Scott St. Sewer/Watermain Rehabilitation Open House- February 20th

The WVCA would like to inform residents that the City of Ottawa is holding an open house on the Scott Street Sewer and Watermain Rehabilitation Project which will run from Smirle Avenue to Athlone Avenue. This project will have a significant impact on the residents of Wellington Village and we strongly encourage you to attend the open house.


OPEN HOUSE DETAILS:
Date: Thursday, February 20th
Time: 6:30pm to 8:30pm (7pm presentation)
Location: Churchill Seniors Centre- Main Hall (345 Richmond Road)


The City has provided the following information regarding the project:


WHY: To rehabilitate and repair the aging sewers and watermains in Scott Street, from west of Athlone Avenue to Smirle Avenue. This work will be completed in advance of the proposed LRT Stage 2 Transitway Detour.  The LRT Stage 2 Detour is currently planned for late 2021, and will see Transitway buses detoured on to Scott Street between Churchill Avenue and Smirle Avenue.


WHAT: The project includes sewer and watermain infrastructure improvements, and will also include the widening of the multi-use pathway on the north side of Scott Street, from east of Island Park Drive to Smirle Avenue.


To facilitate construction, eastbound Scott Street vehicular traffic will be closed between Island Park Drive and Ross Avenue.  As a result, traffic will be detoured to Richmond-Wellington from Churchill Avenue to Holland Avenue, and north to Scott Street.  The detour of eastbound vehicular traffic will require geometric roadway modifications and temporary parking restrictions along Richmond-Wellington for the duration of the detour.     


WHEN: Construction activities will commence in late spring 2020 with anticipated completion in December 2020.


WHERE: This project will take place on Scott Street between Winona Avenue and Smirle Avenue including the following:

• Scott Street (from Island Park Drive to Ross Avenue) - Sanitary sewer and watermain replacement
• Scott Street (just east of Island Park Drive) – Storm sewer replacement
• Scott Street (McRae Avenue to Clifton Road) – Sanitary sewer replacement
• Scott Street (just west of Athlone Avenue, at Athlone Avenue and at Smirle Avenue) – sanitary sewer spot repairs

At the Public Open House, you will be able to review the detailed design plans and traffic detours and provide comments and feedback.  Representatives from the City and the consulting team will present the project at 7:00pm and be available to answer your questions before and after.


Accessibility is an important consideration for the City of Ottawa.  If you require special consideration, please contact the undersigned. Accessible formats and communication supports are available, upon request, at the following link: www.ottawa.ca/accessibleformat


For more information, please refer to the link below:
https://kitchissippiward.ca/content/scott-street-sewerwatermain-rehabilitation-open-house-be-held-feb-20

Code of Conduct for Builders

The WVCA welcomes responsible developers into the neighbourhood and looks forward to a positive relationship.


We have recently developed a code of conduct for builders operating in our neighbourhood. We believe that developers and builders who are respectful of the existing community, who follow this code, and keep avenues of communication open will be able to maintain good relations with neighbours throughout construction and will be able to complete their projects with minimal delays. The code of conduct outlines what we and our residents expect of builders and developers working in our community.


We encourage residents of Wellington Village who have a neighbouring property up for development to share this code of conduct with the builder and/or owner. If you'd rather, you can contact the WVCA to request that we share it with the builder/owner on the community's behalf.


Please contact the WVCA at president@wvca.ca if you have any questions or suggestions.

Great News Regarding Scott Street!

In our last two posts, we informed our readers that the City was exploring the possibility of widening Scott Street, between Island Park Drive and Ross Avenue, from the south side of the street. The WVCA strongly opposed this widening and met with Councilor Leiper and City staff members to discuss. 

We're very pleased to inform you that Jeff met again with City staff to request not to proceed with the widening and they agreed not to proceed. 

Please stay tuned for details regarding a public information session being organized by the City regarding the Sewer and Watermain Rehabilitation Project (Scott Street between Island Park Drive and Ross Avenue). 

Updates for the week of January 13

Hello Wellington Village neighbours,

There's a lot to report on this week.

Scott Street:
We met with Jeff Leiper and city staff to discuss the WVCA's opposition to the widening of Scott Street (see post from last week). We were informed that the City is exploring the possibility of widening the street (Island Park to Ross Avenue) since it will already be undergoing construction this Spring. As a result of the construction, there will be an eastbound lane closure and a detour (projected for June to December 2020). The City has hired a consultant to work on the lane closure/detour and has been tasked with providing a cost analysis for the widening of the street. The city staff's rationale for widening the street is to accommodate a high amount of traffic on the "worst day" during the Stage 2 LRT bus detour. All of this will be discussed at an upcoming public consultation, tentatively scheduled for early February. As soon as we receive more information about the public consultation we will let you know. As always, please contact the president@wvca.ca if you have any questions. 

Infill Development:
The WVCA also met with community members and the owner and Project Designer for 9 Gilchrist Avenue to discuss their proposed development. The proposal includes demolishing a single family home to build a three storey triplex; requesting variances on lot width and area. It was adjourned at the Committee of Adjustment and is scheduled to be heard on January 22nd. 

Transportation Master Plan:

You have until January 24th to sign up on Engage Ottawa to provide comments on the Transportation Master Plan. Now is your chance to tell the city what's important to you about how our transportation system works. 

https://engage.ottawa.ca/transportation-master-plan

Residential Fourth Density (R4) Zoning Review:

The City has extended its deadline for commenting on the R4 discussion paper. You now have until February 21st. Although the vast majority of Wellington Village is zoned R3 or R1, much of Hintonburg and Mechanicsville are zoned R4 which allows for up to low-rise apartment buildings. Please take some time to read the discussion paper and provide your comments here:

https://ottawa.ca/en/city-hall/public-engagement/projects/residential-fourth-density-r4-zoning-review

Also, you can check the zoning in your area (and more) at GeoOttawa: http://maps.ottawa.ca/geoOttawa/

Community Events:
Thank you party for Constable Dawn Neilly- Saturday, January 18th, 1-3pm, Hintonburg Community Centre, 1064 Wellington St. W. 
Champlain Park Winter Carnival- Saturday, January 25th, 12-3pm, Champlain Park
Westboro Beach Winter Fun- Saturday, January 25th, 1:30-3:30pm, Westboro Beach
Mechanicsville Winter Carnival- Sunday, February 2nd, 2-4pm, Laroche Park
Fisher Park Winter Carnival- Sunday, February 9th, time to be confirmed, Fisher Park 

Scott Street Sewer and Watermain Rehabilitation Project

The WVCA would like to inform our readers and the community that we have received the following information from the City of Ottawa about construction, and a subsequent temporary road closure, on Scott Street, scheduled to begin in Spring 2020. 

Please note the highlighted section in the 4th paragraph that mentions how LRT staff have requested the widening of Scott Street from the south side. It goes without saying that this will negatively impact a large number of residents and is of great concern to the WVCA. We are committed to doing what we can to stop the City from moving ahead with these plans. We want to hear from you. Please send your thoughts and concerns to: president@wvca.ca

"As you may be aware, LRT Phase II is proposing to detour Transitway busses to Scott Street, from Tunney’s Pasture to Churchill Avenue, beginning as early as late-2021.  LRT will begin intersection modifications in 2021 along Scott Street to accommodate the detour.  The City’s Asset Management Branch reviewed the infrastructure beneath Scott Street within these limits, and identified a number of ageing sewer pipes and watermains that were in poor condition. The purpose of the Scott Street Sewer and Watermain Rehabilitation project is to replace the infrastructure that is in poor condition prior to detouring the Transitway busses onto Scott Street.

The Scott Street Sewer and Watermain Rehabilitation project involves the replacement of existing local sanitary sewer and watermain along Scott Street, from Island Park Drive to Ross Avenue, as well as the installation of a deep storm sewer crossing Scott Street, just east of Island Park Drive.  Localized sewer spot repairs at various locations along Scott Street will also be completed, including replacing the local sanitary sewer from Clifton Road to McRae Avenue. The current project schedule is for construction to begin in Spring 2020, with completion in late-Fall 2020, in order for LRT’s Contractor to begin their roadway and intersection modifications to Scott beginning in early 2021.  A Public Information Session is being planned for late-January or early-February 2020 for residents to review the project design, and to ask questions to City Infrastructure Services and LRT Staff. 

In order to safely allow the work to proceed as part of this project, the City’s Traffic Management group has approved a temporary road closure of eastbound Scott Street, between Island Park and Ross Avenue.  The City preferred the westbound direction be maintained throughout the corridor for the duration of the closures.  The proposed construction is not expected to significantly affect the existing Multi-Use-Pathway (MUP) adjacent to the Transitway.  In fact, it is expected that the existing MUP will be widened to improve active travel operations for cyclists and pedestrians throughout the duration of the construction projects.

Regarding the reinstatement of Scott Street following the construction, the original proposal was to reinstate the roadway to existing conditions and lane configurations.  During the design period, staff from LRT requested that our design consultants complete design for additional roadway widening on the south side of Scott Street within our project limits.  The roadway widening would permit a 4-lane cross section to be used along Scott Street during the future LRT Phase II Transitway detour, in an effort to improve and transit service reliability during the detour.  We are still in early stages of this design, but additional information should be available over the next few months."  

     

Unveiling of Gallery Wall for 100th Anniversary of Wellington Village: Friday, Nov 29th

Wellington Village will soon have a new gallery wall thanks to a collaboration between the Wellington West Business Improvement Area (WWBIA), local historian and WVCA board member, Dave Allston, local artist Pascale Arpin, and others. 


The gallery wall is in honour of the 100th anniversary of Wellington Village and will include photos curated by Dave Allston and artwork by Pascale Arpin.


The official unveiling will take place on the side of Wild Willy's Plants & Flowers (1252 Wellington Street West) on Friday, November 29th at 9am. Mayor Watson, Councillor Leiper and MPP Harden are expected to attend as well as the collaborators and other representatives from the WWBIA and the WVCA.


In June, the WVCA worked with the WWBIA on a 100th anniversary celebration at Exposure Gallery where the WVCA was presented with a commemorative frame from the City of Ottawa.

Ongoing Discussions Concerning the Mizrahi Development

On October 23rd, we informed you that the construction for the Mizrahi development at 1445 Wellington Street West (corner of Wellington and Island Park) had begun.


Since that time there has been a "pre-construction" meeting where Mizhari Developments presented new plans to the Councillor's office and members of the community. Those plans now include staging of the construction equipment in the existing parkette which means the mature trees will need to be cut down. The City and Councilor Leiper both agreed that staging on Wellington is not possible as it would force a sidewalk closure which would pose a danger to pedestrians. In addition, the plans include a Gate 3 located on Rockhurst Avenue which, according to Mizrahi, is necessary for the delivery of certain materials but that Gate 1 and Gate 2 on Wellington will be primarily used.


These new developments are of great concern to the WVCA and we communicating those concerns to Mizrahi and Councillor Leiper. Discussions are ongoing and we will continue to update the community as it unfolds.


Please contact the WVCA at wvca@wvca.ca if you have any concerns. We will do our best to work with Mizrahi and Councillor Leiper's office to address the communities' concerns.