May 13, 2005 - Glebe Report

NEWS
BY JOY McALPINE
The City of Ottawa's first open
house to present some initial plans
for the reconstruction of Bank
Street, held on April 5 at the Fourth
Avenue Baptist Church, was a
smashing success. Roughly 200
people viewed the 19 display boards
detailing the functional and preliminary
design study. Sounds of
socializing and ideas being exchanged
filled the air.
David Hatton, project team
member and engineer, discussed the
importance of understanding the
space limitations of Bank Street. He
emphasized the need for trade-offs.
"An excellent trade-off example is
providing pedestrians with wider
sidewalks, which also provides
more area for landscaping and
reduces clutter at the expense of onstreet
parking and a cycling facility."
Wendy Davies of the Glebe
disliked the trade-off concept,
stating: "We have one chance to get
it right." She wants more planters
and the hydro poles gone, but thinks
there is not enough money for both.
Robert Brocklebank, GCA vicepresident
and member of the Public
Advisory Committee, wants more
pedestrian access: "We only dig up
Bank Street every 56 years or so, so
let's bury the hydro wires while
replacing ancient water and sewer
mains." He noted that getting rid of
hydro poles is a complex issue because
some of the poles service
roads off Bank Street. The city has
established two committees for the
Bank Street project: the Public
Advisory Committee (PAC) consisting
of representatives from the
public and a Technical Advisory
Conunittee (TAC) consisting of city
employees with technical expertise
relevant to the project.
Diane McIntyre, a longtime GCA
board member, wanted to elhninate
parking on Bank Street and create a
bike lane. She also suggested the
construction of a subway under
Bank Street.
The word on the street
eloper, thinks benches, fancy lampposts,
more trees, attractive garbage
containers and a statue in the middle
of the street would be nice additions
to Bank Street.
Ian Boyd of Compact Music, and
a representative of the Glebe
Business Group, remarked: "We are
definitely on the same page as the
city project team." He thinks that 24-
hour parking with no peak periods is
needed and newspaper boxes could
easily be located on side streets
allowing more room for pedestrians.
Wider sidewalks, he added, are a
good idea.
Days later, I chatted with people
on Bank Street enjoying a sunny and
warm April Sunday. I saw Shirley
and Susan, who mentioned that they
like to frequent their old neighbourhood
for the shopping. We discussed
what improvements could be made
to Bank Street. Shirley felt that
wider sidewalks would better accommodate
shoppers and big strollers,
while Susan would appreciate a
more cycle-friendly Bank Street and
thought fancy lampposts would look
lovely.
Then, I couldn't help but notice
Pat and Dawn casually walking
along as their two young daughters
were blowing bubbles. I asked them
what changes they would like to see.
Pat suggested street musicians and
artists. Dawn thought good evening
lighting would be a great idea. We
waved goodbye as they walked to a
coffee shop before heading back to
the east end.
Street and hopes never to encounter
speed bumps here.
Wanda and Alex were pushing
their grandson Xander in his stroller
when I stopped them to chat. These
Glebe residents do not want to see
Bank Street turn into a throughway
like Bronson. They also feel that
disallowing parking on Bank Street
will hurt its shops.
Glebe Report May 13, 2005 8
54 MASON TERRACE
OTTAWA, ON K1S OK9
Free Saturday parking.
turned down
On May 4 the city's Transportation Committee voted against a motion by
Councillor Clive Doucet, acting on behalf of the Glebe Business Group, to
ban metered parking from the Glebe on Saturdays. Local merchants were
seeking a free two-hour parking zone along Bank Street to allow customers
a more leisurely shopping experience.
The GBG also sought relief from steep fines and overly zealous parking
enforcement in the Glebe. Merchants see the current situation as
discriminatory against business owners in this neighbourhood.
A motion was passed to restrict parking enforcement officers to one round
of ticketing in the morning and one in the afternoon.
Transportation Committee also voted to reduce parking fines in the city
parking lot behind Loeb Glebe from $50 to $25.
On the roadunusual sighting
Early morning, May 7 one female, one-metre high wild turkey
sauntering across Clemow near Bronson.
Looking for
lunch in all the
wrong places?
is the right place!
Philippe Giguère, a young -Glebe
resident and future architect or dev-
Next, I spotted Guy and Laureen,
who often bike or drive to the Glebe.
Guy appreciates parking on Bank
232-2703
819 Bank Street (Fifth Ave. Court)
Free parking Glebeites may walk