Bank Street Bridge Options Explored
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Deadline The deadline date for OSCAR is the tenth of each month. Please make sure that all material for inclusion in OSCAR OSCAR is received at The Old Fireball, 260 Sunny side Avenue, Ottawa K1S 0R7, Ottawa South Community Association Review by the tenth of the month preceeding the month of issue. Volume 17 Number 5 February 1989 Bank Street Bridge Ottawa South and the options explored Lansdowne Traffic Plan by: John Bond direction this study is taking, espe- On Tuesday evening, January 23, cially if someone gets in their mind the City and UMA consulting firm that Bank St. would make an ideal co-sponsored a public information feeder route to the park. meeting to discuss the traffic and Another important consideration parking study being carried out as was raised at the meeting by Ottawa part of the Lansdowne Park Develop- South resident Jan Willis. This was ment Strategy. This is a topic that in relation to the planned construc- should be of substantial interest to tion of a new trade fair centre on the Ottawa South residents since any site. Jan pointed out that current redevelopment of Lansdowne will events at Lansdowne tend to be have a direct impact on traffic scheduled in the evenings, after volumes on Bank St. and on Sun- school hours, but that events at the nyside as well as on the number of new building would be spread out cars parking on our streets for events during the day. at the park. This of course means that the 25% of all traffic heading to Lansdowne Studies that arrives via Ottawa South will Two points of major interest came now arrive at the Bank and Sun- up at the meeting. First, studies con- nyside intersection during school ducted by the consultants showed hours when our children are crossing. quite clearly that Ottawa South That corner is already a hazard bears a large portion of the burdens where kids have been hurt by traffic of on-street parking during and any increased loading can only by: Jinny Slyfield ture, traffic, operation and cost. The Lansdowne events. This is of course compound the problem. Regional officials have hired a region may spend up to $10 million something we’ve all known for a long professional engineering firm to dollars on this project in the next two time but which officialdom has had a Lack of involvement study options for the repair or re- years. hard time recognizing. The consult- This is exactly the kind of problem placement of the distinctive Bank After the report is submitted, ants study showed something in the that can only be raised by people who Street Canal Bridge which links Ot- public information and consultation are of 750 extra cars parked in one live in this area and are aware of our tawa South to the Glebe. The attrac- sessions will begin, according to Mr. section of Ottawa South during a specific situation. It has been a bit of tive six span closed spandrel Vinni Sahni, Acting Chief, Roadways recent Rough Riders game. And the a frustration throughout the structure is earth filled and is one of and Structures Division, “There may area of study didn’t even include such Lansdowne planning process that the reinforced concrete structures of also have to be an Environmental parking lot spots as the Brewar Park more residents of Ottawa South its type in the Ottawa area. It carries Study Report Process, especially if area. haven’t involved themselves in the 23,000 vehicles per day. the recommendation is to replace the meetings since whatever happens at A Design Advisory Committee bridge.” Arrival patterns Lansdowne will impact on us just as will help develop the recommenda- Architects John Leaning and Secondly, Uma’s study of arrival greatly as it will on the Glebe. tions of interest groups, but there is Gouhar Simison are optimistic that patterns to the park showed that In general the meeting was quite no indication from the region as to should a new bridge be necessary, a roughly 25% of all the automobile productive and well attended. War- how much weight will be given its new design, sensitive to the sur- traffic to the park approaches ren McCanley, the city’s project suggestions. Representatives are roundings could retain the elegant northward along Bank St. This manager for the Lansdowne develop- drawn from the NCC, the Regional style. Mr. Leaning was active in the means that hundreds of cars can be ment, provided an outline of the five Municipality of Ottawa Carleton, On- preservation of the Pretoria Bridge. realistically expected to plug Bank year plan for revitalizing the park. tario Ministry of Transport, City of Ms. Simison has researched the his- and Sunnyside during big draw This includes the renovation of the Ottawa (whose representative will tory of the bridge. It was part of the events like rock concerts or football Aberdeen Pavilion over the next two also consider proposals in relation to master plan of the Ottawa Improve- games. Moreover, all of these cars years, the development of the com- possible redevelopment of Lansdown ment Commission, the forerunner of have to funnel over the Bank St. munity park in the N.E. section, the Park), heritage groups and local ar- the NCC, to beautify the capital by bridge to reach the park. We all know demolition of the Coliseum and con- chitects. designing parks, driveways along the about the traffic snags and tie-ups struction of the new trade-fair com- While regional reports emphasize canal and distinctive bridges. It dates this causes, but we should also plex, development of a small-scale the deteriorating condition of the back to 1911, replacing two steel remember that the bridge is getting commercial frontage along the Bank bridge, Rejean Chartrand, Director swing bridges and the original timber old and fragile and has in fact had St. face of the park, retrofitting exist- or Roadways and Structures, says, “If swing bridge built in 1866 outside the load restrictions on it for a number of ing buildings and landscaping, and there is some was it can be city limits at that time. years. finally the development of a major rehabilitated without a prohibitive Mr. Chartrand expects to make a The city is now undertaking a “green space” for cultural and recrea- cost, we’ll preserve it without a recommendation on the repair plan study of options for bridge tional use in the eastern end of the doubt.” The consultants will consider to the region’s transportation com- reconstruction or renovation. We park. The overall picture we get is questions of safety, heritage, struc- mittee in February. should all pay close attention to the Continued, on Page 2 OSCAR February 1990 1 Summary of the Response by the Federation of High school Traffic — Continued, from page 1 Citizen’s Associations to the Ottawa-Carleton for the 90s that all the area east of a line drawn Regional Review: Phase One through the Aberdeen will be It won’t be long before students reserved for open park land while the will be flipping through the Ottawa area west of this line will be the “com- On November 3, 1989, a delegation 3. Nmercial section.” ature and Number from the Federation discussed the Board of Education’s High School of Wards Courses Guide and filling in their op- Following Warren McCanley’s Review, also known as the Bartlett Any a priori reference to existing presentation, Bob Ridley of UMA dis- Commission Report, with MPPs of tion sheets. The deadline for register- municipal boundaries, in drawing cussed the traffic and parking study’s the Ottawa-Carleton Liberal Caucus. ing for the 1990-91 school year at all the regional wards, is a recipe for terms of reference, guidelines, and On November 8,1989, a brief was OBE high schools is February 23, perpetuating the current, entrenched the sort of results they hope to submitted by the Federation to The 1990. state of parochialism which is achieve. In general their package was Honourable John Sweeney, Ontario The Ottawa Board of Education embraced and vigourously pursued very useful and they appeared quite Minister of Municipal Affairs. The offers a wide variety of programs in- by municipal officials throughout the open to public imput. There was a brief was copied to all area MPPs. cluding: bilingual, gifted, commer- Region. With regard to number of cial, technical, semestered, good deal of frustration evident from In the interests of bringing our the audience since the consultants position before the public, we are wards, and respecting accountability, vocational, arts, enrichment, and representation, and duties to be per- were really in no position to answer pleased to present the following sum- work experience. OBE high schools formed, fifteen (15) wards are questions of general public vis a vis mary remarks which are taken from offer hundreds of individual course deemed appropriate. the overall park plan. Their task is the submission to Mr. Sweeney. options. All these choices are described in purely to study the traffic and park- Recommendation: That regional detail in the 1990-91 High School ing situation at the park and to pro- council be comprised of fifteen (15) Courses Guide, which will be dis- vide hard data on how best to deal 1. Direct Election of with it. In these terms they seem to Chairman wards, and that ward boundaries be tributed in late January. drawn to reflect regional repre- “The Courses Guide is a tool stu- be doing a respectable job. Questions The objectives of accountability sentativeness without a priori regard dents use to see what courses best about the viability or utility of the and representation can be realized for administrative, political or other meet their needs,” says Janet Castle, individual components of the plan only if there is a direct, electoral strictures of a municipal nature." Vice Principal of the OBE’s Program can only be answered at the political relationship between the citizens of Department.