Liz Bernstein, LCA President
Dear Neighbours,
Lowertown and Ottawa are in bloom, and the spring renewal heralds the community renewal opportunities ahead. We have long been pushing for a revitalization of the gem at the centre of our community and city, the ByWard Market. The revitalization project was started in 2012 at the request of the LCA, ByWard Market BIA and Councillor Fleury.
In June 2013, following a visioning exercise led by LCA Planning Committee co-chair Sylvie Grenier, City Council adopted a vision that we championed to strengthen the public market aspect of the ByWard Market. This vision has a focus on retailing fresh local produce and products, and on opportunities to make the market a more people-friendly place, with inviting public gathering spaces and pedestrian plazas.
Council directed staff to investigate and recommend a new governance structure to oversee the Market, review planning rules to address the spread of bars and nightclubs in the area, produce a business plan that shows financial self-sustainability for the new governance structure, develop a strong mission for the corporation, and look at streetscaping and place-making opportunities to support the area.
Over the last two years, City staff have been developing these recommendations and draft positions will be shared with the LCA on June 8 for input before a final round of public consultation gets under way – please join us! From the bits we’ve seen so far, it looks like a great start, with much of our vision and our suggestions incorporated.
Join us this year as we demand City investment in our market and our community. We just held our AGM (see page 8) and it was thrilling to review the remarkable work done by residents in just six months, and their continued commitment.
I thank all of you for your confidence in me to continue to serve as president, and the entire board for their immense contributions. I want to thank outgoing board members Sylvie Grenier and Jan-Francois Grabowiecki for all they’ve given us. We have lots of plans this important election year and we need your help – particularly on our Echo team, so we can continue to produce this great resource. Please join us in improving Lowertown for all of us and get in touch at info@lowertown-bassevilleca