By Norman Moyer
Lowertown, like the rest of the world is struggling with the COVID-19 pandemic. The Lowertown Community Association (LCA) will have to hold its monthly meetings in April and May on the internet. April was supposed to be a special LCA meeting on a long-term vision for our community. We have put that on hold for now, but this crisis is a great chance to focus on the opportunities to make our community better.
After COVID-19
Can we even pronounce these words? Will there be an “after” to this pandemic and when will it arrive? Yes, this is a serious pandemic and we must do everything we can to practice social distancing, to wash carefully and to stay at home when possible. But, we can also allow ourselves to be confident about the longer term.,
Photo is from the LCA website taken by Michelle Ramsay
This virus will pass. Our economy will recover. We have had higher levels of debt before and seen a strong return to prosperity. Will we use this crisis to improve our society and economy? Will we learn to moderate our headlong rush to consumerism? Will we accept the higher levels of taxation needed to build a new society?
This crisis can make us better. Today I want to explore ways in which I would like to see Ottawa and especially Lowertown improve. These are not things that individuals or the LCA can do alone, but we can work with our elected representatives and other community associations to help ensure that progress is made.
Lowertown is already a vibrant downtown community and a great place to live. The residents can walk to almost every service that they need in less than 15 minutes. We are a community of great diversity in income, age, gender and race. We have a mix of housing options from shelters to high end residences. We are organised to act together and we do speak out on key issues of the day. As we emerge from this crisis, we have the chance to build an even better community.
We should have more people living in Lowertown. Through well planned densification Lowertown should have more market priced residences and more affordable housing. We should seek the creative efforts of planners, architects and developers to build mixed income communities that promote healthy interaction among all residents. We need more housing units and services suitable for young families. Why not put two or three-bedroom units in some of the vacant lots in Lowertown?
At the same time, we must improve the services for those who have the least. Our shelter model is not meeting the needs of our most vulnerable. The homeless need housing and they need services. The response of governments to the housing crisis has been wildly inadequate. As governments look for ways to get Canadians back to work, let’s remember our collective success in the decades after WWII building affordable housing, and make sure that investments in housing are at the top of the list, not just in Lowertown but across the city.
As we build more and better housing, let’s plant more trees and gardens. We know that they are good for the environment and good for the health of people. We should be able to double the number of trees in Lowertown even as we increase our population. All surface parking lots should have to incorporate trees along streets and at the rear. Parks should be planted with more and more varieties of trees. Owners should be encouraged plant trees on their lots.
As we design the mixed communities of residents, we should plan to encourage a wide variety of small shops and businesses. Even before this crisis hit, market forces had already begun to change the make-up of the businesses in Lowertown. As we see a return to commercial activity, we should make sure that there is a real diversity of businesses. The ByWard neighbourhood can be a vibrant focus for tourism and entertainment and still be a place where people want to live and do business.
What a great time to bring back a vibrant farmer’s market to ByWard. Markets Ottawa must now make a ten-year plan to bring back a lively and commercially successful farmer’s market. They should cooperate with local producers to provide a durable option to “buy local”. The development of LRT once again puts the ByWard Market at the centre of Ottawa’s commercial activity. We need to capitalize on that. Ottawa residents want to buy local. They prove it every week by their attendance at other farmer’s markets. This is a golden chance to reinvent Ottawa’s oldest farmer’s market.
When this crisis ends, Lowertown will have even greater need of a strong community association. The Annual General Meeting of the LCA is still scheduled for June 8. Please plan to come and help us build our community.
Norman Moyer is president of The Lowertown Community Association