c_speed3108
Apr 21, 2008, 12:22 PM
So it seems that not all Rocklanders seem to want the highway widened. Some seem to like the quieter place with larger lots (evidently Clarence-Rockland hasn't caved to developers and allow tiny little lots the way the City of Ottawa has :rolleyes: ). They just want better transit to get to work...imagine!
Rockland vs. Orléans: How two communities stack up
Tony Spears, The Ottawa Citizen
Published: Monday, April 21, 2008
Rockland doesn't make sense. It has box stores and parkland, housing developments and virgin creeks.
Residents embrace public transport, but spend over two hours a day driving back and forth from Ottawa or Gatineau.
So it is only fitting that Rocklanders are divided over the City of Ottawa's decision to nix the proposed widening of Highway 174, in spite of an $80-million offer from the federal and provincial governments. The city even refused a $5-million grant to study the proposal.
This came as a shock to Pamela Boisvert, who assumed the expansion was a done deal. She and husband Jacques are house-hunting in Rockland and in Orléans. This new wrinkle makes their choice that much harder.
Orléans is a shorter commute, but they feel it has become indistinguishable from Ottawa proper, the Big City.
Rockland is "a community unto itself," she said, in large part because of the swath of nature buffering Rockland from its suburban neighbour.
The road itself is fit for a car commercial. It follows the curves of the Ottawa River, pristine forest lining the south side. Trouble is, there's no traffic in car commercials. With no safe place to pass, accidents, snow and even obstinate, speed-limit-obeying drivers can hopelessly snarl traffic in either direction.
This is the crux of the matter: Rockland's strong sense of community comes from its relative isolation. Residents would love easier access to Ottawa, but how keen are they to host a migration of disaffected urbanites, eager to escape the chaotic city?
Sylvie Béland sees pros and cons in Rockland's expansion. On the one hand, more people in Rockland means better local amenities, which is important for someone who works eight hour shifts then drives her children to hockey games and gymnastics. Up at 6 a.m., most nights she isn't home before 9 p.m.
On the other hand, leaving the road as it is might preserve her peaceful, rural life a little while longer. Not that she gets many chances to appreciate it.
But Rockland is already thriving. "Booming," corrects Gilles Brunet, a neighbour of the Bélands. The evidence is everywhere.
First-time visitors to Rockland might be forgiven for grimacing when the natural landscape gives way to a hangar-sized Wal-Mart.
Further in, stone houses occupy twisting mazes of residential streets. Massive dirt pits promise more of the same -- as well as soaring property taxes.
Combined with outrageous gas prices, it's getting increasingly difficult for self-described middle-income families like the Bélands to continue to live in Rockland.
"We might as well pay a bit more to live in Orléans," she said, usually an unthinkable thought in Rockland.
With four cars in their garage, the gas savings alone would be astronomical. No wonder they bought a hybrid.
The Boisverts should take note.
Widening the road will almost certainly hasten the already torrid expansion of Rockland, which is now home to drive-through banks, Independent grocery stores and a cavernous Shopper's Drug Mart -- in short, many of the comforts of a big city.
Residents might benefit in the short-term, but, like the Bélands, they might find themselves priced out of their Eden.
But the closest alternative -- living in Orléans -- verges on blasphemous to many.
Orléans is widely derided by Rocklanders and even the Boisverts wouldn't choose to live there if it weren't for its proximity to Ottawa. Orléans backyards are tiny -- unacceptable to budding Wayne Gretzkys.
"We have a very active five-year-old," said Ms. Boivert. Just like his hockey hero, the little one wants a backyard skating rink.
Lauraine Goyette likes to describe Rockland as being "half country, half city." She has a creek in her backyard where her kids canoe in summer and ski in winter.
"It's my house and my cottage," echoed Roger Bédard, an airport worker who's lived in Rockland for 25 years. His lot measures 160 feet by 140. That kind of space just isn't available in Orléans.
The world is shrinking. Public transportation gets Ms. Boivert into town in a little over an hour, even without extra lanes. Improving service could help reduce cars on the highway.
"It's really designed for us government workers," she said, explaining that service is only available during peak hours.
Two years ago, she never would have wanted to live so far from Ottawa. Now that Rockland's thriving -- but not too much -- she hopes to combine the advantages of working in the city, with Rockland's "calmer way of life."
She'll meet her future down on Highway 174.
© The Ottawa Citizen 2008
Rockland vs. Orléans: How two communities stack up
Tony Spears, The Ottawa Citizen
Published: Monday, April 21, 2008
Rockland doesn't make sense. It has box stores and parkland, housing developments and virgin creeks.
Residents embrace public transport, but spend over two hours a day driving back and forth from Ottawa or Gatineau.
So it is only fitting that Rocklanders are divided over the City of Ottawa's decision to nix the proposed widening of Highway 174, in spite of an $80-million offer from the federal and provincial governments. The city even refused a $5-million grant to study the proposal.
This came as a shock to Pamela Boisvert, who assumed the expansion was a done deal. She and husband Jacques are house-hunting in Rockland and in Orléans. This new wrinkle makes their choice that much harder.
Orléans is a shorter commute, but they feel it has become indistinguishable from Ottawa proper, the Big City.
Rockland is "a community unto itself," she said, in large part because of the swath of nature buffering Rockland from its suburban neighbour.
The road itself is fit for a car commercial. It follows the curves of the Ottawa River, pristine forest lining the south side. Trouble is, there's no traffic in car commercials. With no safe place to pass, accidents, snow and even obstinate, speed-limit-obeying drivers can hopelessly snarl traffic in either direction.
This is the crux of the matter: Rockland's strong sense of community comes from its relative isolation. Residents would love easier access to Ottawa, but how keen are they to host a migration of disaffected urbanites, eager to escape the chaotic city?
Sylvie Béland sees pros and cons in Rockland's expansion. On the one hand, more people in Rockland means better local amenities, which is important for someone who works eight hour shifts then drives her children to hockey games and gymnastics. Up at 6 a.m., most nights she isn't home before 9 p.m.
On the other hand, leaving the road as it is might preserve her peaceful, rural life a little while longer. Not that she gets many chances to appreciate it.
But Rockland is already thriving. "Booming," corrects Gilles Brunet, a neighbour of the Bélands. The evidence is everywhere.
First-time visitors to Rockland might be forgiven for grimacing when the natural landscape gives way to a hangar-sized Wal-Mart.
Further in, stone houses occupy twisting mazes of residential streets. Massive dirt pits promise more of the same -- as well as soaring property taxes.
Combined with outrageous gas prices, it's getting increasingly difficult for self-described middle-income families like the Bélands to continue to live in Rockland.
"We might as well pay a bit more to live in Orléans," she said, usually an unthinkable thought in Rockland.
With four cars in their garage, the gas savings alone would be astronomical. No wonder they bought a hybrid.
The Boisverts should take note.
Widening the road will almost certainly hasten the already torrid expansion of Rockland, which is now home to drive-through banks, Independent grocery stores and a cavernous Shopper's Drug Mart -- in short, many of the comforts of a big city.
Residents might benefit in the short-term, but, like the Bélands, they might find themselves priced out of their Eden.
But the closest alternative -- living in Orléans -- verges on blasphemous to many.
Orléans is widely derided by Rocklanders and even the Boisverts wouldn't choose to live there if it weren't for its proximity to Ottawa. Orléans backyards are tiny -- unacceptable to budding Wayne Gretzkys.
"We have a very active five-year-old," said Ms. Boivert. Just like his hockey hero, the little one wants a backyard skating rink.
Lauraine Goyette likes to describe Rockland as being "half country, half city." She has a creek in her backyard where her kids canoe in summer and ski in winter.
"It's my house and my cottage," echoed Roger Bédard, an airport worker who's lived in Rockland for 25 years. His lot measures 160 feet by 140. That kind of space just isn't available in Orléans.
The world is shrinking. Public transportation gets Ms. Boivert into town in a little over an hour, even without extra lanes. Improving service could help reduce cars on the highway.
"It's really designed for us government workers," she said, explaining that service is only available during peak hours.
Two years ago, she never would have wanted to live so far from Ottawa. Now that Rockland's thriving -- but not too much -- she hopes to combine the advantages of working in the city, with Rockland's "calmer way of life."
She'll meet her future down on Highway 174.
© The Ottawa Citizen 2008