(Sent 13 April at 11:20 p.m. to all subscribers)
Greetings Wellington Village Neighbours!
Read on to learn about a few of the key items and events our Community Association has been working on this past month. We’d love to have you out to our next meeting on April 17th! (details below)
Cars and People at Elmdale School
The WVCA has been made aware of the issues of congestion and traffic safety concerns surrounding Elmdale School–exacerbated by significant snowfall / snowbanks this past winter. After discussions with Elmdale’s principal, Parent Council, the School Trustee and our City Councillor we learned that this season faced particular challenges with the city’s snow dumping site and that it is not feasible for school zones to be prioritized in the snow removal schedule. Changes to the layout at Elmdale after the renovations may also be creating new traffic patterns to which the community is still adjusting.
Parents and residents are encouraged to treat the streets as one-way streets at morning drop-off and afternoon pick-up times; allowing children access to the sidewalks closest to the school:
Westbound on Iona &
Eastbound on Java
Elmdale has also installed a second keypad and opened up the staff parking for families picking up from Mothercraft, reducing traffic congestion on Iona.
The WVCA will continue to advocate for and support more active transportation options, such as the Walking School Buses and Walk -a-Block initiatives; as well as school bus usage in order to minimize cars on the road, in general.
Results from a recent OSTA survey show many benefits of Active (student) Transportation. Read the full report here. If you’re looking for ways to give back to the community and have some extra time in the morning, please consider becoming a walking bus leader.
Fun fact! Number of times the Walking School Bus has arrived late to Elmdale Public school this school year: Zero!
Once again, we appreciate hearing from residents about these issues, and it helps us advocate for our community when we’re informed by your experiences.
Huron & Caroline street renewals
Residents and Members of the Board have had a chance to review current plans for the water main and sewer street renewal projects of both Caroline and Huron Ave. It seems that a central design focus will be to narrow the streets where possible and add several traffic calming measures with the intent to slow traffic (30 km/h, the current posted speed limit) and reduce cut-through.
We heard several concerns that road narrowing would lead to snow load issues. Some residents advocated for the use of boulevard(s) to achieve roadway narrowing while still allowing room for snowbanks and softscaping.
There is also much interest to see updated plans that incorporate more greenery into the design, whether through boulevards or otherwise. As a Board, we are keen to advocate for initiatives that promote biodiversity, retain rainwater and decrease the amount of concrete–we’re in a climate crisis y’all!
A longer term discussion we will pursue with the City of Ottawa is the opportunity to bury power/electrical lines while roads are opened up for renewal. It is currently out of the scope for Caroline and Huron Ave and Ottawa Hydro is not considering it… but given the significant impact and damages from the two major weather events in less than a year, we will move to push the issue.
An in-person public information session was held on April 4th at Hintonburg Community Centre, with public online viewing and commenting accepted until April 18th. Visit the project page here.
Spencer Street Parkette
Demo Day is coming! The City is planning for demolition this summer, and could be as early as mid-June and into August.
The City of Ottawa will be leading an official engagement to plan a park that responds to the needs of the community. They have confirmed it is intended to be used as a gathering space for humans, and will incorporate play equipment. Beyond that, they are open to your input! We will share information as we receive it and ensure there are opportunities to have your ideas considered. Our discussions with the City suggest that consultations could begin fairly soon.
In the meantime, we have developed a set of guiding principles to consider how to plan and develop the space. From our perspective, the park must:
- support the whole community with design elements that work for both young and old
- include elements that make the space accessible to as many as possible
- encourage use in all four seasons
- encourage open-ended play and use
- tie into the long and shorter-term history of the neighbourhood
- encourage traffic and community safety
- incorporate natural elements
If you have seen any amazing ideas that would fit the criteria and work in our pocket park, please send them our way! We’d also love to hear more about the history of this space on Spencer St., or the tiny nearby park that used to exist on Grange Ave. The Spencer house has some obvious remnants of a lovingly tended garden and rumours suggest a well manicured lawn that was trimmed using scissors! All ideas, photos and stories welcome! We may share through our social media for inspiration. Send to: wvca.park@gmail.com
We are also continuing to advocate for a stop sign on Spencer Ave at Huron N and we are tracking progress on this issue with Councillor Leiper.
Planning and Development - MTO rapid replacement of 417 bridges
WVCA members took part in a project meeting with the Ministry of Transportation about future bridge replacement on the 417. You may have noticed repairs happening on bridges in Centretown, and eventually it will be our turn!
While expected construction is ~6 years away, planning is already underway. Replacing the bridge will require a staging area that is within 500m of the site. Of most interest, is the concern that Fisher Park School grounds may be considered for staging during the future Holland bridge replacement.
Consultations to identify an appropriate staging site are set to begin this summer. We will work to ensure that you are kept informed, in particular requesting that future Fisher Park students / parents / staff / nearby residents are included. We will also open discussions with other impacted community associations surrounding the other 417 bridges that are set to be replaced, as well as our city councilor.
Update from Councillor’s office:
Community open house for a development application recently submitted for 1806 Scott Street. The application being made is to construct a four-storey low-rise apartment building, located at the corner of Rockhurst Road and Scott Street.
Open house: Wednesday, April 26th, at 7:00pm, to be hosted over Zoom.
You can find all the details on the application, including the Zoom details, on the Kitchissippi Ward page: 1806 Scott Street - Zoning By-law Amendment and Site Plan Control Applications | Kitchissippi Ward.
Events
Have an upcoming event? Let us know and we can help spread the word. We’ve been known to provide freezies!
Spring Clean Up!
We encourage neighbours to take time to clean their own yards and streets in a bee and bug friendly way. In upcoming weeks you can find tips & tools to host your own street clean up by visiting our Facebook page. While we don’t want to disturb the pollinators, we do find that around Earth Day is often a good time to clean–let’s hope the gardens are blooming by April 22nd!
Jane’s Walk – May 6th / 7th
Jane’s Walks are back this year! These amazing walks take place every spring in Ottawa and around the world! Walks are free, community-led walking conversations inspired by Jane Jacobs. The aim is to encourage people to lead their own walks about their neighbourhoods, discover unseen aspects of their own communities and use walking as a way to connect with neighbours. We’ve heard rumblings that our friends at Neighbours for Tunney’s might be hosting a walk. And there will be many others for sure. Keep an eye on the website for this year’s schedule. Please note that advanced sign-up will be required.
Are you paid up?
Membership funds–you’re already a member just by living within the boundaries! As always, we appreciate your support to help us run events and engage with residents. While $10 is the suggested membership fee, the WVCA appreciates donations of any amount. We’re happy to pick up a cheque or accept e-transfers:
E-transfer to: wvca.ottawa.treasurer@gmail.com
*Please include your contact details in the Message section to let us know how to reach you—to confirm and thank you for your donation.
Spread the news! Please share this newsletter with Wellington Village neighbours. Those interested can sign up on the landing page of our website.
And join us on social media. We’re on Facebook and Twitter as the Wellington Village Community Association.
