Ottawa's Byward Market

[Kitchissippi]

Originally Posted by Harley613

What the hell kind of crack are they on?!?!??!? Selfies and pictures taken from one side will have a Tattoo Parlor, a —, a Dive Bar and a Poutine Stand in the background. The other side will have a Dive Bar and the world's ugliest Parking Garage in the background.

But the tattoo parlour and — are in Awatto, so the city's instagram reputation is safe

[rocketphish]

Originally Posted by Kitchissippi

But the tattoo parlour and — are in Awatto, so the city's instagram reputation is safe

Hey, but maybe the sign will rotate?

[zzptichka]

Watson says the sign will stay and moved to another place once 150 is over.

And yes, it appears they want people to take OTTAWA selfies with the garage in the background

[OTSkyline]

Well, I'm happy if it's staying after the 150th, but sad it was placed there.

Even if they would've rotated-it 180degrees, you could've taken a selfie with the OTTAWA sign and have the stairs, beautiful Connaught building and the peace tower in the backdrop!

Don't people think of these things before doing?

[OTSkyline]

THIS
https://www.google.ca/maps/@45.427799,-7...bFSeLDU5Ar7xJuUGf56Qg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

INSTEAD OF THIS
https://www.google.ca/maps/@45.4279567,-...--TPZqxerOmXSbvuaJiYA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

[kevinbottawa]

The sign could work at City Hall. Of course people would say we're copying Toronto and we'd never hear the end of it, but the area in front of City Hall needs help. Another good spot could be in front of the Capital Info Centre on Metcalfe.



On a side note, the signage coming into Ottawa on the highways really —. It would be nice to have a sign like this, but smaller, welcoming you into the capital when you're driving in instead of the crummy NCC "Welcome to Canada's Capital Region" signs or the Ottawa, Population 900,000 signs.

[Kitchissippi]

They'll probably move it out in front of City Hall by the Rink of Dreams to make it Toronto-ish. I doubt the NCC would want it on their property, as they shy away from anything that says "Ottawa" lest it puts too much identity into the bland "Capital(e)"

[zzptichka]

Major's Hill Park would've been an ideal place for it.

[OTSkyline]

Agreed, it will most likely go at City Hall... yawn.

I would've preferred somewhere else, perhaps stay in the Byward Market if they would make that innovation area a permanent plaza instead of the parking loop.

Agreed on Major's Hill Park idea.

Lebreton could've been an idea but that's a ways from being done.

I know there's not much space but could've been a good "tourist" magnet for Sparks St.


I also wonder if ours lights us at night like the Toronto one (or I'm guessing that would be too "bright and exciting" for Ottawa). We probably cheaped out and got the boring version.

[rocketphish]

Picture perfect: New OTTAWA sign designed to attract, impress selfie crowd

Matthew Pearson, Ottawa Citizen
Published on: May 5, 2017 | Last Updated: May 5, 2017 5:42 PM EDT



If everything goes according to Guy Laflamme’s plan, millions of people will come to the nation’s capital this summer and take a selfie downtown in front of a giant sign that spells O-T-T-A-W-A, and is angled in such a way as to have the Peace Tower serve as the backdrop.

Head of the Ottawa 2017 Bureau, Laflamme and others were tickled this week when the six giant red and white letters arrived on York Street in the ByWard Market, where they are intended to be a key attraction once the so-called Inspiration Village — a temporary entertainment hub for Ottawa 2017 — opens May 20.

But if you visit, don’t stand there stoically like a Governor General foot guard. Crawl inside the O. Hang from the T. Balance on the W.

“We want people to interact with them and take funny, amusing photos,” said Laflamme, whose voice then took on a serious, town-that-fun-forget tone to add: “in a safe way, obviously.”

Each letter is 2.56 metres tall (five centimetres shy of the world’s tallest man) and weighs between 68 and 272 kilograms (T is the lightest, W the heaviest). The concrete bases the letters stand on each weigh an additional 450 kilograms.

Neither Laflamme nor Mayor Jim Watson, who visited the market Thursday to inspect the shiny new letters, appeared too concerned that the city-name-in-giant-letters-as-tourist-gimmick is nothing new.

Amsterdam, Budapest, Lyon and, of course, Toronto, have all done it before.

“This is definitely a trend around the world, so we felt this is something we also wanted to do,” said Laflamme, who got hooked on the idea two summers ago when he witnessed how popular the T-O-R-O-N-T-O sign installed at Nathan Phillips Square for the Pan-Am Games was. (The sign was to be dismantled but city officials decided to keep it up after they saw how insanely popular it was with social media users.)

The letters, made of three types of wood, were manufactured in the Ottawa region. “With all the discussions these days about Canadian lumber, it’s great it’s made with Canadian wood,” Laflamme said.

Ottawa 2017 spent $65,000 on the letters and received an in-kind donation from the local company responsible for the slick design.

Jasna Jennings, executive director of the ByWard Market BIA, watched social media fill with pictures of the Ottawa sign when it arrived this week. “Everyone is going nuts over the Ottawa letters,” she said.

Ever the impresario and civic booster, Laflamme was quick to say his favourite letters are the As: “Because we want Ottawa 2017 to be an A+ success.”

Once Inspiration Village closes in early September, Watson wants the letters to move to Ottawa City Hall.

— With files from Jon Willing

[email protected]
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http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news...designed-to-attract-impress-selfie-crowd

[rocketphish]

ByWard Market businesses baffled by parking loss due to Inspiration Village

Jon Willing, Ottawa Citizen
Published on: May 5, 2017 | Last Updated: May 5, 2017 5:46 PM EDT



Some business owners aren’t inspired by the city removing 92 parking spaces in the ByWard Market for an Ottawa 2017 event lasting the entire summer.

Phil Emond, who runs the Gordon Harrison Canadian Landscape Gallery on Sussex Drive, has written to the mayor, BIA and Ottawa 2017 to share his frustration with the removal of parking on York Street.

“We’ve paid premium rent to rent there in the ByWard Market because of the location, because of the parking,” Emond said.

Ottawa 2017 is creating an event space called “Inspiration Village” formed with more than 40 shipping containers. It will run between May 20 and Sept. 4, but the on-street parking was already placed out of commission on April 23.

Emond said Ottawa 2017 offered him a shipping container in which to show art. He declined the offer, since he’s not interested in showing artwork in a shipping container.

Clients of the gallery have been calling to voice concern about the lack of parking, Emond said.

Emond said he supports attracting new events to the ByWard Market, but he doesn’t agree with sacrificing parking spaces.

According to Ottawa 2017 executive director Guy Laflamme, consultations with businesses happened last July and there was “unanimous support and excitement.”

When the shipping containers started to arrive, some businesses spoke up.

“We’re working with them to try to find ways by which we can engage them in the program and make sure they will benefit,” Laflamme said.

Jeremy Rosenberg, owner of the York Street Spa, said his clients often talk about the difficulty finding parking in the ByWard Market.

“They were complaining about parking prior to this. Parking was difficult as it is,” Rosenberg said. “For a company like us, whose clientele make appointments, they count on these spots.”

Rosenberg said when the city used the same York Street parking area for Red Bull Crashed Ice events in March, his business lost $4,000 over the weekend compared to the same period a year ago.

He expects there will be more walk-in customers who might be drawn to Inspiration Village, but he worries about retaining loyal clients. Staff who work at the spa count on those commissions, Rosenberg said.

Jasna Jennings, executive director of the ByWard Market BIA, said businesses initially expressed concerns about closing off the parking, but the BIA decided to embrace the idea to attract tourists.

“The decision wasn’t taken lightly by any means by the (BIA) board,” Jennings said.

Jennings said the York Street parking is a “tiny percentage” of parking around the ByWard Market, with more than 3,000 spaces still available in the area.

Some business owners, such as Emond at the art gallery, worry that the city will use the parking area for more events, or go a step further and eliminate it.

Jennings said the BIA doesn’t support removing the parking for good.

The BIA is interested in the possibility of removing the island boulevard in the middle of the parking spaces to make the area more usable for events, she said.

The city has effectively eliminated the boulevard curb for Inspiration Village by dropping asphalt on the parking spaces, making the event more pedestrian friendly.

Mayor Jim Watson likes what Ottawa 2017 is doing on York Street.

“There’s been some people complaining because we’ve taken away some parking spots, but it’s actually going to be a really neat experiment in urban, not-for-profit development,” Watson said.

— With files from Matthew Pearson

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http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news...-parking-loss-due-to-inspiration-village

[Harley613]

I haven't seen it in person but this whole shipping container village looks nasty to me. The logo and the graphics for Canada 2017 look very 1990 to me and shipping containers covered in old looking ugly logos just look like so much junk to me.

[kwoldtimer]

I passed by this morning. Seems OK for a temporary installation.

[OTSkyline]

I passed by it.. the Ottawa sign is cool, the shipping containers and the rest is junk.

[Capital Shaun]

Originally Posted by Harley613

I haven't seen it in person but this whole shipping container village looks nasty to me. The logo and the graphics for Canada 2017 look very 1990 to me and shipping containers covered in old looking ugly logos just look like so much junk to me.

Looks like a paintball/airsoft field setup..

[TheGoods]

Originally Posted by Harley613

What the hell kind of crack are they on?!?!??!? Selfies and pictures taken from one side will have a Tattoo Parlor, a —, a Dive Bar and a Poutine Stand in the background. The other side will have a Dive Bar and the world's ugliest Parking Garage in the background.

Dumb asses, all they needed to do was have the sign at the other end of York.

[Kitchissippi]

Perpendicular to the street with a 9 ft backdrop mural/dynamic light wall would have been good, right at the corner of York and ByWard Market Square. You'd still be able to see the Parliament buildings in the distance, and allows for wider camera angles.

https://www.google.ca/maps/@45.4281375,-...Hbv81nXGqk-jcaQoG2fGQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

[Bandage]

Another Ottawa "world class" project

[J.OT13]

So far, this is the only "—" moments I've had with the 2017 celebrations. Not too shabby for Ottawa.

[rocketphish]

Former councillor Peter Hume is Ottawa's new city markets boss

Jon Willing, Ottawa Citizen
Published on: June 28, 2017 | Last Updated: June 28, 2017 1:45 PM EDT

Peter Hume, the former city councillor, planning chairman and now Ottawa’s new city markets boss, says people will need to be patient watching a transformation in the ByWard Market.

“Change is going to happen over time and it’s not going to be Dec. 31 when the (municipal services corporation) actually has carriage of the assets,” Hume said Wednesday in an interview.

“I’m sure you’ll see, over the next 18 months, exciting plans.”

A political selection team chose Hume to be the first chair of the recently created municipal services corporation that will run the ByWard Market and Parkdale Market.

In Hume, the city will have a seasoned municipal expert steering the markets. He was involved in several debates around the council table on the health of the city’s markets before he left politics in 2014. Hume is now a planning consultant in the private sector.

“I do enjoy the administration of setting these things up because it is quite interesting,” Hume said.

Hume noted his useful experience as one of the first directors of the Municipal Property Assessment Corp. when the assessment program was severed from the provincial government. He became chair of the MPAC board of directors.

When it comes to the city markets, the oversight will be transferred from City Hall to the arm’s-length municipal services corporation.

“I think I can appreciate the pitfalls and the benefits of the devolution,” Hume said.

Hume said the corporation’s mandate is set by council, which means the board will be focused on fresh food, tourism and making sure the ByWard Market is attractive to Ottawa residents.

“My role isn’t defining what my ideas of the market should be,” he said.

Just getting the new corporation off the ground through transition agreements and staffing is going to take some heavy lifting for a volunteer.

Joining Hume on the executive committee will be Dennis Jackson as vice-chair and Chantal Gingras as treasurer.

Council left the executive selection up to Mayor Jim Watson, Coun. Mathieu Fleury and Coun. Jeff Leiper.

“I’m a great admirer of the work that Peter has done,” Watson said. “He’s a good chair. He did a very good job of chairing planning. He understands the ByWard Market. He’s been in and around that file for a long time, going back to the old city of Ottawa and I think it’s great that he’s volunteered to be a volunteer to help shape the future of the ByWard Market.”

While the city could use some fresh eyes on the markets through the new governance structure, Watson said the other proposed board members would provide that new outlook.

Council will need to approve the rest of the board members next month.

Ian Fraser, Suneeta Millington and Lauren Kennedy would serve for two years, while Catherine Frechette, Greg Skotnicki and Kathleen Macmillan would serve for one year.

Watson said the proposed board members are “eminently qualified” to help get the arm’s-length corporation off the ground.

“They come with a clean slate looking at what the market could be to improve it as years go on and what investments are required to make sure it’s an even better destination for tourists and residents alike,” Watson said, adding that the best mix includes people who know how City Hall works.

Fleury has indicated there were 75 people who applied for the board positions.

Council wanted staggered terms for board members to keep the organization fresh, while maintaining continuity. After the first terms are up, all members’ terms will be three years. Board members can’t serve more than six consecutive years.

The markets organization is expected to be incorporated in July. When that happens, the board members’ terms will begin.

The new corporation will watch over the two city markets, but the clear focus will be on the development of the ByWard Market. The city has spent money on studies and dedicated staff time on ideas to rejuvenate the district.

First, the finance and economic development committee must approve the appointment of the non-executive board members during a meeting Tuesday before the recommendation goes to council on July 12.

[email protected]
twitter.com/JonathanWilling

http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news...er-hume-is-ottawas-new-city-markets-boss