Waterfront development on Ottawa's horizon?

I'm having some mixed emotions this morning. Over the past few days I was thinking about an outline for a firy article about Ottawa's lack of waterfront development. It was supposed to be called, "Waterfront development not on Ottawa's horizon".

The reason I was writing the article was because I saw the community design plan for the area around the future Bayview LRT station. In the picture below you'll see the land uses for the area. The blue area shows that this prime waterfront land is to be "Major Open Space". The video for the plan talked about "preserving the natural environment" which means a whole bunch of empty greenspace. No place to shop, eat or have a drink.

I was then going to criticize the overall attitude towards waterfront development in this city, particularly that of the NCC. I was going to say that when I go back to Toronto I usually head towards the waterfront because we have no waterfront development in Ottawa. The article would've been filled with sarcastic comments and what I thought would be beautiful punch lines.

I would've quoted some articles from Project for Public Spaces (PPS) about waterfront development and show that the direction the NCC is taking is wrong.

I was going to show a picture of the Riverwalk in San Antonio, Texas and ask why the Rideau Canal couldn't have just a little development so it could become a shopping, dining and general hang out destination.

Then I would've woke up today and read the lattest blog post by the Ottawa Citizen's David Reevely and felt completely stupid.

So the NCC wants to add some gusto to the shores of the Rideau Canal. They haven't exactly said they'll be development, but hats off to them for waking up and smelling the coffee. I'm upset that my firy blog post and beautiful punch lines will have to be put back on the shelf, but I'm happy the NCC is at least taking a small step in the right direction.

David Reevely was right in saying, "they’re casting a wide net. You never know what you’re going to get back. On the other hand, it’s so wide that it’s pretty hard to figure out what the NCC might possibly consider desirable. A lemonade stand? Actors playing John By’s work crews, telling passersby about their malaria? A skateboarding competition?"

Seeing that the proposals have to be implemented by the Summer of 2012 I doubt we'll be seeing any restaurants or shops. They used some strong NCC language like asking for proposals, actually "pilot projects", that will "enhance the Capital Experience" so we may be seeing a lot of stuff that appeals to all Canadians. Perhaps they'll dump a bunch of lobsters and cod in the canal so people from the Maritimes will feel at home in Ottawa. Only time will tell.

Kevin Bourne
reinventingottawa.blogspot.com

Canada uses the web to fight urban gridlock

Good night all,

I wanted to share my latest news piece for CityMayors.com about the #CutMyCommute campaign from the Federation of Canada Municipalities (FCM). You can click on the link or read the story below.(http://www.citymayors.com/news/metronews_americas.html). Enjoy!

Kevin
reinventingottawa.blogspot.com


Canada uses the web to fight urban gridlock

Ottawa, 19 April 2011: As social media and Web 2.0 play an increasingly integral role in political communications, it is no wonder that organizations like the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM), the national voice for municipal government in Canada, have followed suit. This week the Federation, which represents 2000 members, including 21 provincial and territorial municipal associations, launched their CutMyCommute social media campaign challenging all federal political parties to fix gridlock in Canada’s cities.

Aside from raising awareness during the current federal election, the ultimate objective of the campaign, supported by the Canadian Urban Transit Association (CUTA), the Canadian Construction Association (CCA) and the Toronto Board of Trade, is to cut commute times nationally.

According to FCM, “Since the federal election was called [on 26 March 2011], long commute times have cost the economy $292 million and Canadians have wasted 2.7 million working days stuck in traffic.”

Carl Zehr, Mayor of the City of Kitchener and Chair of FCM’s Big City Mayors Caucus (BCMC), has also weighed in on the issue. “While their campaign buses are rolling across the country, party leaders need to take a good look out the window at the traffic gridlock chocking our cities. Reducing commute times must be a priority in this election and in the future, no matter which party forms the next government.”

As the average Canadian living in a big city spends an average of 75 minutes per day commuting, it is believed that long commute times are hurting Canada’s economic competitiveness with traffic delays costing more than $5 billion per year in 2006. In Toronto it is estimated that drivers spend roughly two working weeks a year stuck in traffic.

Zehr went on to say, “This is a national problem requiring a national solution. Every hour Canadians spend on the road is an hour they spend away from their families, their businesses, and their studies. That’s time none of us can afford to lose.”

Municipalities are calling on federal party leaders to set concrete targets to cap rising commute times; to reinvest more of the tax dollars Canadians send to the Federal Government in new buses, subways, and commuter rail; and to work with municipalities, provinces and territories to fill critical transportation gaps.

The campaign website has a number of tools for visitors including a rolling counter of how much commute times have cost the economy and Canadians since the beginning of the election. The website is also equipped with an online calculator allowing visitors to find out what their daily commute costs the economy, their pocketbook, and time to spend with their family, friends and businesses. (Report by Kevin Bourne)

Envisioning the Rideau-Sussex intersection

On January 9^th, 2011 the Ottawa media confirmed that a site had been chosen for the Stanley Cup monument.  The Stanley Cup will have a permanent home at the future public square at the Rideau-Sussex intersection.

Personally, I’m still torn on this announcement.  Commemorating such an important event and place in hockey and Canadian history is important and great for tourism, but I’m not sure if it should anchor what will be our main downtown public square at what is arguably the most important intersection in the city.

The NCC is expected to have the public square and monument built for 2017 in celebration of Canada’s 150^th birthday and the 125^th anniversary of the donation of the cup by Lord Stanley.

I’m excited about what the Rideau-Sussex intersection will look like in six years if it’s done correctly.  But although I’m a big fan of public squares, I don’t think creating a vibrant public square is as easy as putting down concrete tiles, trees and benches.  

Will this square really be a vibrant gathering place?  Especially in Ottawa where we don’t seem to like adding a commercial component to our public spaces?  With a population of 2.5 million, Toronto’s Yonge-Dundas Square is often empty partly due to a lack of seating and a lack of consistent programming.

I believe the game-changer for the Rideau-Sussex intersection will be the lot at 41-45 Rideau Street on the north-east corner.  The current building houses a CIBC branch, Holtz Spa, and office space.  In my opinion it is currently the weakest link at the intersection, although most people would say it's the underpass, but it has great potential.  According to my research this building is not a heritage building and it lacks character compared to its neighbour at the south-east corner.

Here’s what I think would make this intersection the destination that it should be.

What Ottawa can learn from Cardiff, Wales about public spaces

Recently a local newspaper has been doing interviews with Ottawa city councillors and one of the questions got me thinking, "What is my favourite city outside of Ottawa and Toronto?"  I'm not well travelled so I started reminiscing about my most recent trip which I really enjoyed.  I'd say it's my favourite city of the ones I've been to so far.

It was two years ago at this same time that I travelled to Cardiff, the capital of Wales, for my grandmother's funeral.  I hadn't been to Wales since I was three years old so I welcomed the trip although it was not under the best circumstances.

In hindsight, what I enjoyed most about Cardiff, aside from family, was its public spaces; its pedestrian mall, market, public square, and arcades (which before my trip I thought was a place where you played video games).  Also, the shopping was enticing.

As I look back I can't help but see Cardiff as an example of what Ottawa can be.  We have similar architecture due to our British roots.  We have the market.  We have the pedestrian mall, and there's talk of a public square at the Rideau-Sussex intersection.  Both cities have a canal.  Both cities are completely bilingual with signage in both official languages.  Both cities come across as small towns because they are overshowed by nearby economic hubs- Toronto and London.  What Cardiff seems to have grasped is that you need to invest in your public spaces and they need to flow together into one big space.  In Cardiff the pedestrian mall leads you to the arcades and public square, which lead you to the market and St. David's (voted International Shopping Centre of the Year 2010 by Global Retail Leisure International).

One of the moments I remembered most was being in St. David's Square with a soccer (or football) match playing on a large video screen.  People stood around and talked to each other watching the game.  Looking back I wonder why CBC, who had the rights to World Cup 2010, didn't have a video screen up on Sparks Street where passers by could watch World Cup games for free.  What a great way to gather people.  How vibrant would Sparks Street have been?  I guess it's not in the culture.

I'm not knocking Ottawa; it just so happens that Europeans and North Americans build cities differently.  Europeans seem to build around social interaction while we build for the hustle and bustle.  There are some things we can learn from our friends across the Atlantic and there are some things they can learn from us.

Ottawa is a good city and it has the right ingredients to be great.  Below you'll find pictures of Cardiff's public spaces and buildings.  Note the similarities between the two cities.  Enjoy!

Kevin Bourne
reinventingottawa.blogspot.com

Weighing in on the Garden of the Provinces

This morning Spacing Ottawa published a piece on the Garden of the Provinces in Ottawa.  Referring to this garden as a "bad park", David Reevely of the Ottawa Citizen responded with his views on the symbolic place.  So is this park a good public space or "bad park"?  I'd say the latter.  I agree with David Reevely in saying the location is bad and agree with Spacing Ottawa in saying than if it were elsewhere it would probably be a lot more alive than it is.  Unfortunately a good space in a bad location is a bad space.

At the core the real issue is not the Garden of the Provinces, but a mind set.  I personally believe that some agencies and organizations in the capital are functioning under an old model of urban development.  There are many Canadians who see Ottawa as boring and that has to do with urban design.  We have a habit of creating places that only few can enjoy like the Rideau Canal, Ottawa River waterfront, and the Garden of the Provinces.   

The few people who use these places think it's great because it becomes their personal paradise of escape, but on a large scale they are not really being enjoyed.  They're like that family or dining room at your grandmother's house, sometimes behind glass doors, that has great antique furniture, but no one ever sits in there to enjoy it.  Passers-by, on the way to the rooms where people really spend time like the kitchen, basement or bedrooms, marvel at its beauty but never go in there.  When people come to your house they want to spend time in the places where people are already gathering, not the sterile seemingly off limits family or dining room that is supposed to be for guests but they don't even want to spend time there.  It's the same with cities.

Cities are always in the business of building gathering places for people.  That's one of the major factors that makes a city vibrant; your ability to build places that can successfully gather people.  If that's what public spaces are for, and not just to look at, then parks like the Garden of the Provinces have failed. 

As a city, have we really provided Ottawa residents, Canadians and tourists with great, world-class places to gather in the capital or have we been left to envy other cities?  Sadly, building vibrant spaces usually isn't the focus of the Federal Government. 

So what's our strategy?  Should we attract visitors, including Canadians, through vibrancy then have them experience the symbolism and commemoration, or do we attract them through symbolism and commemoration first and then wow them with our vibrancy?  Does the chicken come before the egg, or the egg before the chicken?

Although national symbolism and commemoration are important in a capital, people are usually attracted to vibrant cities so we have to find a healthy balance.  Yes, Americans and international tourists seem to flock to Washington DC, but they have something we don't; they are the capital of the most politically influencial country in the world making it the most politically influential city in the world.

So we find ourselves between a rock and a hard place.  We're a single-function political capital that's not as nationally or internationally significant as a Washington DC, and we're not a multi-function capital like London that has a host of other exciting attractions to bring in visitors or excite residents.

All this to say, Ottawa needs an urban development model that doesn't consistently exalt symbolism and commemoration over vibrancy.  Is it possible to have both?  Of course...but I haven't seen anything like that in Ottawa yet.  Cities like London and Paris are capitals that are packed with history, heritage and symbolism, but are also fun and exciting.  Perhaps that should be the relationship between the federal and municipal governments in building public places- symbolism and vibrancy.  I'd love to see the federal and municipal governments work together to ensure that our city is both symbolic and vibrant.

Let's not be like grandmother.  Let's not build rooms that are beautiful to look at, but no one ever sits in them.

Here are some comments I posted on both the Spacing Ottawa and Greater Ottawa blogs:

Building vibrant places on Ottawa's waterfront

One of my favourite subjects to read about nower days is Urban Planning, particularly Placemaking.  One of the most trusted voices on the subject of placemaking is Project for Public Spaces, also known as PPS.  They are the firm behind New York's Times Square being transformed into a pedestrian friendly place. 

There is a growing global trend towards building public places around people which has big implications on vibrancy, economic development, and social interaction.  As I've written before, I have a deep love for old European cities.  I read about urban planning in the Roman Empire and sometimes look at pictures of old European squares.  While I would consider myself to be progressive, I wonder if cities will ever return to the days where people met in the city square for hours, talked and shared a coffee. 

Within placemaking I've developed a fondness for waterfront development.  In my opinion, the waterfront should be one of the most vibrant places in a city.  Before reading PPS' articles on waterfront placemaking I didn't realize how many cities were getting it wrong.  Building a vibrant waterfront is an art.  Unfortunately, Canada's capital city, and my home, is one of those cities that seems to be getting it wrong at the moment. 
PPS's articles "9 Steps to Creating a Great Waterfront", "Great Waterfronts of the World", "10 Qualities of a Great Waterfront Destination" and "Mistakes by the Lake, River or Sea" provide us with some insight into building a successful or failing waterfront.  How does Ottawa measure up to PPS's waterfront placemaking principles?

A case for an urban square in Centretown

A theme that you notice across Canada is the modern, urban square.  Montreal has Victoria Square, Toronto has Yonge-Dundas Square, and Vancouver has Robson Square.

I can admit that I have a love for European cities, especially the old public squares where you can picture people meeting with friends, having a coffee, stopping after work, or discussing politics or the latest events of the city.

There is a growing trend in urban planning called "placemaking" that champions these kinds of places in our cities.  It seeks to create vibrant, people-friendly places where people can meet and interact with each other and their surroundings.

I have visited Yonge-Dundas Square and Victoria Square and have witnessed the social interactions, and in the case of the prior, the concerts and festivals.  Through the work of the NCC, Ottawa has become a hotbed for commemorative places, but we are desparately lacking in a modern, urban square.

I recently submitted a small package to the City of Ottawa and the NCC building a case for such a square in the CBD in Centretown.  One of the final significant pieces of real estate in the CBD is the parking lot bordered by Kent, Albert and Queen Streets which is currently owned by Brookfield Properties.  This land was a proposed location for another Place de Ville complex for the Federal Government, but I ask the question, "Does Centretown need another Federal Government building?" especially on one of the final remaining significant pieces of land in the area.  This would be a travesty with communities like Orleans asking for a Federal Government presence for years.  The good news is the Federal Government is leaving downtown for cheaper, greener pastures in areas like the Trainyeards.  What does this mean for land use in downtown?

The plight of the CBD is that it is a ghost town outside of the hours of nine to five, Monday to Friday.  Will another office building add vibrancy to our downtown?  The greatest enemy of the business area in Centretown is not the prospect of taller buildings, but a lack of people-friendly places and attractions.  I recently disagreed with a tweet from a fellow Ottawa resident who said that tall buildings are soulless.  I argued that a lack of places for people to gather is more soulless than tall buildings.

In this submission I asked the City and NCC to consider acquiring this land for the purpose of developing a modern, urban square (a first for Ottawa).  While a developer may not hand over such a significant piece of real estate easily, it is worth a try.

Click on this link http://goo.gl/Jr8VC to read the submission.  Let me know what you think.

KEVIN BOURNE

reinventingotttawa.blogspot.com