By Daniel Smith
A planned development at the Bayview O-Train station LeBreton Flats is still a frontrunner to become the new home of the Ottawa Public Library’s main branch, the chair of the Library Board says.
“Bayview is a leading contender for the relocation because it will be at the confluence of all major transportation modes and it will be a new exciting focal point for the city,” says Rick Chiarelli.
“It also has a lot of space, lots of opportunity for development and it will be much, much cheaper.”
Chiarelli, who is also the councillor for Baseline Ward, says the site would be cost-effective because it would allow the city to co-operate with private developers in addition to sharing the bill.
“I don’t think we can afford this without a private-public partnership,” he said. “The city just doesn’t have the ability to write a cheque for $80 million on its own.”
The final decision about moving the library will not be made until February.
The board decided at a meeting two weeks ago that it will spend another $200,000 between now and then to study the merits of a number of different proposals.
The main branch needs to be relocated because the current building at Metcalfe Street and Laurier Avenue West does not have enough space.
“It’s too small,” says City Librarian Barbara Clubb.
“It doesn’t serve the needs of citizens and it doesn’t serve the requirements of a main library,” she adds.
Clubb says the branch was designed in 1974 to serve a population of about 300,000, but Ottawa now has more than 800,000 citizens.
She says the main branch in London, Ont., which is roughly half the size of Ottawa, has twice the space.
“In Ottawa we have more readers than McDonald’s has eaters,” Chiarelli says. “The main branch is less than half the size it should be.”
But those who use the main library branch are not keen on the plans to move it.
“I only come here because it’s so convenient,” says Al McSherry, a Cooper Street resident who uses the Metcalfe branch on a daily basis. “I would not be going all the way out to Bayview … I just would not use the new library.”
Freelance researcher Diane Bassett is such a frequent visitor to the downtown branch that people often think she works there. “I pretty much live here,” she says. “Some people think I’m on staff.”
Bassett, who lives on Argyle Street and walks to the library every day, says she doesn’t know what she’d do if the branch shut its doors.
She estimates walking over to Bayview would take an extra 30 to 45 minutes daily. “It would be such an inconvenience,” she says.
Shawn Little, councillor for Kitchissippi ward where the Bayview site is located, says despite opposition from downtown residents, the move westward would be a smart one because of its proximity to the O-Train and the Transitway.
“LeBreton is a pretty central location and it would be more accessible to more people,” he says.
“It would only be a two-minute bus ride from downtown.”
Dennis Jacobs, the city’s planning director, agrees. He says those who worry about the library moving out of downtown need to broaden their definition of the term.
“Downtown isn’t just what it is today, it has to work its way outward. We have to connect (outlying areas) and integrate them into the downtown core.”
Chiarelli says the board knows some people will object to the main branch moving from Metcalfe, but says they have few alternatives because buying property any closer would just be too expensive.
But Somerset Ward Coun. Diane Holmes says the main library branch should remain downtown and the board should look for an affordable location nearer to Metcalfe.