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MANOR PARK CHRONICLE
mARCH 2006
C.F.B. Rockcliffe – Community Stirrings
The Canada Lands Corporation (CLC), the crown agency that will be
charged with proposing new uses for Canadian Forces Base
Rockcliffe, expects to have legal title to the 336-acre site by
May of this year. This follows over ten years of uncertainty
concerning this large piece of territory in the capital’s urban
core. The size of the site as well as its location in the Nation’s
capital mean that a carefully conducted planning exercise will be
necessary to ensure that the very best ideas will come forward. I
believe that this new community could be a model for urban renewal
and of sustainable development elsewhere in Ottawa and across the
country. As Ward Councillor, it is my intent to work hard to
ensure that the resulting development is one that will be embraced
by its future inhabitants and workers as well as being a good fit
for the surrounding existing communities and a healthy additional
chapter in Ottawa’s story. The City has a progressive new Official
Plan (OP). It will be the task of City planners, elected
representatives and Ottawa’s citizenry, especially the communities
located closest to the site, to use the guideposts provided by
that OP to ensure that the CLC is held to the highest standards of
urban renewal.
Anticipating the work ahead, a meeting of surrounding community
groups was held at the Gloucester North Public Library on Ogilvie
Road on Monday February 13th. The convenor, Jane Brammer,
President of the Rothwell Heights Property Owners Association,
presented a summary of the status of CFB Rockcliffe. Those present
were first asked to express their concerns or their hopes for the
site. There was much support for the creation of an umbrella
community organization, embracing all of the surrounding
communities, charged with engaging CLC in the public dialogue to
occur over the next years. There was a strong feeling that such a
gathering would be in everyone’s best interests. I am strongly
supportive of that view and would encourage anyone interested to
signal his or her interest. You can do so either through my office
or by contacting Jeffrey Thiessen at 741-8329.
Beechwood Community Design Plan – The Last Consultation Meeting
The Beechwood study is intended to guide planning and
transportation decisions over the next decade. Residents of Manor
Park have an interest in Beechwood as a transportation corridor as
well as a community-shopping destination. A final public meeting
was held at MacKay United Church on January 19th, 2006. The
evening focussed on the transportation aspects of the corridor and
on issues of parking in adjacent residential areas, both as they
currently exist and what they could be, assuming the growth that
can be expected over the next ten years. The analysis included
estimates of additional traffic contributions over and above the
overall annual growth in the corridor resulting from known
redevelopments on the horizon - i.e. the Claridge/Landry site (the
former Dominion Bridge site in the Vanier area) and the Canadian
Forces Base Rockcliffe site east of Manor Park. The evening
included a computer-generated visualization of all traffic modes
in the corridor. Some 55 attended, largely from Manor Park, New
Edinburgh, the former Vanier, and surrounding communities as well
as representatives of businesses in the corridor. They received a
presentation by the transportation consultant hired by the City,
Mr. Henry Zygowski of National Capital Engineering, and by Mr. Don
Morse, from the City’s planning Department, who spoke about
parking issues related to future growth. These presentations were
followed by a Q&A session moderated by yours truly. After
collating all of the comments and concerns, City staff will now
prepare a draft report to be presented to the steering committee
for this project. It is expected that the final report will be
considered by Planning & Environment Committee sometime in April.
Anyone wishing to be notified of that date should contact
Françoise Jessop, the Program Manager in charge, at 580-2424 ext.
13862 or by e-mail at
Francoise.Jessop@ottawa.ca . A summary of the project as well
as comments received from the community during various public
consultations and ongoing updates can be found on the City’s web
site at
http://www.ottawa.ca/public_consult/beechwood/index_en.shtml .
Jacques Legendre
Councillor, Rideau-Rockcliffe
You can communicate with me at (please include a telephone
number):
City of Ottawa
110 Laurier Avenue West
Ottawa ON K1P 1J1
Tel: 580-2483, Fax: 580-2523
E-mail:
jacques.legendre@ottawa.ca
Web Site:
www.rideau-rockcliffe.com
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