Ottawa doesn’t need another long-term plan but the recently announced Mid-Centretown Community Design Plan is just that.
It’s a 20-year vision for the area of Centretown bounded by Elgin Street on the east, the Queensway on the south, Kent Street on the west and Gloucester Street on the north.
The goal of the plan is to make Centretown more livable and further urban design, according to the City of Ottawa.
Before city council can approve the plan, a study must be done.
The study is supposed to be completed by March 2011 but timelines such as these are never certain.
In the past, studies done for many city projects have been pushed back several times.
Businesses are encouraged to be involved in the eventual completion of the study and the Centretown community is invited to attend public meetings with an open house scheduled for Nov. 30.
The community will be involved, but following the completion of the study there’s more red tape to wade through.
When the study is finished, the plan must be approved by city council. If the plan passes at city council, completion of the renovations will be spread out over 20 years.
In municipal politics, a lot can happen in 20 years. From a new mayor to new councillors in Somerset Ward, plans for Centretown could always change.
An example of the constantly evolving state of city planning is Ottawa’s transit plan.
The current long-term vision for transit was up in the air for years.
Now, with a new mayor, the transit plan is supposed to be a go.
The question is whether similar progress will occur with the community design plan.
Over the next 20 years, Somerset Coun. Diane Holmes will likely retire and the city could see a regular shakeup of city council like the one that occurred during October’s election.
But Holmes has been re-elected and the study for the community design plan is set to go ahead.
Part of the plan is to protect heritage sites and clean up the area, says Robert Spicer, a planner with the planning and growth management department at the City of Ottawa.
While intentions may be noble, some businesses are still bitter about the construction on Bank Street that lasted for years, most of which retailers would like to forget.
Many small businesses suffered through hard times and low sales during the construction.
Some businesses even had to close their doors for good.
The Bank Street construction proved that short-term pain doesn’t always amount to long-term gain, which was very clear to retailers throughout each phase of the construction.
Even larger retailers such as Staples were affected, says Steven Tanner, general manager at the 403 Bank St. location, though not as much as the smaller businesses.
Although it is possible that businesses may see an improvement at the end of the process, the end won’t come for at least 20 years.
By then, there could be major changes made to Centretown’s business landscape and those who are involved now may no longer be in business.
If and when renovations to the area do begin, businesses in mid-Centretown will be faced with more construction and its negative effect on business.
Until then, retailers must cope with the possibility of further construction.
In a city that doesn’t have a great track record for the completion of long-term plans, the benefits to the proposed construction will occur too far in the future for the plan to be worthwhile for businesses now.