Background and Reasons for locating the new Central Library in

 The City plans to close the Metcalfe Main Branch and open the new Central Library in 2020.  In July, the Library Board (LB) released a list of 12 possible sites for the new Central Library (see map attached separately). All 12 are close to a planned LRT station. In August, the LB selected a short list of sites but refused to release it. The plan was to release both the short list and the preferred site at the December LB meeting and to make the final decision 5 days later.  Our Councillor Catherine McKenney convinced her colleagues that more time was needed. As a result, the LB Chair announced at the October LB meeting that the short list and the preferred site would be released at the December LB meeting and that the final decision would be made about 6 weeks later in January.  The Mayor’s preferred location is one of the 5 sites located in Lebreton Flats. As you can see from the map, there are also 5 sites located in Centretown but we don’t know if any of them are on the short list.  The CCCA and 15 other community associations support keeping the new Central Library in Centretown and east of Bronson. They support Bookmark the Core, a citizens group advocating for keeping the in the heart of the City, east of Bronson.  If the New Central Library moves to Lebreton Flats, there are no City plans for a branch library in Centretown. Why Centretown? The Centretown population is denser and larger by a significant margin than that of the surrounding neighbourhoods that are eligible as Library sites. Centretown is projected to have continuing significant growth. A remarkable 81% of the Main Library users walk to the library and 29% walk from work. Cycling numbers are low but with new and improved bike lanes and facilities, cycling to the Library will become increasingly popular. (Data from Nanos Research Survey, Dec 2015). The New Central Library should be located where most of the people live and work, where the population is dense, large and increasing and where walking and cycling are happening. Centretown’s diverse population includes large numbers of low-income and disadvantaged residents who rely on the services of a central library. To our knowledge, the impact of moving the library out of Centretown on these vulnerable populations has not be studied by the City. Over the past decade, the City has spent millions constructing new bridges – the Corktown Bridge over the , the Adawe Crossing over the Rideau River. One of the main reasons for building these bridges was to connect pedestrians and cyclists looking for quicker route between Vanier, Overbrook, Sandy and the University of to the downtown core. The Old Ottawa East to Lansdowne bridge will make it faster and healthier for thousands more.