Springtime is busy for the CCCA

The CCCA Heritage Event in April was very successful, and is only the start of a full season of activities the Centretown Citizens Community Association has planned for the Spring.

1. Safety - A Community forum on SCAN

Date: Thursday, May 13, 2010
Time: 7:30-9:00 pm (doors open at 7pm)
Location: Dominion-Chalmers United Church, O'Connor and Cooper

The CCCA does not have a position for or against the Ontario SCAN legislation proposed by Ottawa-Centre MPP Yasir Naqvi. Because it's such a controversial issue, the CCCA's Safety Committee is hosting a forum on SCAN where expert panellists both for and against SCAN will speak about and answer questions about the legislation, and hopefully clarify any misconceptions about it. The forum will be hosted by CTV News at Six's Graham Richardson.

2. May 2010 CCCA Board meeting presentations

Date: Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Location: Ottawa City Hall, Honeywell Room

CCCA Board meetings are open to the public and to CCCA members. This month we have three big presentations:

• 2010 Ottawa Mayoral Candidate Jim Watson will be speaking to the association and will take questions from CCCA members


• Light Rail Ottawa Project presentation from the City of Ottawa's Rail Implementation Office (presentation plus Q&A period)


• Segregated Bike Lane Pilot Study presentation from Colin Simpson of the City of Ottawa's Transportation department

Colin gave the Bike Lane presentation to the Dalhousie Community Association last night where many concerns were raised and some questions answered. This presentation is the one that was scheduled for the March 2010 CCCA meeting but cancelled at the last minute.

3. Yuk Yuk's CCCA fundraiser

Date: Thursday, May 20, 2010
Time: Doors open 7:30pm, Show starts 8:30pm
Location: Yuk Yuk's Downtown Ottawa, 292 Elgin Street (between MacLaren and Gilmour)

As with last year's successful event, the CCCA is once again partnering with Yuk Yuk's comedy club for a fundraiser on Thursday, May 20th. Tickets can be purchased from CCCA Board members (including me), and half the $14 ticket price will go to the CCCA. The ticket price also includes a free CCCA membership if you are eligible ($5 value).

This is an important fundraiser because it allows the CCCA to carry on tcohe many other activities held throughout the year.

Yuk Yuk's has renovated their frontage on Elgin street since last year:


4. Minto Park Sale - CCCA BBQ and plant sale

Date: Saturday, June 12, 2010
Time: Sale is from 8am to 2pm, BBQ is from 11-1
Location: Minto Park, Elgin-Gilmour-Cartier-Lewis

The annual Minto Park Sale, organized by Somerset Ward Councillor Diane Holmes, originated as a way for those without front yards to have a yard sale. It has since grown, and anyone can rent a table for $10. The funds raised go to a good cause (last year it was the Cambridge Street Elementary School's Kindergarten Play Structure Fund). To book a table, send an e-mail to mintoparksale@ottawa.ca

Last year, for the first time, the CCCA held a Barbecue fundraiser during the Minto Park Sale, and raised funds for the CCCA and the Cambridge Elementary's play structure fund. The CCCA's Trees and Greenspace Committee uses the Minto Park Sale as a venue to have its annual plant sale, where the sales of the donated plants help to fund the Committee's activities to green Centretown:

We welcome you to come out to the Barbecue, to donate plants for the plant sale, or to volunteer to help out with either event.

You can also just come out to the Minto Park Sale and pick up some of the great deals. Last year Elgin Street Video sold many of its de-commissioned DVDs, and I got one of Jim Furminger's wonderful prints of an Elgin Street scene:

5. Bronson avenue consultation

Date: Ongoing

As mentioned in the April 2010 CCCA report in the Centretown Buzz newspaper, things aren't looking too well for the reconstruction project of Bronson Avenue, which is due for reconstruction soon to replace the century-old water systems underground.

I'm the CCCA's representative on the Public Advisory Committee (PAC), and the drawings shown by the consultants at the first PAC meeting reflected only the street's use as a roadway, and they did not consider many other statuses, including the fact that Bronson is a scenic gateway, that much of it is zoned Traditional Mainstreet, that there are recommendations in the Somerset Heights Transportation and Parking Study, the Escarpment Area District Plan, the Chinatown Gateway Arch, and others. They actually want to widen Bronson, which will only mean cars travelling faster (though not necessarily getting anywhere more quickly when traffic signals are factored in), and less space for pedestrians and residents.

I welcome your feedback on Bronson Avenue reconstruction, and what you, as a Centretown resident, want to see on Bronson. If you have specific feedback as to problem points on Bronson (e.g. places where it's hard to cross or dangerous locations), that's also useful feedback that I can bring to the PAC.

You can leave your feedback in a comment below, or you can send me an e-mail at centretown.ottawa@gmail.com

Note: I am the Corporate Secretary of the Centretown Citizens Community Association.