Is Centretown suffering a lack of green space? Yes, says Somerset Coun. Catherine McKenney.
“We have per capita by far the least green space of any other community across the city,” she says.
On her website, she proposes the creation of dozens of new parklets downtown – underused parking spots transformed into nooks with benches. The idea has become popular in places such as San Francisco and McKenney wants to see them in Ottawa.
It now appears she will, since Ottawa’s transportation committee has unanimously approved a project to convert as many as 25 street parking spots into patios or mini parks for one year.
The new parklets could contain seating, shading elements, bicycle parking and games tables. They could be used commercially or publicly between April and October of next year.
The parklets will be restricted to streets with a speed limit of 50 km/h or less which allow parking at all times.
“I think it sounds like a good idea,” says Matthew Stella, a Centretown resident. “Parking is one of those things that we as taxpayers pay a lot for, but not everyone gets to use it. As someone who doesn’t drive a car, I don’t see the need for all those parking spots.”
McKenney says communities, such as Little Italy, don’t have enough parks and some are too small for the growing population.
This new proposal came shortly after the city changed its mandate to allow money raised from developers through a “cash-in-lieu of parkland” policy to be used in life cycle repairs for parks, and not just park creation.
The city also axed a proposal for three new permanent park planning positions.
Permanent parks are still an issue in Centretown.
“It became evident, especially when I was door-knocking last year, that there were neighborhoods where if the school grounds weren’t open in the evening, the kids had no place to play,” says McKenney.
The Transportation Committee says, “Parklets are a way to create public open space that reflects the local community at little to no cost to cities or public agencies.”
“It will create new and interesting alternatives to existing streetscapes.” said committee chair Keith Egli, councillor for Knoxdale-Merivale.
But parking remains an issue.
“Local businesses need some parking around their place of business,” says McKenney, “but at the same time . . . we have to start thinking about the fact that people will cycle more, they will walk more, they will rely on cars less if you provide the amenities for people.”
The Preston Street Business Improvement Area says it’s not applying for parklets at this time.
Decisions on where to place the parklets haven’t been made, but business owners can apply between October and December.