Dalhousie Community Association

On March 14 the DCA sent this letter to Douglas Bridgewater, in the City planning department, regarding the proposed Starwood-Mastercraft 22 and 24 storey development for 125 Hickory Street (former Aquerello site, near the Humane Society): The board of the DCA discussed this proposal at length at its March 3rd meeting. We are all familiar with the site, and had elevations and site plans on hand during the discussion. We feel the proposed height is excessive. This is a mid-block, land-locked location, not a gateway. Its location on a transit corridor, and with nearby access to a major arterial (Carling Avenue) means the site is suitable for intensification. In our opinion, a height the same as the adjacent Emerald Tower would be suitable. The DCA supports the notion of Transit Oriented Development (ToD) requiring different conditions than might be applicable in other areas for similar developments. Reducing the parking requirements is appropriate for ToD and increases the afforda...

 DCA Minutes 3 March 2010 (draft) Present: Eric Darwin, Charles Akben-Marchand, David Seaborn, Ida Henderson, Doug Gabelmann, Jessica Sellars, Archie Campbell, Michael Hatfield, Zsofia Orosz, Laura Bergen, Grace Xin, David Hearden of Delcan Minutes: the Minutes of the previous meeting were adopted, with a few minor typos noted. Chinatown Royal Arch: David organized a meeting of Cambridge Street neighbors to discuss the proposal to use vacant lot immediately south of the Yangtze Restaurant to pre-cast concrete pieces for the arch. A satisfactory arrangement is being put in place for residents, restaurant visitors, and artisans. The concrete casting would occur mostly in the northern part of the lot. The street-closing chain will only be opened to move the biggest pieces. The forms, or wooden moulds, are already made in China and have been shipped; they are arriving next week. Grace had a large wooden model of part of the arch, which came apart into individual pieces, which...

The DCA sent the following letter to Vivi Chi and Mona Abouhenidy of the City cycling program, and Councillors Leadman and Holmes: At its meeting on March 3, 2010, the Dalhousie Community Association passed a motion respecting the need for a cycling underpass at Somerset along the Otrain corridor. The Association feels it is a high priority for the community to have the technical feasibility study for the underpass and for its construction as part of the Somerset reconstruction process in 2010-11 . We have been waiting almost half a century for our bike path to be completed; we do want it to take a full century to complete this cycling arterial. In approx.1962 the first segments of the Carling-Bayview cycling and pedestrian path were built by the NCC as part of the railway relocation projects in Ottawa. The segments ran from Prince of Wales to Carling to Young Street (the Queensway) along the east side of what is now the Otrain corridor. It is a stonedust path through a treed co...

DCA Minutes,  3Feb 2010 Present: Archie Campbell,, Eric Darwin, Lori Mellor, David Seaborn, Charles Akben-Marchand,Ida Henderson,Diane Holmes, Jessica Sellars, Grace Xin,Zsofia Orosz, Doug Gablemann, Michael Hatfield, Maija Kagis, Phil Robinson, Craig Haines Minutes of January approved as presented, with typo correction Chinatown gateway arch – update by Grace Xin, of Chinatown BIA (CBIA) click to enlarge to see detail of gold painting Delcan is the Ottawa design consultant, with Chinese designers just completed their 2nd trip Construction begins in April. The whole structure will be precast concrete. The precasting of features may be done in a tented workshop behind Yangtze restaurant using handcarved wooden molds, then put on the concrete main frame. It will take two months to cast, then painting will take two months, altogether five to six months. There are a number of concerns regarding the use of residential land adjacent to houses on Cambridge for industr...

To: Diane Holmes, Ainsley Shepperd, NCC During Bluesfest in 2008 there was a lot of off-road parking on the greenspace that runs along the north side of Albert between Booth and City Centre Avenue. This was while the City's new multipurpose path/sidewalk and landscaping was still being installed. The land immediately along the north side of Albert Street is city owned, the land further north is NCC property. A chain link fence in the area may not reflect the ownership boundary. In 2009 the situation was much improved. With the hard work of Ainsley Shepherd and the active cooperation of the NCC, off-road parking was severely curtailed during Bluesfest. Parking on the grass and greenspace crept back during the Festival in the Park the following week. After the festivals, the area remained pleasantly green with minimal rutting and erosion. The Dalhousie Community Association is concerned that vigiliance and extra effort will have to be expended each and every year to protect thi...

Somerset Street will undergo reconstruction starting in 2010 for the section from West Wellington Street (in Hintonburg, west side of the Otrain) to Preston Street. And in 2011 from Preston up the hill to Booth. This means major hole digging, new sewers, etc and streetscaping like wider sidewalks, pedestrian lighting, protected parking bays, etc. The consultant, Ron Clark from Delcan, gathered ideas at the DCA meeting on Dec. 2, 2009 and there is a opportunity for those keen on the subject to discuss the issues and solutions on Tuesday, Jan 12 at 7pm, room 36, Dal Centre at the corner of Empress/somerset.

Dalhousie Community Association Meeting January 6, 2010 Present: Michael Hatfield, Doug Gabelmann, Phil Robinson, Charles Akben-Marchand, Eric Darwin, David Seaborn, Archie Campbell, Maija Kagis, Zsofia Orosz Guests: Laura Bergen (councillor's office); from The Door: Malik Ayass, ED, Debbie Barton, Board member The minutes from December The minutes were approved as presented - Charles, seconded by Doug. The Door The Door is a youth drop-in centre that has been operating upstairs in the Dalhousie Community Centre for almost 16 years. Its open for youth 12-18 years and offers recreational, social, educational programs, Monday to Thursday 4-9PM – see attached documents for program details. Members provide a lot of input for the programming. There are many new Canadians among the members in particularly Karen, a growing community in Ottawa that sees The Door as a focal point for the youth. Thus English as a 2nd language is offered. They are working closely with local school...