NCC - General Updates

[skyscraperaccount]

If the NCC is looking to add bike lanes adjacent to the current MUP, I hope to hell they or the city have the budget to maintain it in the winter for biking.

[J.OT13]

The NCC puts up the YouTube Link weeks in advance for their Board Meeting. It was up in late March for April 16, but has since been taken down. On the website, it says the next one is in June.

https://ncc-ccn.gc.ca/board-of-directors

Really hope that's not the case. I look forward to these every few months. It's my Christmas.

[J.OT13]

Board Meeting agenda is up. No LeBreton...

Highigths:

Gatineau Park Ecosystem Conservation Plan;
Confederation Heights Disposal of Seven Confederation Heights Properties;
Eastern Bridge Planning and Design Principles;
Centre Block Rehabilitation Project - 100% Landscape Developed Design;
The National Capital Core Area Plan Volume II;
Name recommendation for Kruger park: “Confluence Park /Parc de la Confluence”.

https://medias.ncc-ccn.ca/ncc/documents/bod-ju2026-public-agenda.pdf

[J.OT13]

NCC looking for feedback on potential redevelopment of the "Southern Corridor".



http://ncc-ccn.gc.ca/business/southern-corridor

[kwoldtimer]

What is the story behind such a large orphaned site?

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by kwoldtimer

What is the story behind such a large orphaned site?

Even GeoOttawa doesn't really offer any clues. I'd assumed it was a planned rail yard that was never built (unrelated to the O-Train rail yard that ended up at Moodie).

[Kitchissippi]

Originally Posted by kwoldtimer

What is the story behind such a large orphaned site?

These were formerly corridors reserved for parkways. The (now Kichi Zibi) river parkway was supposed to continue down along Woodroffe (thus the wide allowance there as well) and then there was supposed to be a ring parkway that would have ran along this corridor, crossed the river and connected to the Airport parkway. It would have continued on eastward and somehow end up at Greens Creek where the GEC parkway now terminates. These are remnants of the Greber Plan.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by Kitchissippi

These were formerly corridors reserved for parkways. The (now Kichi Zibi) river parkway was supposed to continue down along Woodroffe (thus the wide allowance there as well) and then there was supposed to be a ring parkway that would have ran along this corridor, crossed the river and connected to the Airport parkway. It would have continued on eastward and somehow end up at Greens Creek where the GEC parkway now terminates. These are remnants of the Greber Plan.

If only someone was actively looking to build a ring road.

[MarkR]

Proposed Ottawa Highway System, 1948

[BGO]

Originally Posted by MarkR

Proposed Ottawa Highway System, 1948

What a disaster it d have been!

[Richard Eade]

How so? How much is it really different from what came about?

• We have the 417/OR174 – which pretty much aligns with the one planned west-east highway. Their south-east branch of the 417 cuts through the Train Yards, while the one built takes a less direct route, dumping extra traffic on the road section just east of the Rideau River. On the western end, the 416 goes south, parallel to the proposed Richmond Road-turned-highway.
• The west-end bridge would already be there, instead of being a political football (that keeps getting punted into the future).
• There would be a purpose-built highway from Confederation Heights across Lemieux Island that would remove a lot of traffic from crossing the Ottawa River closer to downtown – including off-loading traffic from Bronson Avenue – and it makes better connections to highways in Gatineau.
• There would already be an east-end crossing of the Ottawa River – albeit, a bit further east than the new plan.

If it had been implemented, there would be better north-south movement, but still only one major west-east highway.

• I do prefer having the Portage Bridge (which is not in that old plan) and an expanded Boulevard Maisonneuve rather than enlarging the Chaudière Bridge and destroying Rue Eddy.
• And I prefer having the large Macdonald-Cartier Bridge, as opposed to enlarging the Alexandra Bridge – although the M-C Bridge should have been properly connected to the Vanier Parkway.

Making sure that there are enough large conduits to move traffic quickly and easily is a requirement for a city. Putting those major roadways where they are useful yet minimizing interference of city life is what planning should be all about.

[rocketphish]

Pathway behind Parliament Hill officially reopens after four years of closures
The NCC says the renewal project will ensure the space will withstand the impacts of climate change.

By Natasha Baldin, Ottawa Citizen
Published Jul 21, 2026 | Last updated 21 hours ago

After four years of restoration-related closures, the Ottawa River pathway behind Parliament Hill has officially reopened to the public.

The pathway originally closed in 2022 as the National Capital Commission and its federal partners completed major rehabilitation work along the pathway to help the public space withstand the impacts of climate change.

This included stabilizing the escarpment behind the Supreme Court of Canada and removing the tunnel section of the pathway, the NCC said in a news release.

“These investments were essential to protecting public safety, strengthening climate resilience and ensuring long-term access to one of the capital’s most valued active transportation routes,” the release stated.

The pathway connects to more than 200 kilometres of other paths across the Ottawa-Gatineau, Gatineau Park and Greenbelt regions. It also provides direct access to the East Wharf dock, which opened for swimming for the first time this summer.

Walkers, runners and cyclists alike will also be able to enjoy the newly constructed 2SLGBTQIA+ national monument nearby, which “commemorates the historic discrimination experienced by 2SLGBTQI+ people in Canada, including during the LGBT Purge,” the NCC said.

https://ottawacitizen.com/news/pathway-parliament-hill-officially-reopens-ncc

[J.OT13]

Open NCC this weekend: https://ncc-ccn.gc.ca/events/open-ncc

[J.OT13]

Next Board Meeting Tuesday, October 6.

https://ncc-ccn.gc.ca/events/virtual-board-of-directors-meeting-october-2026

[rocketphish]

Nearly 900K people visited NCC waterfront attractions this summer

By William Eltherington, CTV News
Published: September 22, 2026 at 5:39p.m. EDT

Nearly 900,000 people cooled off or took a trip to waterfront attractions owned by the National Capital Commission (NCC) this summer.

Between May 8 and Sept. 20, the NCC says its waterfront docks, Westboro Beach and Kiweki Point attracted 889,800 visitors.

“The NCC summer initiatives have continued to generate strong interest this year and have expanded with the opening of our new docks at the East Wharf in June and at the Canadian Museum of History in July,” an NCC spokesperson said in an email.

The NCC says there were 170,500 visits to the popular River House in Ottawa’s east end, including 98,300 who took a plunge from the swim deck when it opened on June 6.

The new East Warf near Major’s Hill Park opened on June 17 and saw 37,100 visits in its first season. The new swimming spot near the Canadian Museum of History got 50,800 visits after it opened on July 9.

The swimming dock at Dow’s Lake saw 85,500 visitors.

Kiweki Point in Major’s Hill Park overlooking the Ottawa River saw 290,600 visits, while Westboro Beach, which reopened last year following a multi-million-dollar development project, saw 255,500 visits.

More than one million people visited NCC waterfront attractions last year.

The NCC also completed work on a popular pathway along the Ottawa River behind Parliament Hill that was closed since 2022 to conduct major rehabilitation work in the area.

Work on the Lady Grey Wall rehabilitation project along the path is expected to continue into next year.

With files from CTV News Ottawa’s Ted Raymond

https://www.ctvnews.ca/ottawa/article/ne...-ncc-waterfront-attractions-this-summer/

[urbanforest]

I’m surprised that Westboro beach got nearly as many visitors as Kìwekì point, considering how it’s always been very busy with a steady flow of people coming and going anytime I’ve visited (plus, the sardine-like crowds for all the fireworks shows). I also wonder how reliable the data is for Westboro given the open nature of it (it’s a lot easier to count people moving through small egress points vs a wide open space.)

Interesting stats nonetheless.

[Uhuniau]

Originally Posted by urbanforest

I’m surprised that Westboro beach got nearly as many visitors as Kìwekì point, considering how it’s always been very busy with a steady flow of people coming and going anytime I’ve visited (plus, the sardine-like crowds for all the fireworks shows). I also wonder how reliable the data is for Westboro given the open nature of it (it’s a lot easier to count people moving through small egress points vs a wide open space.)

Interesting stats nonetheless.

My first question was methodological, too

Per day, it works out to:

River House 1263
" " swimmers 728
East Wharf 275
Westboro 1893
Hull Docks 376
Kiweki 2153

Westboro is eleventy times busier, to the naked eye, than River House.

[SidetrackedSue]

It is possible that all the restaurant patrons are part of the count for Westboro. With two food venues, that adds numbers.

[Uhuniau]

Originally Posted by SidetrackedSue

It is possible that all the restaurant patrons are part of the count for Westboro. With two food venues, that adds numbers.

Even so, the Westboro:River House ratio doesn't smell right.

[SL123]

NCC confirmed Saunoa is coming to the River House.
https://x.com/NCC_CCN/status/2102839231693430854?s=57

https://www.saunoa.ca/