Busy fall season at City Hall

It’s September and that means committee and council meetings are ramping back up at City Hall, so I thought this would be a good time to talk about what happened this summer and what’s coming up in the fall.

Lansdowne Park Update

Lansdowne Park will be a big issue this fall. The city is currently pursuing a zoning bylaw amendment and an official plan amendment to permit the proposed development. Additional public consultations were held this summer, and we anticipate the plan to go before the Finance and Corporate Services Committee on October 18, with a final vote by council on October 25.

We are concerned with the form of the three proposed skyscrapers next to the Heritage Aberdeen Pavilion, the need for improvements to the green space and public amenities at Lansdowne, the need for affordable housing and the need for proper transportation planning to and through the site.

We continue to work with commun

2024 City Budget

We will be doing a lot of work on next year’s budget. It’s important that councillors act as responsible stewards of city finance, infrastructure and services. It can be difficult to identify a few key priorities in the budget when there are so many important functions of the city. Certainly, we need to properly fund transit services and road maintenance.

We need to put a greater emphasis on improving our public spaces to improve the quality of life of residents throughout the city. We must provide proper resources to implement the Urban Forest Management Plan. We need to increase funding for park improvements and for extending pool hours during the summer. In addition, we need to increase washroom access, retrofitting existing bathrooms and expanding the pilot project that put portable toilets in parks.

And, of course, we’re in a housing emergency where too many people can’t afford a place to live. We will be seeking significant increases to the be included in the 2024 budget, please let us know at CapitalWard@ottawa.ca.

Billings Bridge and Bank Street improvements

Glebe Community Association N 613-580-2487

At the time of writing, the Transportation Committee has approved a plan to put bike lanes on the Billings Bridge and create an afternoon peak-period bus-only lane on Bank through Old Ottawa South.

On the bridge, the current design of four car lanes will be converted to three lanes (including turn lanes) and a bicycle lane on each side. There will be protected intersections at both ends of the bridge. The plan also calls for a southbound right-turn-only lane with a dedicated turn light, ensuring there wouldn’t be right-turning vehicles when bicyclists and pedestrians are crossing Riverside.

This design will pair with the improvements we made to the Bank Street Canal Bridge during the last term of council, creating safer connections between the Glebe, Old Ottawa South, Heron Park and the Alta Vista area. It will connect with the bicycle lanes and improved sidewalks currently being built south of the river, providing a great route all the way up to Walkley.

These improvements will help bring more customers to local businesses, connect residents with various community amenities and, most importantly, make the bridge safer for everyone: bicyclists, pedestrians and motorists.

The city also plans to implement an afternoon peak-period, bus-only lane going northbound on Bank Street through Old Ottawa South. Staff have identified increased delays along this route in the afternoon, so the bus-only lane will improve travel times and reliability. Bicyclists will also be allowed to use this lane.

All in all, these improvements will make it safer, quicker and easier to get around the community and to travel between neighbourhoods. This is a much-needed and long-awaited project for our city, and I want to thank the work of the community associations and residents in helping to make it happen.

The proposal will be considered by council in September for final approval.

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