^ I like the idea of the performance venue outside in Gatineau in front of Parliament Hill... very cool. Also like the idea of a revamped modern bridge downtown.
Part 2 of my recommendations or things I would like to see in Ottawa:
1) How about a large water fountain? I would put it either in the Ottawa River, maybe close to the Chaudieres Island or at Dow's Lake.. Kind of like the one in Switzerland:
Or better yet how about a slew of fountains where we could have a fountain/musical show? Kind of like a mix between the fountain show at the Bellagio in Vegas and Mosaika in Ottawa.
OR if we can't do it directly IN water, we could have just a large fountain with a musical light show anywhere, like the dancing fountain shows in Barcelona. Think of something like this in the middle of Lebreton Flats with cobblestone circular "piazza" around the fountain (to allow space for people to see the shows) and a roundabout. There could be cool shops and condos around there... Imagine how this would be a tourist and resident draw and imagine owning a condo 12 or 25 floors up with a few on that square...
2) This next one is more of a great branding idea I thought of... You know how NYC has these "iconic" yellow cabs in the city wherever you go? How about branding and having our own version of these but red? All taxi's in the nation's capital could be red and white and feature a white swirl and maple leaf, therefore becoming a cool concept and making it different than anywhere else. You know you are in Ottawa or in CANADA when you see these. Like I said, imagine the below but with a white swirl and maple leaf on the sides (kind of like the Otrain or LRT designs)
3) I know it was already mentioned a couple of posts back but I wanted to say it again; making something out of Union Station. Obviously the top choice would be a transit station but since that's not happening for LRT and 99.99% not happening for regular rail then maybe we could have it as either a grand library or a regular events centre? I went inside once for the Ottawa Doors Open and couldn't belive this gem and how beautiful it was inside, looks very much like Grand Central Station in NYC.. People need to be able to access it more often, not just government functions.
4) If Pimisi is so culturally important for Native Americans and such why not create a sort of "Native American village" @ Pimisi/Lebreton? It would have huts, a cultural education centre, some sort of old general store, a restaurant erving their types of dishes, probably some sort of gift shop, maybe some canoes, totem poles and some demonstrations maybe on how they used to tan animal skin or carve the canoes and totem poles or something... It would be both educational, interesting for visitors AND it would make the native americans very happy I think... It would also be cool because imagine the juxtaposition of the "village" with the high rises of downtown in the background...
Enough for now... Any ideas/thoughts on the above??