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New Edinburgh News
December 2003
Speed Humps on Ivy
City staff has assured us that the speed humps, slated for the
western branch of Ivy Crescent, will be built before freeze-up
this fall. The locations have been marked on the roadway.
Residents are hopeful that these devices will have the desired
traffic calming effect. It is unfortunate that drivers in Ottawa
have developed such aggressive driving habits that these measures
are necessary to make our streets safer. Certainly, signage
appears to have little effect and traffic enforcement is expensive
and its effects, in a given area, transitory.
New Edinburgh and the new Official Plan (OP)
Section 2.5.7 of the OP is entitled: “Collaborative Community
Building and Community Design Plans”. I encourage you to consult
that document (available on the web at ‘ottawa2020.com’ or at your
local branch library). The Beechwood corridor, from the St.
Patrick bridge to the cemetery entrance, will be the first ‘main
street’ to undergo this process since Council adopted the OP
earlier this year. It makes good sense to review this corridor now
that both sides of Beechwood are within one municipality.
The intent of the process is clearly laid out in Section 2.5.7
–“It is intended that new development be directed to the
appropriate locations in the city based on the growth management
strategy of this Plan, while safeguarding and enhancing the
liveability of our communities. To accomplish this, the Plan
proposes an approach to collaborative community building that
emphasises shared values and mutual obligation and builds trust
and responsibility within the community.
The City will work with the community,
landowners, local businesses, school boards and other interested
parties on community design plans that will be the backbone of any
significant change in a community. They will provide the
opportunity for early involvement and discussion by all parties
about how future development can occur.
All communities are unique and have distinct opportunities and
challenges for managing change. Although a community design plan
can draw on earlier studies for the community, the main purpose of
the community design plan is to translate the principles and
policies of the Official Plan to the community scale. Therefore,
the community design plan will conform to the Official Plan. “
This project is now in its start-up phase. I encourage all
interested parties to get in touch with my office or with Donald
Morse, Planner, at 580-2424 # 13850.
The Ottawa Public Library (OPL) & The
Universal Program Review (UPR)
Many of you are concerned by articles in the mainstream press and
in the electronic media regarding options for reducing public
expenditures in our library system. It is my view that we should
be increasing resources directed to that sector which enhances and
supports our knowledge-based society.
It may be that there are ways in which that service can be
provided more effectively. I cannot seriously imagine, however,
that a net reduction in library resources would be good for our
society.
One area in which we ought to enhance the library budget is in the
proportion that we in Ottawa spend per capita on our
'acquisitions', i.e. how much we actually spend on books. Another
area that remains important is in the area of providing access to
whatever material exists. We do some things well - such as making
good use of "e-services", and, bringing books closer to those who
have difficulty getting to our current network of fixed branches.
I am, therefore concerned, when I hear of options that would close
down branches or the bookmobile service. However, after
amalgamation, it may not be unreasonable to contemplate an
improved layout of our network of fixed branches.
One should remember the context of the reports that are now coming
out in the media. I spoke about the UPR in my previous column in
this paper. It is the logical result of Council's determination to
re-examine the total list of service areas and then ask the
fundamental questions; "Do we want to provide that service at
all?” (and part of that question has to do with whether it is
justifiable that the service be supported by a regressive tax base
- the property tax), and if so; "Do we want to continue to
support it at the level at which we have done so in the past?"
and; "Are there more cost-effective ways of supporting the
service?" The driving force behind this is the current
projected ~ $ 120 M operating budget shortfall and ~ $ 50 M
capital budget shortfall. The nature of the review in itself is
healthy, in my view, and should not have required the 'shortfalls'
to kick-start the process. It just happens that it is very
difficult to have this sort of attention focused on the
fundamental questions in the absence of a crisis situation. We
should always bear in mind, even for libraries, that the public
expects and deserves that its money be well used and not spent
frivolously. [I recall, as a Library Board member in the early
90's, after one year of difficult budget squeezing during
which serious consideration was given to closing one branch and
eliminating the bookmobile, we discovered the following year that
we actually had what can best be described as a “tea-lady” at the
downtown branch! This service was entirely for the convenience of
staff at the branch, a branch in the downtown area surrounded by
all manner of such services. It really was incredible but does
illustrate the importance of remaining vigilant and not accepting
proposals in an unquestioning manner.]
I hope that this is useful. I encourage you to stay engaged in the
debate that is coming in the months ahead. You may wish to consult
the City’s web page and look for the “Program Review”. Do look for
the public meeting that will occur in this Ward in the coming
weeks. The date, time and place will be posted on your ward web
site “rideau-rockcliffe.com”.
Season's Greetings
I take this opportunity, on behalf of my family and myself, to
extend to all Best Wishes for Peace, Health and Prosperity in
2004.
Meilleurs vœux
Je profite de cette occasion pour vous souhaiter mes meilleurs
vœux pour une année heureuse et prospère.
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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