Dalhousie Community Association

Dalhousie Report, November 2010 The Dalhousie Community Association met on 2 November, 2010, at the Dalhousie Community Centre at the corner of Empress and Somerset. Meetings are held the first Wednesday of most months, everyone is welcome. NOTE: Dec. meeting will be held Dec 8th at 6pm. Call for details: 613.238.1030 or email EricDarwin1@gmail.com Cathedral lands: First up was a presentation by Scott Demark. Christ Church (Anglican) Cathedral is located on Sparks Street near Bronson. The church owns the west half of the block between Sparks and Queen. Big stone cathedrals are expensive to maintain. The Church wants to develop much of the block with a new condo tower, an office tower, and some smaller structures. The idea is that the revenue from the development will be enough to pay for the maintenance of the church and some of its programs for two hundred years. Readers with a sense of history will recall that it was traditional for churches and other institutions to be given...

This flyer is making the rounds of the west side neighborhoods abutting Bronson Avenue. The above photoshopped illustration shows just ONE potential way to improve Bronson so that it meets the needs of pedestrians, cyclists, transit users, adjacent businesses and residents, as well as motorists and commuters. There are alternative ways to improve Bronson so that it makes more people happy. Anyone who travels on or across that blighted street knows that the 1950′s thinking that gave us the current “four lane” urban arterial didn’t work. Yet Ottawa seems on the way to fifty more years of a disfunctional road and urban blight. There are other ways to design streets, better ways. Other cities all across North America are implementing “road diets” aimed at four lane urban arterials. They have had great success in implementing roads that make motorists and adjacent neighborhoods happier and safer places. Ottawa is late to this strategy, and has had to be dragged in kicking and screamin...

Oct 15, 2010 Dear Ms Nesbitt It has come to our attention that there are granite column pieces available that might be used to create two additional art columns along Preston Street, complementing the 15 pieces already installed, to wide acclaim, by c j fleury. The Dalhousie Community Association thinks this is a worthwhile arts endeavor and encourages the City to work with the Preston BIA and cj fleury to come up with an appropriate Preston Street location and get these installed in the spring of 2011. Sincerely, Eric Darwin. President, Dalhousie Community Assoc. http://www.ottawadalhousie.ca/

DCA Report The October meeting of the Dalhousie Community Association was jam-packed with sixteen agenda items. This follows the hyper-busy September meeting … which indicates just how many things are happening in the western half of Somerset Ward. But your Association is not really complaining … that busy agenda means we are having lots of input into what is going on in our neighborhood! The first item up was the little neglected parkette on Norman Street , off the south end of Preston. It comes complete with a little stage, but with uncertain pedigree. Is it really an official city park at all? The board decided to inventory all public greenspaces in the neighborhood and then request confirmation from the councilor’s office and city staff as to which are city parks. Then we can establish a providence and maintenance and renewal plan. The mostly-paved park in front of St Anthony church will be rebuilt in the next year or two (plans have been approved), but Norman Street parkette ...

Centretown Citizens Community Association & Dalhousie Community Association invite you to an all candidates meeting Tuesday, October 19, 2010 (7 pm – 9 pm) Andrew Haydon Hall - Ottawa City Hall 110 Laurier Ave West (at Elgin) Join the CCCA, the DCA and candidates Don Fex, Diane Holmes and Barkley Pollock and hear what they have to say. Some refreshments will be served

The DCA was represented by its president at the Tuesday session with the City's Planning and Environment Committee (PEC) when it dealt with the proposal by Starwood-Mastercraft for a 16 and 20 storey condo towers at the corner of Champagne and Hickory. The small area around this intersection is a hotbed of condomania, with Domicile constructing  8 and 13 storey buildings, Arnon 14-19 storey structures, and eventually the Humane Society site will sprout condos too. Our purpose at the meeting was to emphasize the proposed pedestrian and cycling bridge over the OTrain cut at Hickory. The bridge greatly improves a whole bunch of neighorhood connectivity possibilities. At our request, our Councillor put forward a motion tieing the rezoning of the site to the building of a bridge (with developer/condo buyers putting up part of the money) and also requiring the bridge to be finished before the units are occupied. The first part was passed, the money from the developers is now part o...

At its September meeting, the DCA discussed the Bambinos project proposed for the corner of Gladstone and Preston. The Association is firmly in favour of a gateway feature at this location. We appreciate the work of the BIA and its funding of the gateway. Other innovative projects of the BIA have worked out well. While we regret the loss of some trees at this location, their loss is mitigated by the additional landscaping along the street and improved pedestrian environment proposed for the corners of Preston/Gladstone. The Bambinos project is innovative in that it is not part of the 1% art program, and is privately funded. It will have a high neighborhood profile. The Association encourages the City and BIA to hold a public opportunity for residents, visitors, and business people to see the proposed Bambinos before construction. Eric Darwin. President, Dalhousie Community Assoc. http://www.ottawadalhousie.ca/