put in by coun- sewage overflows. about three years ago. cillor Tobi Nussbaum and It was only a few weeks It was only in the wake two colleagues in his office, ago, on Oct. 27, at an infor- of the Oct. 27 meeting, in Laura Mueller and Jesse mation session organized further discussions with the Cressman-Dickinson, to brief Tim Plumptre by our City Councillor Tobi City, that we found out that NECA on developments and Nussbaum, that City repre- despite a legislative require- to arrange information ses- NECA President sentatives opened the eyes ment for public consultations sions for the community in of everyone that attended as on this vast initiative, the City general. Likewise, this team to how deeply worrying and had conducted all its con- helps to facilitate our liai- threatening this project is for sultations elsewhere. It was The last few weeks have Board of Directors had been son with city staff and other New Edinburgh. appalling to realize that not a municipal politicians. been a most difficult period generally aware for a few It was only then that resi- single consultation was held They are striving on our for New Edinburgh. Many months there was a “big dig” dents learned that virtually all here—despite the fact that behalf to get answers from people, particularly those coming our way called the the rock and debris from this our community is the one staff and from contractor rep- who live in the vicinity of Combined Sewage Storage tunnel, which extends all the most affected by this huge resentatives—answers that Stanley Avenue, Crichton, Tunnel (CSST). However, way to LeBreton Flats, was to project. be removed through Stanley There is much information are sometimes very diffi- Keefer and Dufferin Streets it seemed that a tunnel bur- cult to secure—for the many and Victoria Avenue, have ied deep underground was Park. in this edition of NEN about It was only then that it the CSST project—about questions our community is become increasingly frus- not likely to be too disrup- raising. It’s certainly helpful trated, stressed and angry as tive. And we were confident became apparent that the what community volunteers City’s plan was to have an are doing to try to come to to have this kind of support at they have learned about the that most residents of New unending procession of huge grips with it, to understand City Hall. impending disruption to our Edinburgh would be support- trucks through the park and its full implications in areas What will be the ultimate park and our streets. ive of a project that promised our Heritage District, one such as noise, health, safety, result of all this work? This Those of us at the NECA to end serious contamination every 15 minutes for up to property values and heritage remains to be seen. Many two years, potentially starting degradation. different strategies are being NECA MEETINGS at 7 a.m. and running past our I wish to pay tribute to the explored, but we’re all All Welcome local schools, playground, scores of volunteers who are aware—and frustrated—that soccer pitch and retirement manning task groups and tak- it’s so late in the game to try The NECA board meets nine times a residences. ing part in many, many meet- year, normally on the third Tuesday of to influence the course this It was only then we heard of ings to try to determine what project is now on. each month at 8:00 p.m. No meetings their intention to dig up soil strategies we can deploy, as in July, August, or December. During If we are not as successful in the park area that was so a small community, to dis- as we might wish in eliminat- October, NECA holds its annual gen- contaminated that in previous place the worst impacts and eral meeting (AGM) and a regular ing the most serious impacts years the National Capital to mitigate other threats. It board meeting. of this project, it certainly Commission had refused to is remarkable what energy is Meetings will be held at the NECTAR will not be for lack of try- remove it, choosing instead to forthcoming from our resi- Centre, 255 MacKay St.