Local architect pitches dream vision for ByWard Market with more focus on pedestrians
Jon Willing, Ottawa Citizen
Updated: October 30, 2018
A local architect is challenging people to think about how the ByWard Market can be more pedestrian friendly through a concept he put together on his own time, simply because he loves the place.
Toon Dreessen, president of Architects DCA, unveiled his vision Tuesday at the central ByWard Market building, emphasizing the need to reduce car traffic in one of the city’s main tourist attractions.
“When it’s dominated by parking, that’s the issue, and that’s where I’m really struggling,” Dreessen said.
He proposes closing some streets as a trial, such as ByWard Market Square and William Street and part of Clarence Street, and removing the surface parking. If parking garages fill up, maybe more people will take the Confederation Line LRT to the market, he said.
Using signs pointing to where people can leave their cars can combat motorists’ fear of losing parking, Dreessen said.
City hall has its own study happening on how to improve the market’s public realm.
Jeff Darwin, the executive director of Ottawa Markets, the municipal services corporation tasked with running the ByWard and Parkdale markets, said Dreessen’s work complements the city’s study.
Darwin said Dreessen’s vision matches his own ideas for the future of the market, especially when it comes to reconciling the conflict between pedestrians and cars.
“It’s just a bad mix. We’ve got too many cars, too many people in too small of an area,” Darwin said.
Darwin said motorists want to park in their favourite spots in front of their destinations, but they have to get over that way of thinking.
“They’re still welcome here. There’s tons of parking,” Darwin said. “The experience the world over has been, more people will come if they feel safe and they can get around on foot and they’ll spend more, and there will be just more people in general.”
The prospect of removing surface parking is still a major concern for retailers in the market, according to another business leader.
Jasna Jennings, executive director of the ByWard Market BIA, has seen plenty of studies on the market in her time with the organization, but she feels there’s momentum from the community and city hall to finally make something big happen.
Her one request to anyone making proposals is to be flexible and to understand that there could be limitations. Ottawa is different in the “tulips-to-leaves” season compared with the rest of the year, she said.
“We are a winter city, so rainbows and butterflies and comparing us to other places doesn’t necessarily work here,” Jennings said.
She said there’s a pedestrian-focused potential for York Street, but not necessarily when it’s bone-chilling cold in January and people might appreciate surface parking near their destinations.
Dreessen’s vision includes something the city has considered before, but lacks the funding: removing the main parking garage off Clarence Street and constructing an underground parking facility.
Rideau-Vanier Coun. Mathieu Fleury, who recently won re-election on a pledge to beautify the market, said the incoming city council needs to make a big investment in the district, in addition to modest improvements made during the current term.
“I expect continued capital investment over four years, somewhere in the range of $8 million to $10 million a year, to sustain those improvements,” Fleury said.
Fleury said he’ll ask the next council, which takes office Dec. 1, to make the market a priority for the four-year term.
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