The site being considered for a new office complex at 801 Albert St. is currently a vacant lot.
The City of Ottawa has put pedestrians in a tight squeeze by approving plans for a two-tower office complex at a vacant lot on Albert Street, says the head of the Dalhousie Community Association.
The design, by architect Vincent Colizza, features 32- and 29-storey towers to be built on a triangular lot bordered by Albert Street, City Centre Avenue, and the Bayview O-Train station.
The concern about pedestrian routes was raised because the office space can accommodate nearly 6,000 workers, but only has about 250 parking spots.
“There are 250 people arriving by car and 5,600 are arriving by foot on a five-foot-wide sidewalk. What’s the city worried about? The 250 in a car,” says DCA president Eric Darwin.
The planned development includes widening part of Albert Street outside of the complex to six lanes, but there are no plans to widen the sidewalks. There are still tools available for the municipality to get pedestrian access benefits, such as wider sidewalks, from the builder, but they need to be negotiated, says Darwin.
“If a road improvement or traffic signal adjacent to a site is needed for people to get there, then the builder is required to do that. Suddenly for pedestrians getting there, the builder isn’t expected to,” says Darwin. “This seems to be a decision on the city’s part that they’re not going to chase pedestrian improvements as a requirement, and yet they are entitled to.”
The ability for pedestrians to continue to bike or walk in the area was considered by the developer, DCR Phoenix, according to an October 2009 traffic study submitted to the city.
“The proposed development conforms to the City’s TDM (Transportation Demand Management) principles including integration with existing infrastructure and providing landscaped pedestrian pathways on-site,” the study stated.
Ottawa council voted this week to approve DCR Phoenix’s plan for the site.
In addition to objections by community groups, Somerset Coun. Diane Holmes had raised questions about pedestrian access through the Albert Street complex. There is no guarantee an indoor passage will remain open after hours, despite efforts by Holmes to secure one.
“It has been problematic in the past because owners can change and they change their minds. They may lock that door before 9 a.m. and after 5 p.m.,” she said prior to council's vote on the issue. “So it’s not nearly as advantageous as a walkway that is 24 hours and open to the public.”
Easy access through the building is a safety issue for pedestrians trying to reach the Bayview transit station, says Robert Dekker vice-president of the Centretown Citizens Community Association. “This would be a concern to me,” he says.