The city released Centretown’s community design plan to the public last week after completing a four-year study as part of its Liveable Ottawa 2031 project but was promply given the bum's rush by the Centretown Citizens Community Association.
The report, prepared by Toronto-based planning and urban design company Urban Strategies Inc., provides a 20-year vision for the community, including recommendations to building height and massing, green space, transportation, heritage, and mixed-used development.
Given Centretown’s growing traffic problems, the study calls for major changes to the existing road networks, including revamping the streetscapes of major streets such as Elgin, Bank and Somerset to prioritize pedestrians and cyclists over cars.
Other suggestions includes converting one-way streets, such as Metcalfe Street, to normal two-way streets, closing down surface parking lots, and making right turns illegal on a red light at busy intersections.
The plan focuses on urbanizing the city, so “any further intensification in Centretown needs to be supported by a series of public realm improvements,” reads the report.
It promotes greening the community by upgrading and repairing existing parks and planting trees along the sidewalks of major streets.
If accepted, the plan will amend the existing Centretown Secondary Plan from 1976.
Although the 1976 plan included input from the CCCA, its role in the neighbourhood’s planning seems to have been ignored..
Having sent four letters to the city last year highlighting significant concerns about the draft plan, the finalized version presented to the association Feb. 11 appears to not even acknowledge the letters.
“We’re not happy,” says CCCA vice-president Robert Dekker.
“We’ve spent a lot of time on this document and to be told that our recommendations don’t meet what the city is looking for is a slap to the community and what the community would like to see,” he said of the Centretown community design plan.
According to Dekker, the CCCA plans to meet with every member of the planning committee individually to discuss its concerns before the plan reaches the committee.
Also planned are meetings with all 23 councillors and Mayor Jim Watson.
The plan will be presented to the city's planning committee at itsmeeting on March 26.
See the full plan at http://ottawa.ca/en/community-design-plan
For amendment suggestions go to http://ottawa.ca/en/city-hall/public-consultations/public-consultations-about-planning/draft-official-plan-amendment .