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Originally Posted by biguc
That being said, I have my doubts that it will work out perfectly. I'm worried the one-two punch of the parkway and that windswept looking park will kill any momentum between Lebreton Flats and Zibi. Is there any plan to develop the field north of the Holocaust memorial? Has anyone thought that since the parkway only goes where the Confederation Line will go, that it doesn't need to be 7 lanes through Lebreton Flats? Finally, why is Booth street 5 lanes through Lebreton Flats when it's only two lanes on either end?
Choking off the parkway before Lebreton Flats is particularly appealing for the downstream benefits. Between the Gatineau tram coming over the Portage bridge and hopefully running down Wellington, and the Confederation Line bringing people in from the west, you'll have a lot of surplus road capacity at the Portage/Wellington/Parkway intersection that you can clean up, making that area a lot more pleasant.
Lebreton Flats seems like it'll be Ottawa's Yaletown. I just don't want it to end up with its own cruddy version of cruddy Pacific Blvd.
Anyway, cool project. I hope Ottawan's are generally excited about it too. I know Zibi is somewhat controversial, but I'd like to hear more from the SSP forumer's perspective.
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I completely agree with you. we should strive for an active street-front up Booth, all the way to Zibi. The War Museum offers none of that. AFAIK, the plan north of the Holocaust monument is another monument, which is quite disappointing. I understand the need to preserve views of Parliament, but that land could be lined with 3-4 storey buildings that would not effect those views.
Booth and the Parkway could stand to go on a road diet, even if it means narrowing existing lanes. Same with Wellington and Portage once the STO Tram is built.
The area has massive potential, but it could also end up a massive disappointment. With all the false starts over the years, we're cautiously optimistic.
As for Zibi, SSP forumers have mostly been very enthusiastic about it. The restoration of historic industrial buildings, true waterfront development, access to the falls, this is something Ottawa has needed for a long time.
There is a lot of controversy from the perspective of certain Indigenous groups, as many of them believe the site should return to nature and the falls should be released, but that's not necessarily realistic, mainly because this is mostly private land, as it has been for two centuries, not to mention the green power generation produced by the falls.
The developers have done a great deal of work to include Indigenous communities, consulting with them, providing work for Indigenous peoples and companies, including the Algonquin language in signage (along with French and English). From what I have observed, most Indigenous groups in the region approve of the development, with a minority continuing to oppose.
The development also aims to be a One Planet community, which aims for the highest standards in sustainability.
I hope to one day see the Federal Government build a museum dedicated to the Indigenous peoples on Victoria Island (NCC owned, part of the same cluster of islands as Zibi), LeBreton or even at Zibi itself. More needs to be done to honour the First Nations, past, present and future.