Letter from President, Liz Bernstein
This morning I heard a bright red cardinal singing outside my window. Truly a good sign for the first day of spring! I love Lowertown in the spring (ok, all seasons!) Though it is still cold with a big pile of snow on the ground, the days are longer, the sun is shining and the promise of spring is in the air.
We are fortunate that we are going to celebrate improvements in two of our parks as we begin spring – renovations in Cathcart Square Park and we will plant trees to replace the ash ones that we lost to the emerald ash borer. Stay tuned for the date of our community celebration in Cathcart Square Park.
In Rose Park adult fitness equipment was installed, again thanks to the hard work of community activists. So I know you’ll enjoy this issue, which includes a focus on our parks – a centre spread on our community’s parks, articles on past events in our parks and how we can adopt a park. And we’re looking forward to joining communities across the city in Ecology Ottawa’s Park Summit on Earth Day, April 21.
In addition to our parks, many of our volunteers worked long and hard through the short winter days maintaining the skating rinks in Bingham Park and Jules Morin, on monitoring development projects, heritage plans, putting Safety & Security action plans in place, monitoring snow removal for pedestrians, and advocating for improved safety on King Edward Avenue.
And what gave me hope befitting a spring day? When a petition circulated by a local businessman called for the removal of shelters serving homeless and individuals with other needs in our community surfaced, the response was swift not only by the shelters themselves, but by members throughout the community, resident and business leaders alike who spoke up for rights of all people in our community. Indeed I was proud to be a resident of Lowertown.
As workers at many of the organizations are serving those in need in our community, spring is also a great time for us to renew our own commitments to improve our community – in whatever capacity. Whether your interest is planning, heritage, environment, transportation housing and homelessness or communications, we have a place for you and can use your help. Please join me in thanking one such volunteer, Thierry Harris, for his many years of community service. Thierry has stepped down from the board for personal reasons. Leaving space for you! Get involved, join us. Look forward to seeing you around in #MyLowertown: info@lowertown-basseville.ca
LCA Committee Reports
Planning
The Chateau Laurier: Is Public Consensus Possible?
Heritage Ottawa and the Lowertown Community Association (LCA) have indicated that they do not support the current proposal to build an addition at the rear of the hotel but one has to wonder if a consensus really is possible given the myriad design choices that have been and are part of the public dialogue. There are those who feel they could support the right design should it appear; there are those who are waiting for the same miracle but won’t actually like any choice that is offered and there are those who simply don’t want an addition on the back of the Hotel.
The current offering stands in stark contrast to the earlier designs that were severely criticised. It has been likened to a contemporary condominium although it seems more like a conservatory that could be filled with greenery. But even for those who sense some merit in the current proposal, there are some features that would need finessing.
For example, the massing of the proposed addition on the Mackenzie Avenue (east) side of the addition maximizes the amount of accommodation and enables the enclosure of the unattractive loading area for the existing hotel. But it also blocks the traditional sight lines north from Rideau Street interfering with the view of Majors Hill Park. The LCA has recommended to the City that there be some reduction in the protrusion of the building at the sidewalk on Mackenzie Avenue and the all loading and unloading should be done from the new underground parking facility. So which is it – the original sight lines from Rideau Street or good architecture hiding some of the original building’s less that attractive features?
With regard to the use of glass and stone, the LCA feels that there should be more stone incorporated vertically into the design of the structure. This would help break up the monochromic feeling that is created by the sweeping use of glass. The LCA also feels that there should be more variety in the colour and texture in the glass. This would involve some serious changes to the current proposal with no guarantee that the public response would be any better.
Not everyone sees the Chateau Laurier from its Rideau Street “face”. For many in the Lowertown community and those who regularly see the hotel from the Alexandra Bridge, Murray Street, Mackenzie Avenue and Majors Hill Park, their view of the hotel would become that of the steel and glass structure. Even with the height lowered to eight storeys, as has been done in this proposal, the view of much of the original, iconic structure will be lost irreparably from some vantage points.
The LCA recognizes that designing an addition to the existing structure is a challenging task. How does one move forward with this project in such a fragmented and tormented design environment?
Safety and Security
As a follow-up of the LCA January workshop actions items, a meeting of invested persons from various sexual assault groups resulted in several actions and outcomes. Alcohol Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) and Sexual Assault Network (SAN) detailed a conversation to be included in the SMART Serve course and focus on getting the sexual assault awareness / prevention into the provincial security guard training.
The LCA Safety and Security Committee and the Planning Committee continue to be concerned about the rising number of bars and club in the Market. The LCA has reached out to the key political leaders and asked them to coordinate action to protect the ByWard neighbourhood. We are pleased to report that the City and the Province have begun the process to put in place a task force to look at these issues that will involve local residents.
The Committee has also been active on the issues of rising crime rates in ByWard. The LCA has applied to get funding for two summer students to examine the crime data and interview local residents and business. The Safety and Security Committee of the ByWard Market BIA have agreed to partner with LCA in this work. The BIA is running a survey of its members this Spring. The Collective Action Group of Lowertown Our Home is also preparing to conduct their 2018 Safety Survey of residents as part of their strategic plan. It would be interesting to see how the safety concerns compare from business to residents and from different parts of Lowertown