By Jane Gates
People may not like the idea of a grand boulevard in downtown Ottawa, but they do seem to like the thought of lounging on a wharf on the Ottawa River.
That’s the message the NCC received during recent public consultations on its vision for the future of Ottawa’s core. As a result, the idea of creating a Pennsylvania Avenue-style boulevard on Metcalfe Street has been scrapped.
However the NCC says other parts of the vision, including a staircase at the end of Bank Street to a dock on the Ottawa River, were well-received.
“We were really pleased with the feedback,” says NCC spokeswoman Diane Dupuis. “Although the four proposals for Metcalfe as presented are no longer being considered, what did come out strongly was that people did recognize that the core played a very important role, and that we should look at how we could improve this gateway function.”
Other proposals that the public liked included developing Chaudière and Victoria islands as cultural and historic public sites; landscaping Hull’s St-Laurent Boulevard and extending it through to Gatineau Park; and acquiring waterfront land in Hull owned by E.B. Eddy for public use.
Somerset Coun. Elisabeth Arnold says the city supports a number of these ideas.
“By and large, there were a lot of things in the document that we saw as very positive from the point of view of the City of Ottawa and would like the NCC to work with us on.”
But Dupuis says that changes to Ottawa’s core may not happen in the near future. Development of the islands involves obtaining land owned by E.B. Eddy on Chaudière Island.
The NCC is interested in helping with the link to Gatineau Park, but the province of Quebec is playing the lead role, with support from Transport Canada.
And while the Bank Street extension looks good on paper, Dupuis says somebody has to come up with the money for it. The goal is to open the river to the public, possibly improving travel to Hull via water taxis or a ferry.
She says all the ideas will be considered over the next few months as the NCC develops plans for the core.
But she says the priority will be to use the consultation results to work with the city and the region to create new plans for the Parliament Hill area.
The NCC will pay particular attention to traffic and residential concerns, says Dupuis. “Everybody recognizes that Metcalfe does play an important part, and right now it’s not doing that well.”
The NCC is planning more public consultations next fall.
Ottawa Centre MP Mac Harb says he likes all of the ideas presented in the vision.
But Arnold says that while she was pleased with the NCC’s decision to scrap the Metcalfe plan, she still has concerns.
“It is unclear to me what the NCC is planning to do next. The chairman, Mr. Beaudry, indicated that they were still looking at Metcalfe Street being part of a vista, and until I know exactly what that means I will be cautiously optimistic.”