Traffic calming and Lansdowne on the GCA table – and wishes for a great summer!

As I write this on the Victoria Day long weekend, it seems most days that summer has arrived. More bikes are out and about. There are lots of people and dogs on the Queen Elizabeth Driveway and paths along the canal. The dock is in at Patterson Creek and being well used. The days are long and warm. And, of course, more people than ever are getting vaccinated. There is definitely hope in the air after these challenging months.

Traffic calming

We had a good discussion about traffic calming at our May board meeting. Councillor Shawn Menard gave a short presentation about traffic-calming measures in the neighbourhood and how they come about, and several residents spoke about the effects of current measures. It was clear that these questions are important to our community. We are working closely with Menard and his office to look at specific situations and to consider traffic calming in the neighbourhood overall. If you have a comment or question related to traffic calming, please get in touch with the councillor’s office (capitalward@ottawa.ca) or with me (gca@glebeca.ca).

Lansdowne Sounding Board

The Glebe was well represented at the first meeting of the Lansdowne Park Plan Update Sounding Board in May. This meeting is part of the commitment, approved by city council last December, to a review to examine operating and capital requirements and look at ways to increase foot traffic at Lansdowne. It is being conducted by OSEG and city staff.

Neighbours from Old Ottawa South and Old Ottawa East attended as well, as did representatives from the Glebe BIA, local businesses and Ottawa’s festivals and entertainment sector.

We heard presentations from city staff and OSEG about the state of the infrastructure at Lansdowne, then split into three groups – residents, business and entertainment – to discuss what success looks like to us, what we would like to see in the future at the site and how we would prioritize the work that needs to take place. Discussions in the residents’ group, in which we participated, emphasized the importance of maintaining heritage buildings and green space.

While pleased to be included in the conversation, we were disappointed that no information was provided on plans for the site and that there was no opportunity for substantive input. There is much more work to be done. We have asked for terms of reference for the group as well as for more consultation. We look forward to seeing concrete proposals from OSEG and the city on their plans for Lansdowne and to participating in more focused, widespread public consultations in future.

OSEG and city staff will provide city council with options for a strategic direction in July, then there will be detailed studies of council’s approved option.

GCA Annual General Meeting

Our AGM will be held on June 15. We will vote on board members for next year and hear from a few guest speakers (still being confirmed at the time of writing – check glebeca.ca for more details). Please join us! And consider becoming a member or renewing your membership in the GCA, if you haven’t already done so. Your voice will help us continue to advocate for a liveable, sustainable, diverse urban neighbourhood. You can find more information at glebeca.ca.

I am very grateful to the 2020-21 board members for the time and energy they have given to the GCA over the past year and for being creative in finding ways to continue to advocate for our community, despite the circumstances.

The GCA does not normally meet in July or August, so our next gathering will be in September. We’ll still be around, though, so please feel free to send me a note at gca@glebeca.ca if anything comes up. Have a wonderful, healthy and safe summer, neighbours!