Ideas/Visions for Ottawa, Canada's Capital

[OTSkyline]

I think we should have this thread where we can all discuss ideas of things we should have/would like to see in Ottawa. Kind of like the "architecture for Ottawa" thread where we discuss buildings we would like to see here. For example, stores we should have, an idea for a new museum, tourist attractions etc...

I thought about this especially after reading the NCC's article about the "pop-up bistro/beach" that we had next to the canal last summer which was a hit. They were asking or looking for more ideas for this upcoming summer.

Also with people always talking about "Capital Cities" and how Ottawa lacks and is far behind these other capitals... What could be done here to make it more "grandiose" or "capital-ish"?

I'll be doing some research and posting my ideas later.

[lrt's friend]

Without giving it a lot of thought, I would like to see the following:

1. Re-instate Britannia and Rockcliffe Parks back to their former glory. For example, rebuild the Britannia pier.
2. Get moving on the Portrait Gallery or some other public museum across from Parliament Hill
3. Get moving on Lebreton Flats, Bayview and Chaudiere. Make sure that they are all connected with bike trails and are all walkable communities. Particularly at Chaudiere, open the views of the falls, have trendy shops and restaurants and restore and repurpose historic structures.
4. Make sure that the former Rockcliffe airbase lands are developed as a dense and walkable community with good transit connections.
5. Allow for extension of the O-Train into downtown when it is finally electrified.

6. Convert the old Union Station into some 'real' public use.
7. Build a downtown circulator streetcar that connects offices and tourist attractions on both sides of the river.

8. Build a streetcar on Rideau and Montreal Road at least as far as the new Rockcliffe airport development as a tool to encourage continued redevelopment along that corridor.

[citydwlr]

I agree with most, if not all, of lrt's Friend's suggestions.

Also, like @Kevinbottawa has mentioned in the past, I'd like to see a more vibrant waterfront in Ottawa. I've seen some great examples in Europe that always impress. Something like the following could go either along the canal, or the Ottawa River:

Rhine River in Mainz, Germany


Zurichsee in Zurich, Switzerland


Even doing something like the "Plus Pool" concept (in the middle of the Hudson River in New York) that was posted on Kickstarter a while ago would be interesting on our own Ottawa River, especially since it helps to clean the river water as well:

[JM1]

I think the city could be greatly improved by the following:
1. An urban gondola system: One route would go from LeBreton station to Chaudiere Island, to Place du Portage, then up Montcalm to connect to Rapidbus. One route would go from Rideau Centre, over Byward Market, and then up Allumetieres to the Rapidbus. And a third route would run either from St. Laurent Mall/Confederation Line, up St. Laurent (with stops at Coventry, Donald, MacArthur, Montreal, Hemlock) and then on across Kettle Island to join up with the Rapidbus at Montee Paiement.

Urban gondola systems can carry huge amounts of passengers and are relatively inexpensive (they compare favourably to LRT's on capacity, but are much cheaper). They would also offer a scenic attraction for tourists, but would be built primarily for commuters. One of the huge benefits in Ottawa is that they are well suited to our geography which is split up by rivers. For surface or sub-surface transit, rivers introduce huge obstacles that must be tunneled or bridged. Not so with urban gondolas.


2. A Montreal Road LRT. It would be tunnelled/cut and cover from Rideau to St. Laurent and then above ground along Montreal Road, with a meander through Rockcliffe airbase redevelopment and then on to Montreal/174 intersection where it would connect with the Confederation line.

3. An alternative to the Montreal Road LRT could be another urban gondola line. This one could run from Rideau Centre either over the market to St. Patrick or over Rideau Street. It could stop either at Montreal/Vanier or at Beechwood Village before going over Beechwood Cemetery to stop at St. Laurent. From there, it could go up to the airbase redevelopment before continuing over Montreal Road to the 174/Confederation interachange.

4. We should make better use of the waterscape. This means a proper redevelopment of Chaudiere Island (complete with urban gondola stop) to include restaurants/shops/cafes/hotels/apartments. It also means a proper redevelopment of the Gatineau waterfront next to the Museum of Civilization. A nice boardwalk with a public square/concert area and more shops and restaurants (this would be only a short walk across a pedestrian bridge from the urban gondola station at Chaudiere).

[1overcosc]

I like the idea of extending the O-Train downtown however I'd like it to have a different route through downtown to provide more coverage; sort of like how Montreal's metro system has two parallel downtown lines. Perhaps rerouting it so instead of going to Bayview it turns east onto Somerset and continues to the canal, then up the QED to Confederation Square where there can be an underground pedestrian connection to Rideau Station.

It would mean losing the connection at Bayview, though--perhaps that could be fixed with a covered moving sidewalk between Bayview & a new station on Somerset (it's about 350m, so about a 2 minute trip with a moving sidewalk).

[Aylmer]

Well, in a flurry of procrastination, I drew up a regional O-Train network for Ottawa. You know, there are some really nice little towns around Ottawa (Alexandria, Renfrew, Almont, Perth...) as well as beautiful natural sites (Wakefield, Norway Bay, Shawville bike paths...) and we would be so much richer as a city if we connected them in a way that neither paves them over or turns them into bland automobile suburbs.

Most of the tracks or railbeds already exist, so all we need are some DMUs, some dollars and a lot of imagination and will



Dashed branches run >45h, solid lines 20-45 minutes and bold lines <20 minute frequencies throughout the day.

I separated the lines into five groups: [N]orth, [S]outh, [E]ast, [W]est and [A]irport (couldn't think of anything better for that last one). The idea is to have the system work much like the S-Bahn or RER system, providing limited urban service along trunk lines as well as suburban and all-day regional service.

I had most of the lines end at Hurdman (pending an extension under Nicholas to Union ) with a station layout made easy for transferring to LRT: people arriving would only have to cross the platform to westbound LRT and the same goes for eastbound LRT and outbound O-Trains. Chaudière station would turn east at the PoW bridge and sink into a station under the old EB Eddy building across from Terraces de la Chaudière with transfers to surface LRT.

I also included some fantasy LRT lines (thick grey lines) like a Bank St. Subway and extensions from Bayshore to the Queensway-Carleton Hospital and Baseline to the rail tracks. There's also Carling/Canal, Baseline/Alta-Vista, Gatineau, Plateau, Hull and Aylmer surface LRT lines, just for the heck of it. I just realised that I forgot the Montreal Rd. LRT though

And yes, some of the names are just invented placeholders, pending more procrastination.

[Urbanarchit]

Originally Posted by 1overcosc

I like the idea of extending the O-Train downtown however I'd like it to have a different route through downtown to provide more coverage; sort of like how Montreal's metro system has two parallel downtown lines. Perhaps rerouting it so instead of going to Bayview it turns east onto Somerset and continues to the canal, then up the QED to Confederation Square where there can be an underground pedestrian connection to Rideau Station.

It would mean losing the connection at Bayview, though--perhaps that could be fixed with a covered moving sidewalk between Bayview & a new station on Somerset (it's about 350m, so about a 2 minute trip with a moving sidewalk).

I don't know, that would be quite weird (I don't really care for the O-train, to begin with). I'd rather see it cross the river to Hull, and then some other line go through Kitchissippi Ward through Dalhousie/Somerset Ward to Sandy Hill/ Lowertown along Rideau to Vanier.

Then another North-South line along Bank or something.

[Buggys]

I like the rail ideas.

We should also have more bridges connecting Ottawa and Gatineau. Given the width of the Ottawa river and amount of development in the 2 cities, there should be one in the East (going North from Airport Parkway) and one in the West (going North from Hwy 416 via Britannia).

[1overcosc]

Originally Posted by Aylmer

Well, in a flurry of procrastination, I drew up a regional O-Train network for Ottawa. You know, there are some really nice little towns around Ottawa (Alexandria, Renfrew, Almont, Perth...) as well as beautiful natural sites (Wakefield, Norway Bay, Shawville bike paths...) and we would be so much richer as a city if we connected them in a way that neither paves them over or turns them into bland automobile suburbs.

Most of the tracks or railbeds already exist, so all we need are some DMUs, some dollars and a lot of imagination and will



Dashed branches run >45h, solid lines 20-45 minutes and bold lines <20 minute frequencies throughout the day.

I separated the lines into five groups: [N]orth, [S]outh, [E]ast, [W]est and [A]irport (couldn't think of anything better for that last one). The idea is to have the system work much like the S-Bahn or RER system, providing limited urban service along trunk lines as well as suburban and all-day regional service.

I had most of the lines end at Hurdman (pending an extension under Nicholas to Union ) with a station layout made easy for transferring to LRT: people arriving would only have to cross the platform to westbound LRT and the same goes for eastbound LRT and outbound O-Trains. Chaudière station would turn east at the PoW bridge and sink into a station under the old EB Eddy building across from Terraces de la Chaudière with transfers to surface LRT.

I also included some fantasy LRT lines (thick grey lines) like a Bank St. Subway and extensions from Bayshore to the Queensway-Carleton Hospital and Baseline to the rail tracks. There's also Carling/Canal, Baseline/Alta-Vista, Gatineau, Plateau, Hull and Aylmer surface LRT lines, just for the heck of it. I just realised that I forgot the Montreal Rd. LRT though

And yes, some of the names are just invented placeholders, pending more procrastination.

Beautiful commuter rail network. I have three proposed additions:
-An E3 dashed branch that would extend from Avalon to Rockland
-An E4 dashed branch, splitting off from E2 at Walkley East, that follows old ONY route to Edwards, Russell, Embrun, Finch, Newington, Cornwall
-Create an A2 branch that branches off A at Airport, and follows old CPR route to Greely, Osgoode, Kemptville

[citydwlr]

Great Rail ideas! I'm definitely with Defishel on the Bank Street line as well.

I'd also like to see a double-decker commuter rail for municipalities outside of the Ottawa region. I guess it would be akin to the Go Train in Toronto.

[Kitchissippi]

With regards to Ottawa as a capital, I would start with the street scape opposite Parliament Hill. While Parliament Hill looks impressive looking from the city side, the city looks absolutely horrible from Parliament Hill. You can see blank faces of buildings (the ugliest being the building at the northeast corner of Sparks and O'Connor) and the bland skyline is made worse by the uncoordinated scales of the buildings. Much like a garden that is in dire need of a good pruning, some courageous decisions would have to be made as to what buildings should be kept and what should be removed to make room for new ones that are more appropriate and pleasing to the eye.

I would let the old American Embassy go — sure it is a nice old building but its Imperial style just does not fit in. Maybe it could be taken apart and moved somewhere else In its place, I would put a building that has the same mass and presence as the Langevin Block (not a copy but a contemporary version, much like the way the East and West Blocks are not mirror images). This would complete the "urban room" around the Parliament Hill lawn. I would give this building a public function, maybe a place where people actually learn about democracy (funny that aside from the guided tours of Parliament, there really is no place in the capital that discusses Canadian politics in depth), or at least be a place where the federal government engages the public through press releases or committee hearings. London's Portcullis House is an example of how a modern building can fit along with old gothic buildings, and function as such.

[Aylmer]

Originally Posted by 1overcosc

Beautiful commuter rail network. I have three proposed additions:
-An E3 dashed branch that would extend from Avalon to Rockland
-An E4 dashed branch, splitting off from E2 at Walkley East, that follows old ONY route to Edwards, Russell, Embrun, Finch, Newington, Cornwall
-Create an A2 branch that branches off A at Airport, and follows old CPR route to Greely, Osgoode, Kemptville

Here, I added your lines, plus some a new, underground Union Station as well as connections to some existing and imagined intercity VIA lines (to Toronto, Montreal, Sudbury and Montreal via Gatineau).

[JM1]

I agree, let the old US Embassy go.
It does not fit in.
We need something new there.
A national portrait Gallery does not have to begin with the old US Embassy.
A National portrait Gallery should be in Ottawa, not Calgary

Originally Posted by Kitchissippi

With regards to Ottawa as a capital, I would start with the street scape opposite Parliament Hill. While Parliament Hill looks impressive looking from the city side, the city looks absolutely horrible from Parliament Hill. You can see blank faces of buildings (the ugliest being the building at the northeast corner of Sparks and O'Connor) and the bland skyline is made worse by the uncoordinated scales of the buildings. Much like a garden that is in dire need of a good pruning, some courageous decisions would have to be made as to what buildings should be kept and what should be removed to make rook for new ones that are more appropriate and pleasing to the eye.

I would let the old American Embassy go — sure it is a nice old building but its Imperial style just does not fit in. Maybe it could be taken apart and moved somewhere else In its place, I would put a building that has the same mass and presence as the Langevin Block (not a copy but a contemporary version, much like the way the East and West Blocks are not mirror images). This would complete the "urban room" around the Parliament Hill lawn. I would give this building a public function, maybe a place where people actually learn about democracy (funny that aside from the guided tours of Parliament, there really is no place in the capital that discusses Canadian politics in depth), or at least be a place where the federal government engages the public through press releases or committee hearings. London's Portcullis House is an example of how a modern building can fit along with old gothic buildings, and function as such.

[Urbanarchit]

Originally Posted by Kitchissippi

With regards to Ottawa as a capital, I would start with the street scape opposite Parliament Hill. While Parliament Hill looks impressive looking from the city side, the city looks absolutely horrible from Parliament Hill. You can see blank faces of buildings (the ugliest being the building at the northeast corner of Sparks and O'Connor) and the bland skyline is made worse by the uncoordinated scales of the buildings. Much like a garden that is in dire need of a good pruning, some courageous decisions would have to be made as to what buildings should be kept and what should be removed to make room for new ones that are more appropriate and pleasing to the eye.

I would let the old American Embassy go — sure it is a nice old building but its Imperial style just does not fit in. Maybe it could be taken apart and moved somewhere else In its place, I would put a building that has the same mass and presence as the Langevin Block (not a copy but a contemporary version, much like the way the East and West Blocks are not mirror images). This would complete the "urban room" around the Parliament Hill lawn. I would give this building a public function, maybe a place where people actually learn about democracy (funny that aside from the guided tours of Parliament, there really is no place in the capital that discusses Canadian politics in depth), or at least be a place where the federal government engages the public through press releases or committee hearings. London's Portcullis House is an example of how a modern building can fit along with old Gothic buildings, and function as such.

I don't understand what you mean by "doesn't fit in". I don't think there is any consistent architectural style along Wellington Street. However, I believe that architectural diversity is what keeps an area interesting and refreshing. Every building along that strip is something new to look at, each with their own stories. I would rather keep that building where it is (or if possible, shift it over to the side).

The real problem is that there are far too many gaps along that stretch that should be filled in. There are gaps on either side of the former American Embassy, one is empty space the other is a public plaza for viewing Parliament Hill, because the lawn is clearly insufficient.

With the tourist kiosk gone from that ugly building fronting the plaza, I would rather see something better take over that land. The heritage façade could be preserved again, but a new building replacing the kiosk and the plaza what better integrates the façade would be ideal.

On the other side, something else could be constructed to fill in that eyesore. I kind of like (not 100%) Cole + Associates Inc.'s idea for the Portrait Gallery that never was. A public outdoor space could be constructed on top to give elevated views of Parliament Hill, even. And I like the idea about learning about our government and such. This addition would be similar in style to the National Archives and the addition to the Bank of Montreal building on O'Connor and Wellington.




I'm weary though of trying to build an "old-style" building that would be consistent stylistically with what's there. I don't really trust Historicism much.

[NOWINYOW]

Originally Posted by lrt's friend

Without giving it a lot of thought, I would like to see the following:

1. Re-instate Britannia and Rockcliffe Parks back to their former glory. For example, rebuild the Britannia pier.
2. Get moving on the Portrait Gallery or some other public museum across from Parliament Hill
3. Get moving on Lebreton Flats, Bayview and Chaudiere. Make sure that they are all connected with bike trails and are all walkable communities. Particularly at Chaudiere, open the views of the falls, have trendy shops and restaurants and restore and repurpose historic structures.
4. Make sure that the former Rockcliffe airbase lands are developed as a dense and walkable community with good transit connections.
5. Allow for extension of the O-Train into downtown when it is finally electrified.

6. Convert the old Union Station into some 'real' public use.
7. Build a downtown circulator streetcar that connects offices and tourist attractions on both sides of the river.

8. Build a streetcar on Rideau and Montreal Road at least as far as the new Rockcliffe airport development as a tool to encourage continued redevelopment along that corridor.

I'm all in favour of points 2, 6 &7!!

However, I'd add scrapping the O-Train altogether, adding a LRT tunnel from the current confederation line south from queen/Lyon under Bank street through to Johnston Road. A spur line off at Ossington west under Carleton U, coming up to grade then south to the airport.

I would also add making the canal a more 'business friendly' zone. Shopping in Amsterdam along the canals is quite nice, plenty of pedestrian and bicycle traffic.

[Urbanarchit]

Originally Posted by NOWINYOW

I'm all in favour of points 2, 6 &7!!

However, I'd add scrapping the O-Train altogether, adding a LRT tunnel from the current confederation line south from queen/Lyon under Bank street through to Johnston Road. A spur line off at Ossington west under Carleton U, coming up to grade then south to the airport.

I would also add making the canal a more 'business friendly' zone. Shopping in Amsterdam along the canals is quite nice, plenty of pedestrian and bicycle traffic.

I like the last suggestion. If we got rid of QED and CBD along the canal, we could put shops and such there, although I'm a bit skeptical about it being possible for Ottawa to develop waterfront property, especially the canal and river. i'd rather leave them as is, but develop near enough?

[Fatty McButterpants]

Replace the Alexandra Bridge with a slick new suspension bridge. It's the perfect location for a nice classy landmark bridge. Not necessarily a modern or futuristic bridge. Maybe something distinguished that works well with Parliament Hill. Do I have to think of everything?!?

There are many who would argue the Alexandra Bridge is a historical gem. A heritage structure. I say it's ugly and unbefitting for a national capital city. It's a depressing looking structure that conjures up images of harder times. If that's the look they're going for then they've got it bang on. To me it looks run down and quite frankly driving to Quebec on it scares the hell out of me. Put it in a museum and replace it with something to behold.


... and yes, I know this would be very very very very expensive. So yeah, let's just forget it I guess.

[Aylmer]

Really? I find the Alexandra to be the only bridge of any esthetic value in Ottawa! I would replace the Macdonald-Cartier without a second thought, though.

My capital projects would be about enhancing the pedestrian experience throughout Ottawa, tying together walkable areas with walkable corridors, transit and parks.

- A sidewalk expansion program: the gradual removal and shrinking of car lanes to make room for wide sidewalks with trees, benches, patios and other amenities along main streets and throughout Downtown. Some important streets to put on diets would be Bronson, Bank (esp. in the Glebe), King Edward, Rideau and generally all streets Downtown.

- A Downtown laneway program: converting the service lanes throughout Downtown into a network of pedestrian spaces, much like the ones in the Market. It would also provide much-needed paths through the long E-W blocks downtown.

- Public Space program: Ottawa lacks public spaces in the centre of Downtown. So, a new program would encourage the creation of quality public squares on parking lots and around new buildings Downtown. Roof space could equally serve as public space: there could be parks, urban agriculture, playgrounds and restaurant patios on rooftops with connections between them.

- Downtown residential program: Build A LOT of housing downtown with quotas for affordability and families and provide incentives for everyday shops (grocery, hardware, etc.), schools and services to be built downtown. That way, we can have a downtown core which doesn't die at 6pm and which isn't just populated with people who can afford a multimillion-dollar condo on Sparks. In addition to new residential towers, there could be incentives to convert underused office space into residences (I know it isn't as simple as that, but I'm certain that it could be done).

- Completely rework certain intersections with an emphasis on pedestrians: Sussex x Rideau, Wellington x Portage, Nicholas x Mackenzie King and others.

- Create and tie together walkable areas with a network of
- Surface LRT (Aylmer, Carling, Baseline, St-Laurent, Gréber, Plateau, Mont-Bleu),
- Metro LRT (Bayshore-Orleans, Gatineau-Montreal Rd, Bank, Airport),
- O-Trains (Kanata/Nepean, Barrhaven/Jockvale, Orleans, Buckingham, Ironside)
- Regional rail (Pembroke, Arnprior/Renfrew, Casselman/Alexandria, Chelsea/Wakefield, Montebello, Smith-Falls/Perth, Carleton-Place/Almonte, Cornwall and others).

Underground platforms leading up to Union would serve as a terminus for city, regional and intercity rail on the Ontario side and would be a focal point of activity in the city. On the Gatineau side, the rail terminus would be just beside the Chaudière Falls, under the old EB Eddy Factory.

I'll have to stop there, but yes, a lot could be done around here if only we dared to think a little harder and imagine a lot more!

[JM1]

I agree. The Alexandra birdge should go. It is an ugly railway bridge. If it were not in the middle of the capital, I would say it is not so bad. But its prominent location makes it an eyesore.

Originally Posted by Fatty McButterpants

Replace the Alexandra Bridge with a slick new suspension bridge. It's the perfect location for a nice classy landmark bridge. Not necessarily a modern or futuristic bridge. Maybe something distinguished that works well with Parliament Hill. Do I have to think of everything?!?

There are many who would argue the Alexandra Bridge is a historical gem. A heritage structure. I say it's ugly and unbefitting for a national capital city. It's a depressing looking structure that conjures up images of harder times. If that's the look they're going for then they've got it bang on. To me it looks run down and quite frankly driving to Quebec on it scares the hell out of me. Put it in a museum and replace it with something to behold.


... and yes, I know this would be very very very very expensive. So yeah, let's just forget it I guess.

[OTSkyline]

Not surprisingly, since I created the thread, I have lots of ideas but have deicded to split them in several posts as to not overwhelm in 1 post and because I would like to see your feedback on a couple of these ideas first..

1) I think for transit, it's important to have a full highway from Stittville to the end of Orleans AND an efficient LRT system that is easy to use and includes an Airport connection. This is important for both residents and tourists and we cannot be Canada's Capital and a tourist destination if people can't get around...

2) Rideau St. Redevelopment - Make sure to have wide sidewalks and things like benches, garbage bins, pots and plants and some trees here and there... The street needs to be "beautified" not just bare concrete and that's it. Once we start seeing more shops opening up on Rideau, it will be a nice place for Ottawa.

3) Sparks St Redevelopment - We obviously need to liven up Sparks St and get more stores, coffee shops, restaurants etc... So some people will not like this one but my idea to liven it up is to bombard it with billboards and electronic screens, like Young & Dundas, Time Square or Picadilly Circus. We could then use it to our advantage to throw more events on there... What about if we added a screen "roof" over the street for a good stretch of it, kind of like the "fremont St. Experience in Vegas"? Not only would it make it a wicked place for things like watching hockey games (think of NHL playoffs), Canada Day or a "big-ass" New years eve party on Sparks, A.K.A "the strip" but it would also make people frequent the street more (even in winter and summer) because it would protect pedestrians from the elements (rain, snow etc..)



4) Rideau Canal Skateway. The city should install temporary lightposts or something along the Rideau Canal from Rideau to about the Queensway. The lighposts in the trails next to it just don't do it and it would entice more people to go skating in the evenings. Think of like large light posts looking like glow sticks running along the middle or the sides of the canal, wouldn't that make it so cool? They should also include speakers all along that stretch of the canal and be playing music. Think of the mood/atmosphere it would create with these lights and music skating along the canal on a Saturday night!



5) Speaking of winter/atmosphere etc... What about a very large christmas tree during the holidays? It could be downtown (World Exchange Plaza), infront of Parliament or maybe in the market (although there's not MUCH space in the market for that)... Think of the big tree at Rockefeller Centre. I think it would be a hit for both residents AND tourists and I don't think it would be a massive investment....



Alright, lunchbreak is over, that's it for now... I will post my 10-20 other ideas in the coming days...