Improving our city continues in tough times

The past year has been tough and this year will continue to pose more challenges for residents of our city. At the time of writing, the province has implemented new COVID-19 restrictions. And while we continue to fight the pandemic, the work at City Hall continues. There are both neighbourhood and citywide issues that will be of interest to residents of the Glebe.

New Tree Bylaw

On January 1, city staff began implementing the new tree-protection bylaw. There have been many important changes made to protect trees, including:  hiring a new infill forester in the planning department to focus on trees at the earliest phases of development; requiring tree information to be submitted through the committee of adjustment process; better integration of tree information through the building permit process; a reduction of distinctive tree size; ability to levy fines for inadequate tree protection; and clear linkages with new infill zoning requirements for soft landscaping which will work to help in both tree retention and tree planting, depending on the site.

Look out for a more in-depth piece on our website focusing on compensation requirements for private trees.

Bank Street Bridge Update

Last summer, we worked successfully with city traffic planners to come up with a new design for the Bank Street Bridge to increase safety and serve the needs of road users, pedestrians, bicyclists and drivers.

After much work and consultation, we settled on a design that would reduce the number of automobile lanes to three (including two northbound lanes in order to accommodate bus service during RedBlacks games). This design was then approved unanimously by both the transportation committee and city council.

From this design, staff are currently working on detailed designs. These will be finalized by spring and the new design will be implemented during the upcoming construction season. We continue to have discussions with staff to find more improvements for the bridge, including a way to provide proper separation between pedestrians, bicyclists and motor vehicles.

The final detailed designs will be developed with consultation from local stakeholders, including the city’s accessibility advisory committee, the Glebe BIA, local community associations and others.

This is an exciting project for our ward and the city. The current design of the bridge has failed vulnerable road users and we are very happy that we have been able to collaborate with staff and the community to make improvements to this key transportation link.

30-48 Chamberlain Avenue:

Public Consultation

There is a new proposal for a 16-storey development at 30-48 Chamberlain Avenue. The height of this proposal concerns our office as well as city planners. We do not believe this height is appropriate for the location, but we’d also like to hear what you think.

Our office will be hosting a public consultation on this proposal on Tuesday, February 17 at 6:30 p.m. over Zoom. If you wish to attend or would like more information, please visit our website at shawnmenard.ca/public_consultation_30_48_chamberlain.

This is an important issue for the neighbourhood. Over the past few years, we have been working with city and community representatives on a new secondary plan for the neighbourhood. The plan has not passed city council yet, but when it does, it will limit the height that can be built on Chamberlain. It’s a good plan, and the city should stick to it.

As the proposal continues through the planning process, we will keep the community informed through social media and our newsletter, which you can sign up for at shawnmenard.ca/join.

Official Plan

The city is currently updating our Official Plan. This is the master planning document that guides city-building efforts, from development to transportation to housing. Late last year, the city released a draft version of the new Official Plan, as well as an assortment of one-pager documents explaining various aspects of it.

The city has proposed a new approach to planning and development. The intent is to split the city into five different transects. Transects are different geographical areas within the city. The five transects are: Downtown Core, Inner Urban, Outer Urban, Suburban and Greenbelt and Rural. City planning will now be tailored to each transect.

You can review these documents and provide feedback by visiting the city’s website, engage.ottawa.ca/the-new-official-plan.

Thank you for reading this and take care,

Shawn

 Shawn Menard is City Councillor for Capital Ward. He can be reached directly at Shawn.Menard@ottawa.ca.