Lansdowne Aberdeen Square Project October, 2020

1 Overview

• January 2012: Council approved Stage 2 Site Plan for Lansdowne envisioning design for Aberdeen Square approved under delegated authority – Recognizing that Aberdeen Square would be a busy, active gathering space

• The eventual design was based on assumption Famer’s Market operating seven days a week during the market season

• Therefore, no additional infrastructure, such as permanent seating or staging areas to support broader programming, was included

• With 5+ years of public use at Lansdowne, Aberdeen Square has not met it’s programming potential as an usable, active, busy, gathering space

2 Comparison Analysis of Lansdowne Venues 2019 Usage % 80%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0% TD Place Arena Horticulture Building Aberdeen Square

3 Where We Are Today • July 2019: the conducted a public survey asking what the community would like to see in Aberdeen Square. • The survey identified areas for improvement such as: – Permanent seating; – Additional farmers’ market activity; – More foliage and greenery; and – Less vehicle traffic. • Some programming suggestions included: – Outdoor Christmas markets; – Local artist nights; – Exhibits; – Music; and – Fitness classes.

4 Realizing the Vision The results of the survey and direction provided in Councillor Menard’s Lansdowne Vision paper, created a road map for the way forward focusing on the following opportunities:

1. The Aberdeen Square was initially designed and approved as a community gathering place…return to that vision by: – Creating an more desirable urban cultural and lifestyle gather place – Improving pedestrian use by closing Princess Patricia Way vehicular traffic (Done); 2. Programing or hosting events is challenging due to lack of amenities: – Basic infrastructure (semi-permanent and moveable elements) is needed to support more animation, programming and events 3. Any design changes need to be flexible in order to meet its community gathering, programing and event hosting purposes

5 Proposed New Infrastructure

6 Ottawa Farmers’ Market Impact

7 Day-to-Day Use

8 Event Set-Up

9 Heritage Trust View Corridor

10 Key Considerations Four key considerations for improvements to the Square have been addressed by the City of Ottawa and OSEG as follows:

1. Heritage: the views and setting of the Aberdeen Pavilion and Horticulture Building are to be respected.

2. City of Ottawa Site Plan Revision: site plan application must be reviewed and approved by the City.

3. Noise: any new programming activities in Aberdeen Square must comply with City noise bylaws, as it applies to the whole Lansdowne site.

4. Transportation: any new programming activities in Aberdeen Square must comply with the thresholds set out in the Lansdowne Transportation Plan and strategy (see next slide).

11 Compliance with Approved Transportation Plan

• June 2010: Council approved Lansdowne Transportation Assessment Impact Study and a Transportation Demand Management Plan (TDM).

• November 2010: Council directed staff to develop related transportation operational plans.

• January 2012: Council approved Transit Operations Plan, Shuttle Operations Plan, Traffic and Parking Operations Plan and Detailed TDM Plan. – day-to-day traffic and special event traffic for the entire 40-acre Lansdowne site, were assessed and approved by McCormick Rankin Corporation.

• February 2012: Council approved final site plan for the Lansdowne project, including all transportation studies and requirements.

12 Next Steps

• To provide any feedback, please email:

– The Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group (OSEG) - [email protected] or – The City of Ottawa - [email protected]

• Both mailboxes will be live for the next 5 days

• After this time, we will consolidate and review all feedback

• What we heard: summary of findings and proposed actions where required will be shared with attendees

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