tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20144515931671238582024-03-08T06:31:31.088-05:00Images of CentretownCapturing and documenting Centretown's present historyCentretownerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03798054152996264061noreply@blogger.comBlogger570125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2014451593167123858.post-3346446348002850812023-05-05T11:20:00.000-04:002023-05-05T11:20:00.458-04:00Wellington Street Part 11: The Portage Bridge<h4 style="margin-bottom:0px;"><a href="https://centretown.blogspot.com/2023/05/wellington-street-part-11-portage.html" title="Go to this post">Part 11: Portage Bridge</a></h4><p style="font-size:smaller;font-weight:normal;margin:0px;"> <a href="javascript:expandcollapse('w11head')" title="Show/Hide a list of headings that are in this post">[Show/Hide Contents]</a></p>
<span class="posthidden" id="w11head"><ul style="line-height: 1.0;margin-top:0px;"><li style="margin-bottom: 0px;"><a href="#new_connection">Options for crossing the Ottawa River</a></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0px;"><a href="#splitting-wellington">Splitting Wellington again</a></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0px;"><a href="#finishing_touches">Finishing touches</a></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0px;"><a href="#location_decided">Bridge name, location decided</a></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0px;"><a href="#construction">Construction begins</a></li> <li style="margin-bottom: 20px;"><a href="#w11REFS" onclick="javascript:expand('w11REFS')">References</a></li></ul>
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The <a href="https://www.janeswalkottawa.ca/" target="_blank">Jane's Walks Ottawa</a> walking tour festival takes place this weekend, with a <a href="https://www.janeswalkottawa.ca/en/articles/304" target="_blank">launch event picnic dinner under the Booth Street bridge at Pimisi Station</a> today from 6-8pm. This year's festival theme is <em>Building Bridges</em>, which fits in very well with the next section of my blog series on <a href="https://centretown.blogspot.com/2020/01/the-many-traces-of-wellington-street.html" target="_blank" title="Go to the intro and table of contents post for this series">the many traces of Wellington Street</a>: The Portage Bridge.<br>
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In the previous post, <a href="https://centretown.blogspot.com/2022/12/wellington-street-part-10.html" target="_blank" title="Part 10: Nepean Bay and the Ottawa River Parkway">Part 10</a>, we took a step back into the NCC's rearrangement of land and roads in LeBreton Flats in the 1960s. This resulted in the splitting of Wellington Street ending just west of Bay Street as it turns into the Ottawa River Parkway, and connecting to itself via offramps, as we can see here in this photo:<sup><a name="cite-w11-1a" href="#ref-w11-1" title="'PA-145782.' Library and Archives Canada, Aerial photo via Taylor, John H., Ottawa, an Illustrated History, p. 195." onclick="javascript:expand('w11REFS')">1</a></sup><br>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPmTFlZaxa6kp9bFsDJuCfI7MvJurO46ZPDAtZ_Mpw0_PAyH0nHZF4XPZn-W6f78XELmLkYmHNJDZ4QJPJYkNaw3tPp9Zl2ImjwgZXAqjp80Q4VEApRegnxkBjaguTr6llG62gJeWYQo-f11XtcV5QjzktRZWB78X7MCgQ0Fg_gFRqYiWdRrq0Ih6H/s2240/20220114_140945.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="Aerial view from above looking west in 1967. Centretown/Uppertown in the foreground including Place De Ville and Library and Archives Canada; LeBreton Flats in the midground; Ottawa River, Lemieux Island and Mechanicsville in the distance. Chaudière Island industry at work. West of Bay, Wellington Street becomes the Ottawa River Parkway with an offramp connection to Wellington Street through LeBreton Flats." border="0" width="400" data-original-height="2024" data-original-width="2240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPmTFlZaxa6kp9bFsDJuCfI7MvJurO46ZPDAtZ_Mpw0_PAyH0nHZF4XPZn-W6f78XELmLkYmHNJDZ4QJPJYkNaw3tPp9Zl2ImjwgZXAqjp80Q4VEApRegnxkBjaguTr6llG62gJeWYQo-f11XtcV5QjzktRZWB78X7MCgQ0Fg_gFRqYiWdRrq0Ih6H/s400/20220114_140945.jpg" title="Aerial view from above looking west in 1967. Centretown/Uppertown in the foreground including Place De Ville and Library and Archives Canada; LeBreton Flats in the midground; Ottawa River, Lemieux Island and Mechanicsville in the distance. Chaudière Island industry at work. West of Bay, Wellington Street becomes the Ottawa River Parkway with an offramp connection to Wellington Street through LeBreton Flats."></a></div>
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That arrangement would be relatively short-lived.<br>
<a href="https://centretown.blogspot.com/2023/05/wellington-street-part-11-portage.html#more">This post is long. Click here for the rest of it »</a>Centretownerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03798054152996264061noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2014451593167123858.post-32335373636192046822023-04-27T00:18:00.022-04:002023-05-03T10:14:22.825-04:00The skinny on sidewalk design in OttawaThanks to the <a href="https://ottawalookout.com" target="_blank">Ottawa Lookout</a>, I learned that today at the City's <a href="https://pub-ottawa.escribemeetings.com/Meeting.aspx?Id=c4485e85-bafb-438a-a47c-4385d6188b8c&Agenda=Agenda&lang=English&Item=45&Tab=attachments" target="_blank" title="Transportation Committee agenda for Thursday, April 27, 2023">Transportation Committee meeting</a>, Councillor Shawn Menard has a <a href="https://pub-ottawa.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ashx?DocumentId=121600" target="_blank" title="PDF of Councillor Menard's motion">motion</a> in relation to an ongoing review of sidewalk designs. <br>
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Since I currently have a cold, I can't present in person, so instead I wrote out a presentation to Transportation Committee. I'm reformatting it here, as a more concise rewrite of my <a href="https://centretown.blogspot.com/2014/01/peds-on-weds-toronto-style-sidewalks.html" target="_blank">2014 blog series</a> about Ramp style sidewalks (or "Toronto-style sidewalks", as they were called then).<br>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYOeiuqfmv9wpFYoyR6kkWHZLeGBI2D1u7osWb0IDz38UMZwSC2yFcjBCSCznW3mzMeDADFZKhFeVRl1nmk_36Bo8g1Xl-t-0Ma1cwZBY-xhQp9mt8gpotzQTL-ORxE6uYoa8YUayeZsvn3Xl7L3J5VYgHfCTQkQsfLeGy7yHvHpM9eafp4SEpcVp8/s3072/IMGP07543.JPG" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="Sidewalk with house porchsteps on the left and grassy lawn on the right, with trees providing canopy cover (west side of Queen Elizabeth Drive near McLeod Street)" border="0" height="400" data-original-height="3072" data-original-width="2304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYOeiuqfmv9wpFYoyR6kkWHZLeGBI2D1u7osWb0IDz38UMZwSC2yFcjBCSCznW3mzMeDADFZKhFeVRl1nmk_36Bo8g1Xl-t-0Ma1cwZBY-xhQp9mt8gpotzQTL-ORxE6uYoa8YUayeZsvn3Xl7L3J5VYgHfCTQkQsfLeGy7yHvHpM9eafp4SEpcVp8/s400/IMGP07543.JPG"></a></div>
<a href="https://centretown.blogspot.com/2023/04/the-skinny-on-sidewalk-design-in-ottawa.html#more">This post is long. Click here for the rest of it »</a>Centretownerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03798054152996264061noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2014451593167123858.post-84563888089998711652022-12-29T15:19:00.008-05:002023-04-09T05:48:35.155-04:00Wellington Street Part 10: Nepean Bay and the Ottawa River Parkway<h4 style="margin-bottom:0px;"><a href="https://centretown.blogspot.com/2022/12/wellington-street-part-10.html" title="Go to this post">Part 10: Nepean Bay and the Ottawa River Parkway</a></h4><p style="font-size:smaller;font-weight:normal;margin:0px;"> <a href="javascript:expandcollapse('w10head')" title="Show/Hide a list of headings that are in this post">[Show/Hide Contents]</a></p>
<span class="posthidden" id="w10head"><ul style="line-height: 1.0;margin-top:0px;"><li style="margin-bottom: 0px;"><a href="#nepean_bay">Nepean Bay Infill</a></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0px;"><a href="#parkway">Ottawa River Parkway</a></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0px;"><a href="#britannia_terrace">Closing Britannia Terrace and other streets</a></li> <li style="margin-bottom: 20px;"><a href="#w10REFS" onclick="javascript:expand('w10REFS')">References</a></li></ul>
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In the <a href="https://centretown.blogspot.com/2022/01/wellington-street-part-8-nccs.html" target="_blank">previous post</a>, we talked about the peripheral effects on Wellington street from the Garden of the Provinces construction, the LeBreton Flats expropriations, and the lowering of the C.P.R. Prescott Subdivision (all NCC projects).<br>
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Today's post will look at the Ottawa River Parkway, whose history is not well documented insofar as it affects Wellington Street. We're still in the 1960s, prior to the <a href="https://centretown.blogspot.com/2020/09/wellington-street-part-8-viaducts.html" target="_blank" title="Link to Part 8 about the Wellington Street Viaduct">breakup of Wellington at the viaduct covered in part 8</a>.<br>
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To get us situated, this colour photo from the early 1960s shows Wellington Street winding up from the bottom of the photo up across the viaduct, through LeBreton Flats, and into downtown:<sup><a name="cite-w10-1a" href="#ref-w10-1" title="'Colour aerial photo of Nepean Bay and LeBreton Flats.' Alex Onoszko collection (aerial photography). City of Ottawa Archives, Accessed on 2022-01-13." onclick="javascript:expand('w10REFS')">1</a></sup><br>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhIeifdbQHmS6ylaMiS7jHpzYiiyNn2A1MrTCJI0U2oT6iGiBhWtCp7jokATi9XAKbAsVgg0-oOWAoPTxZR9srBF1Y8H9Tf7Y9IFnkA9Vz8Gd2UVe3cwuH4A_-pxvQMbVmfVFT5YzAZLyMDKST4YXhn-n4HqFC3fvw3hmiLrxL2IqkA3OGZluDBF_uQ=s576" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="Colour aerial photo of LeBreton Flats, Bayview, and Nepean Bay before removal of railroad infrastructure and before expropriation of LeBreton Flats. Wellington Street viaduct, O'Keefe brewery, railyards tracks roundhouse, Chaudière Victoria Albert islands, Ottawa River. Somerset viaduct." border="0" width="400" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="576" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhIeifdbQHmS6ylaMiS7jHpzYiiyNn2A1MrTCJI0U2oT6iGiBhWtCp7jokATi9XAKbAsVgg0-oOWAoPTxZR9srBF1Y8H9Tf7Y9IFnkA9Vz8Gd2UVe3cwuH4A_-pxvQMbVmfVFT5YzAZLyMDKST4YXhn-n4HqFC3fvw3hmiLrxL2IqkA3OGZluDBF_uQ=s400?name=CA010157-W.jpg" title="Colour aerial photo of LeBreton Flats, Bayview, and Nepean Bay before removal of railroad infrastructure and before expropriation of LeBreton Flats. Wellington Street viaduct, O'Keefe brewery, railyards tracks roundhouse, Chaudière Victoria Albert islands, Ottawa River. Somerset viaduct."></a></div>
<a href="https://centretown.blogspot.com/2022/12/wellington-street-part-10.html#more">This post is long. Click here for the rest of it »</a>Centretownerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03798054152996264061noreply@blogger.com1LeBreton Flats, Ottawa, ON, Canada45.413947 -75.714674399999993-30.586161014012497 143.66032560000002 90 64.910325600000007tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2014451593167123858.post-50448885803741623662022-03-18T16:02:00.001-04:002022-03-18T16:02:43.418-04:00What to expect when you go Next Door in OttawaWe interrupt the blog series about the <a href="https://centretown.blogspot.com/2020/01/the-many-traces-of-wellington-street.html" target="_blank">history of Wellington Street</a> to bring you this informational item.<br>
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In late January or early February, I got a letter in the mail (since discarded), addressed to "Dalhousie neighbour" (red flag #1), inviting me to something called "NextDoor Dalhousie", which claimed to be a social media site to "connect with neighbours". Sounds nice enough, but obviously somebody's making enough money off of of this "free" app to afford to mail out physical invitations. I've since discarded my letter, but here's a similar one received by a neighbour on Eccles Street in March, 2022: <br>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg5rokjBpaCuPrF1NFwmQawJQKo4YGGRWN8G8MranVAFgfnWekrTxYvrRDWuh-aE1_G-3SCC6MdhG43RCeBv7bAGeSG6yulDZq0pbHf2ltZyBOo_y3s2rZehygPoKoGVzmHd5n5rra7KcAT77yJbdEOig44DVYg9X_UW_zrJ9pAxsxpohnwcNR5XZ3q=s3264" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="A paper letter starting Hi Eccles St Neighbours, Our neighbourhood is now using a free app called Nextdoor Dalhousie and you should join us. There's a code that it says will expire in 7 days, and it's signed Your neighbour, [name and street name removed by me]" border="0" height="400" data-original-height="3264" data-original-width="2448" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg5rokjBpaCuPrF1NFwmQawJQKo4YGGRWN8G8MranVAFgfnWekrTxYvrRDWuh-aE1_G-3SCC6MdhG43RCeBv7bAGeSG6yulDZq0pbHf2ltZyBOo_y3s2rZehygPoKoGVzmHd5n5rra7KcAT77yJbdEOig44DVYg9X_UW_zrJ9pAxsxpohnwcNR5XZ3q=s400"></a></div>
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The top level takeaway—in case the reference to red flags wasn't clear enough—is don't bother signing up, but for the sake of others who, like me, wanted to know more about it before signing up, here's what I've observed after having been signed into the site for a month.<br>
<a href="https://centretown.blogspot.com/2022/03/what-to-expect-when-you-go-next-door-in.html#more">This post is long. Click here for the rest of it »</a>Centretownerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03798054152996264061noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2014451593167123858.post-71797616740013546792022-01-24T10:00:00.074-05:002023-04-20T09:07:46.442-04:00Wellington Street Part 9: The NCC's distractions (early-mid 1960s)<h4 style="margin-bottom:0px;"><a href="https://centretown.blogspot.com/2022/01/wellington-street-part-9-nccs.html" title="Go to this post">Part 9: The NCC's distractions (early-mid 1960s)</a></h4><p style="font-size:smaller;font-weight:normal;margin:0px;"> <a href="javascript:expandcollapse('w9head')" title="Show/Hide a list of headings that are in this post">[Show/Hide Contents]</a></p>
<span class="posthidden" id="w9head"><ul style="line-height: 1.0;margin-top:0px;"><li style="margin-bottom: 0px;"><a href="#sparks">Sparks disconnection and the Garden of the Provinces</a></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0px;"><a href="#lebreton">LeBreton Flats Expropriation</a></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0px;"><a href="#queensway">The Queensway and the CPR trench</a></li> <li style="margin-bottom: 20px;"><a href="#w9REFS" onclick="javascript:expand('w9REFS')">References</a></li></ul>
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In <a href="https://centretown.blogspot.com/2020/09/wellington-street-part-8-viaducts.html" target="_blank" title="despite the URL, it was posted in August 2021">the previous part</a> of this series about the renamings, connections, and disconnections of Wellington Street, we looked at the <em>Ottawa Journal</em> campaign leading up to the August 1969 viaduct transplant that broke Wellington Street apart over the tracks to connect with Scott. Today we'll skip back a few years now to look at what the NCC was up to around Wellington Street in the early 1960s.<br>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiRumNJsoSWNuaCPB9FzALdrq9Syy_2UOj_585Nmc3VV_Hx_EIAwu9YDfoA8E4kIZAk6bNfNRimL0ynyXiYermYlqHy-qem_t4DcXSoYfRtXccxS-IiwSpr9Fw4z6WKFkGCCsVYYa7oBfIGYzCf90s0qbxwMdvgD3aUwpy3ArPfEycMPxr43PBGoJBm=s4000?name=IMGP55744-W80.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="December 2012. Looking from the park atop the cliff at Bronson and Sparks down to LeBreton Flats including old Wellington Street, Pooley's Bridge, and Fleet street. Water pumping station is undergoing repairs. Condos south of Fleet not yet started construction. Transitway, no Booth Street bridge yet. A light dusting of snow." border="0" width="400" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiRumNJsoSWNuaCPB9FzALdrq9Syy_2UOj_585Nmc3VV_Hx_EIAwu9YDfoA8E4kIZAk6bNfNRimL0ynyXiYermYlqHy-qem_t4DcXSoYfRtXccxS-IiwSpr9Fw4z6WKFkGCCsVYYa7oBfIGYzCf90s0qbxwMdvgD3aUwpy3ArPfEycMPxr43PBGoJBm=s400?name=IMGP55744-W80.jpg" title="December 2012. Looking from the park atop the cliff at Bronson and Sparks down to LeBreton Flats including old Wellington Street, Pooley's Bridge, and Fleet street. Water pumping station is undergoing repairs. Condos south of Fleet not yet started construction. Transitway, no Booth Street bridge yet. A light dusting of snow."></a></div>
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<a href="https://centretown.blogspot.com/2020/02/wellington-street-part-8-nccs.html#more">This post is long. Click here for the rest of it »</a>Centretownerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03798054152996264061noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2014451593167123858.post-89901892640644101742021-08-17T11:03:00.001-04:002021-08-17T11:03:29.278-04:00Wellington Street Part 8: Viaduct traffic, Journaled<h4 style="margin-bottom:0px;"><a href="https://centretown.blogspot.com/2021/08/wellington-street-part-8-viaduct.html" title="Go to this post">Part 8: Viaduct traffic, Journaled</a></h4><p style="font-size:smaller;font-weight:normal;margin:0px;"> <a href="javascript:expandcollapse('w8head')" title="Show/Hide a list of headings that are in this post">[Show/Hide Contents]</a></p>
<span class="posthidden" id="w8head"><ul style="line-height: 1.0;margin-top:0px;"><li style="margin-bottom: 0px;"><a href="#whiners">History written by the whiners</a></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0px;"><a href="#bridge_battle">'Battle of the Bridge'</a></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0px;"><a href="#bayview-slip-lane">Bayview slip lane</a></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0px;"><a href="#more-squeaking">Westward city growth gets the wheel squeaking again</a></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0px;"><a href="#viaduct-repairs">Viaduct repairs 1920s to 1950s</a></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0px;"><a href="#viaduct-falling-apart">Wellington Bridge is Falling Down 1960s</a></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0px;"><a href="#replacement-planned">New Wellington Viaduct to be built</a></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0px;"><a href="#new-viaduct-opens">Wellington Street Officially Severed</a></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0px;"><a href="#scott-alignment">'Replacement' viaduct will disconnect Wellington</a></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0px;"><a href="#viaduct-closure-reaction">Reaction to Wellington disconnection</a></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0px;"><a href="#final-disposition">Demolition of the Wellington Street Viaduct</a></li> <li style="margin-bottom: 20px;"><a href="#w8REFS" onclick="javascript:expand('w8REFS')">References</a></li></ul>
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Although I set out in October 2019 to write this <a href="https://centretown.blogspot.com/2020/01/the-many-traces-of-wellington-street.html" target="_blank">Wellington Street blog series</a> looking to learn about the street's various connections and disconnections, the last three parts, ending with <a href="https://centretown.blogspot.com/2020/09/wellington-street-part-7-dawn-of-modern.html" target="_blank">a look at a 1950s traffic study</a> were a bit of a sidetrack.<br>
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The last connection change was back in <a href="https://centretown.blogspot.com/2020/01/wellington-street-part-4-as-city-grows.html#w4head022">Part 4</a> when the Wellington Street Viaduct was built in 1909 (overtop an existing route). As it happens, the next major change to Wellington Street that we'll look at is when the viaduct was replaced. <br>
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The Viaduct gets an entire post thanks to the <i>Ottawa Journal</i>'s obsession with its role as a bottleneck for afternoon rush-hour traffic.<sup><a name="cite-w8-1a" href="#ref-w8-1" title="'For traffic jams try Wellington.' Ottawa Journal, 1949-10-04, pp. 3 Cols 1-2. Capital Press photo." onclick="javascript:expand('w8REFS')">1</a></sup><br>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCZ4XRvSspBE1SBIqR61JuKRr7apiHqespEwQOI2NmPOplQ08Wf-6fgP4ZSTLSptwe88iaF3PKHCFYBoBbhiIPylUZRx81OWZAhdEIhJOD62SF_fiDnLSkARxUJGckNgr-Hnv6Hw74UN8/s1600/The_Ottawa_Journal_Tue__Oct_4__1949_Wellington-Traffic-Jams-crop.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="1940s Newspaper article with heading For Traffic Jams Try Wellington, with a bird's eye photo of a line of cars on the Wellington St Viaduct, captioned 5 O'Clock Jam Session." border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1195" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCZ4XRvSspBE1SBIqR61JuKRr7apiHqespEwQOI2NmPOplQ08Wf-6fgP4ZSTLSptwe88iaF3PKHCFYBoBbhiIPylUZRx81OWZAhdEIhJOD62SF_fiDnLSkARxUJGckNgr-Hnv6Hw74UN8/s400/The_Ottawa_Journal_Tue__Oct_4__1949_Wellington-Traffic-Jams-crop.jpg" width="299" title="1940s Newspaper article with heading For Traffic Jams Try Wellington, with a bird's eye photo of a line of cars on the Wellington St Viaduct, captioned 5 O'Clock Jam Session."></a></div><br>
<a href="https://centretown.blogspot.com/2020/09/wellington-street-part-8-viaducts.html#more">This post is long. Click here for the rest of it »</a>Centretownerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03798054152996264061noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2014451593167123858.post-27726053403260115232021-05-24T10:00:00.038-04:002021-05-24T10:00:00.208-04:00Wellington Street Part 7: Dawn of "Modern" Transportation Planning in Ottawa<h4 style="margin-bottom:0px;"><a href="https://centretown.blogspot.com/2021/05/wellington-street-part-7-dawn-of-modern.html" title="Go to this post">Part 7: Dawn of "Modern" Transportation Planning in Ottawa</a></h4><p style="font-size:smaller;font-weight:normal;margin:0px;"> <a href="javascript:expandcollapse('w7head')" title="Show/Hide a list of headings that are in this post">[Show/Hide Contents]</a></p>
<span class="posthidden" id="w7head"><ul style="line-height: 1.0;margin-top:0px;"><li style="margin-bottom: 0px;"><a href="#wilbursmith">1955 Traffic and Transportation Plan for Ottawa</a></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0px;"><a href="#intersections">Wellington intersection recommendations</a></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0px;"><a href="#fleet">Wellington-Sparks-Fleet-Commissioner</a></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0px;"><a href="#broad">Wellington-Broad-Albert-Rochester</a></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0px;"><a href="#collisionstats">1949-1953 Collision Statistics</a></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0px;"><a href="#advanced-green">First Advanced Green signals in town</a></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0px;"><a href="#report-execution">What came of it?</a></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0px;"><a href="#part-7-coda">Also on Wellington</a></li> <li style="margin-bottom: 20px;"><a href="#w7REFS" onclick="javascript:expand('w7REFS')">References</a></li></ul>
</span>
If A.E.K. Bunnell's 1946 report covered in <a href="https://centretown.blogspot.com/2020/01/wellington-street-part-5-tinkering-with.html" target="_blank">Part 5</a> recommended a few tweaks to the road network, and the 1949 Gréber report we looked at in <a href="https://centretown.blogspot.com/2021/04/wellington-street-part-6-postwar.html" target="_blank">Part 6</a> reimagined large swathes of the City's buildings and transportation network, a January 1955 report report on traffic and transportaion in Ottawa by consultants Wilbur Smith & Associates came in somewhere in the middle. No renamings or disconnections of Wellington Street in this installment, this time we're going on full traffic nerd mode.<br>
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This 245-page report<sup><a name="cite-w7-1a" href="#ref-w7-1" title="Smith, Wilbur & Associates. Traffic and Transportation Plan for Ottawa, Canada. Wilbur Smith and Associates (New Haven, CT), 1955." onclick="javascript:expand('w7REFS')">1</a></sup> took a detailed snapshot of traffic in Ottawa, and made a number of specific recommendations, many of which involved Wellington Street. In today's part of the <a href="https://centretown.blogspot.com/2020/01/the-many-traces-of-wellington-street.html" target="_blank">Wellington Street blog series</a>, we'll dive into this report and see what it had to say about traffic in general, and Wellington in particular, in the mid-1950s.<br>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6CQ6CkiZ6-FBePpmFPm18pPBoAP6caCb5u1aqyZbR1DZII7SYmBvIzxrL6hIse9Un4J2IiVfCuqoo46Y-rMEEAsTPUMb0Le40gv479XgExHvdUsNoQZH03W1I-v2GcNyQSzU828upT4U/s2048/image00001.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="Image of the blue cover of the spiral-bound report in the Ottawa Public Library's Ottawa Room" border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1697" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6CQ6CkiZ6-FBePpmFPm18pPBoAP6caCb5u1aqyZbR1DZII7SYmBvIzxrL6hIse9Un4J2IiVfCuqoo46Y-rMEEAsTPUMb0Le40gv479XgExHvdUsNoQZH03W1I-v2GcNyQSzU828upT4U/s400/image00001.jpg" title="Image of the blue cover of the spiral-bound report in the Ottawa Public Library's Ottawa Room"></a></div><br>
<a href="https://centretown.blogspot.com/2020/09/wellington-street-part-7-dawn-of-modern.html#more">This post is long. Click here for the rest of it »</a>Centretownerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03798054152996264061noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2014451593167123858.post-17089145013703355912021-04-25T10:00:00.002-04:002021-04-25T10:00:00.193-04:00Wellington Street Part 6: Postwar traffic on Wellington<h4 style="margin-bottom:0px;"><a href="https://centretown.blogspot.com/2021/04/wellington-street-part-6-postwar.html" title="Go to this post">Part 6: Postwar traffic on Wellington</a></h4><p style="font-size:smaller;font-weight:normal;margin:0px;"> <a href="javascript:expandcollapse('w6head')" title="Show/Hide a list of headings that are in this post">[Show/Hide Contents]</a></p>
<span class="posthidden" id="w6head"><ul style="line-height: 1.0;margin-top:0px;"><li style="margin-bottom: 0px;"><a href="#greber-1939">Jacques Gréber's Downtown plan, 1939</a></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0px;"><a href="#greber-1949">Gréber's 1949 Plan for Canada's Capital</a></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0px;"><a href="#west-end-connection">The main connection to the west end</a></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0px;"><a href="#public-wellington">The public weighs in on Wellington</a></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0px;"><a href="#part-6-conclusion">End of Part 6</a></li> <li style="margin-bottom: 20px;"><a href="#w6REFS" onclick="javascript:expand('w6REFS')">References</a></li></ul>
</span>
Back in January 2020, we left off with <a href="https://centretown.blogspot.com/2020/01/wellington-street-part-5-tinkering-with.html" target="_blank" title="Wellington Street Part 5: Tinkering with traffic (1910s to 1940s)">Part 5</a>, in which we watched traffic get heavier on Wellington Street from the 1910s to the 1940s. After a hiatus to do more research and life getting in the way, we're now back to look at government interventions in and around Wellington Street in the ten years following the end of World War II. <br>
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The biggest change for the City of Ottawa was on January 1, 1950,<sup><a name="cite-w6-1a" href="#ref-w6-1" title="City of Ottawa Act (1949), 1949, Referenced in Elliott (p. 256), I can't find a direct reference to the City of Ottawa Act (1949)." onclick="javascript:expand('w6REFS')">1</a></sup> when Ottawa annexed nearly all nearby developed area, including Westboro, Ottawa West, Hampton Park, Highland Park, Woodroffe, Laurentian View, McKellar, Britannia, etc. Thich comprised 7,420 acres (3,000 hectares or 30 square kilometres) of Nepean and Gloucester Townships,<sup><a name="cite-w6-2a" href="#ref-w6-2" title="Elliott, Bruce S. The City Beyond: A History of Nepean, Birthplace of Canada's Capital 1792-1990. Corporation of the City of Nepean, 1991, p. 391 (Appendix 4)." onclick="javascript:expand('w6REFS')">2</a></sup> as seen in the two large sections on the map below.<sup><a name="cite-w6-3a" href="#ref-w6-3" title="Growth of the City of Ottawa 1855-1955 (Map), ca 1955, I've tried hard but I cannot find where I downloaded this from in January 2014. I also don't know what book it's from." onclick="javascript:expand('w6REFS')">3</a></sup> Much of this was burgeoning suburban development which fed a daily stream of workers into downtown Ottawa. <br>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-f-_jxIuJuKGpbsKveltsxmZOj0coYXJe6IsXQeFwjIcIFdO3za4XckFWR6FqBLX95JVbW19nWGjRxuGi5baLTXJ4dwN-JtCdMbfzNqfuHsn1wQpqpeL_nxpynKLOZgKe2_Y1OC6T2_g/s1600/CityGrowth1855to1955.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Map of City of Ottawa from 1955 showing annexations/expansions up to that point, starting with Town of Bytown 1850 City of Ottawa 1855 in the middle and the largest expansions reading Pt of Twp of Nepean 1950 and Pt of Twp of Gloucester 1950." border="0" data-original-height="1237" data-original-width="1600" height="309" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-f-_jxIuJuKGpbsKveltsxmZOj0coYXJe6IsXQeFwjIcIFdO3za4XckFWR6FqBLX95JVbW19nWGjRxuGi5baLTXJ4dwN-JtCdMbfzNqfuHsn1wQpqpeL_nxpynKLOZgKe2_Y1OC6T2_g/s400/CityGrowth1855to1955.jpg" width="400" title="Map of City of Ottawa from 1955 showing annexations/expansions up to that point, starting with Town of Bytown 1850 City of Ottawa 1855 in the middle and the largest expansions reading Pt of Twp of Nepean 1950 and Pt of Twp of Gloucester 1950."></a></div><br>
Although Richmond Road was thus brought into the City limits, it retained its name west of Western Avenue, where Wellington ends.<sup><a name="cite-w6-4a" href="#ref-w6-4" title="Note from blog author, I don't think it's possible to reference the absence of a decision to rename a street; I am asserting this myself. The renumbering of Richmond Road buildings would have been quite a headache if they had!" onclick="javascript:expand('w6REFS')">4</a></sup> Since there were no major physical changes to Wellington Street specifically in this period, today's post will look at traffic in general on Ottawa's Wellington Street.
<a href="https://centretown.blogspot.com/2021/04/wellington-street-part-6-postwar.html#more">This post is long. Click here for the rest of it »</a>Centretownerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03798054152996264061noreply@blogger.com0Wellington St, Ottawa, ON, Canada45.4204891 -75.7049761999999917.110255263821152 -110.86122619999999 73.730722936178836 -40.54872619999999tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2014451593167123858.post-54581699993644162462020-01-29T12:00:00.000-05:002020-10-13T15:57:00.145-04:00Wellington Street Part 5: Tinkering with traffic (1910s to 1940s)<p style="font-size:smaller;font-weight:normal;margin:0px;"> <a href="javascript:expandcollapse('w5head')" title="Show/Hide a list of headings that are in this post">[Show/Hide Contents]</a></p> <span class="posthidden" id="w5head"><ul style="line-height: 1.0;margin-top:0px;"><li style="margin-bottom: 0px;"><a href="#1910s">Viaduct makes Wellington an artery for the 1910s</a></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0px;"><a href="#1920s">Speeding and slowing traffic on Wellington in the '20s</a></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0px;"><a href="#1930s">West End pedestrian woes in the '30s and '40s</a></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0px;"><a href="#Bunnell">Toronto traffic consultant pays Ottawa a visit</a></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0px;"><a href="#Conclusion">End of Part 5</a></li><li style="margin-bottom: 20px;"><a href="#w5REFS" onclick="javascript:expandcollapse('w1REFS')">References</a></li></ul></span><br>
Let's continue with our journey exploring Wellington Street as the street was extended, renamed, and rerouted over its 200-year history. In today's post, we'll look at the many little clues that give us an idea of what traffic was like on Wellington Street from the 1910s to the mid 1940s. <br>
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During this time, Wellington street wasn't extended or curtailed, but traffic in the city got busier as more people drove automobiles and the City's response to this traffic problem had to mature to cope with it. To set the scene, here's LeBreton Flats from around 1930, with Wellington Street coming in from the left and winding up through to downtown:<sup><a name="cite-w5-1a" href="#ref-w5-1" title="'A Tourist's Guide to Ottawa.' Urbsite, Accessed on 2014-01-05, I got the photo from this Urbsite blog post. I'm not sure where he got the photo, but it appears to date from the early 1930s." onclick="javascript:expand('w5REFS')">1</a></sup><br>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivTRxKt6CgEnUfUBclQQ1WXDc-l6NC_cAdPwPSn5GuciF0xsJVqEMYNoFC8b22hIU1ZAn6LX2dZpQtpVprcmxyO7biHzQHofGOlg5jjbEcDQlj6YgkbvEaJhXx0MgnV1ERwBVJY4UT1_8/s1600/Industrial+Aerial+c+1930.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" alt="Black-and-white aerial photo taken from above Preston and Somerset with LeBreton Flats, Chaudière and Victoria Island, and Hull at left, and Somerset/Booth, Bronson/Laurier, and the Parliament buildings on the right. The Alexandra/Interprovincial bridge crosses the Ottawa River at the top. From the left near the bottom Wellington Street comes in and splits at Broad Street with Albert continuing straight and Wellington turning left at a shallow angle. On the north side of Wellington, west of Broad, is the Marine Signals building ('the longest in the British Empire') with trainyards and Nepean Bay beyond, and the blocks abutting Wellington on the South side are occupied by a few large industrial facilities. The other blocks further south are primarily residential." src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivTRxKt6CgEnUfUBclQQ1WXDc-l6NC_cAdPwPSn5GuciF0xsJVqEMYNoFC8b22hIU1ZAn6LX2dZpQtpVprcmxyO7biHzQHofGOlg5jjbEcDQlj6YgkbvEaJhXx0MgnV1ERwBVJY4UT1_8/s400/Industrial+Aerial+c+1930.jpg" width="400" height="306" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="1225" title="Black-and-white aerial photo taken from above Preston and Somerset with LeBreton Flats, Chaudière and Victoria Island, and Hull at left, and Somerset/Booth, Bronson/Laurier, and the Parliament buildings on the right. The Alexandra/Interprovincial bridge crosses the Ottawa River at the top. From the left near the bottom Wellington Street comes in and splits at Broad Street with Albert continuing straight and Wellington turning left at a shallow angle. On the north side of Wellington, west of Broa..."></a></div><br>
<a href="https://centretown.blogspot.com/2020/01/wellington-street-part-5-tinkering-with.html#more">This post is long. Click here for the rest of it »</a>Centretownerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03798054152996264061noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2014451593167123858.post-76565106133039209182020-01-13T12:00:00.000-05:002020-10-13T15:57:00.146-04:00Wellington Street Part 4: As the City grows, so does Wellington (1880-1912)<p style="font-size:smaller;font-weight:normal;margin:0px;"> <a href="javascript:expandcollapse('w4head')" title="Show/Hide a list of headings that are in this post">[Show/Hide Contents]</a></p><span class="posthidden" id="w4head"><ul style="line-height: 1.0;margin-top:0px;"><li style="margin-bottom: 0px;"><a href="#w4head016">1880 Renaming of George Street, Victoria Terrace, and Richmond Road</a></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0px;"><a href="#w4head019">Railway Crossings</a></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0px;"><a href="#w4head020">Great big fires</a></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0px;"><a href="#w4head021">1908 Renaming of Richmond Road through Hintonburg</a></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0px;"><a href="#w4head022">Wellington Street Vidauct</a></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0px;"><a href="#w4head023">Wellington widening and paving through Hintonburg</a></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0px;"><a href="#w4head024">Clearing up the 'middle section' of Wellington</a></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0px;"><a href="#w4head026">1912 Re-renaming of George Street and Victoria Terrace</a></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 20px;"><a href="#w4REFS" onclick="javascript:expandcollapse('w1REFS')">References</a></li>
</ul></span><br>
Before our foray into the east end of Wellington Street in the <a href="https://centretown.blogspot.com/2020/01/wellington-street-part-3-wellington-and.html" target="_blank" title="Part 3: Wellington and Rideau's on again, off again, connection (1820s-1913)">previous post</a>, we were talking in <a href="https://centretown.blogspot.com/2020/01/wellington-street-part-2-west-ends.html" target="_blank" title="Part 2: The west end's Muddy Trails to street rails (1828-1870s)">Part 2</a> about the first roads in Ottawa and how the fledgling town's road network began to develop in the new neighbourhood that would one day be called LeBreton Flats. <br>
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In this post we'll look at the period from about 1880 to 1912, during which time rail lines cross over Wellington at grade, fires ravage the western part of the street, Ottawa absorbs various suburbs, and an excessive number of bylaws authorize the renaming, widening, and paving of Wellington Street. To set the scene, here's what it looked like to walk in the middle of Wellington Street in 1898:<sup><a name="cite-w4-1a" href="#ref-w4-1" title="Carre, William H. Art Work on Ottawa, Canada, 1898, p. 2 vol 2." onclick="javascript:expand('w4REFS')">1</a></sup><br>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqErOVHwmPTw9M0noya-Bpcu6AYmHEdxTVE7yMm3TdBGGCMm8ZyaTm0huPkpG0ZnZGx2gAaLHnR-6fYs1DwvFQbfjap6y7LvmHOZ7euOyWgyex1R_BFVYlOjc20fqJ-7m7hkz_NMydCTA/s1600/wellington-st-looking-east-1898.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqErOVHwmPTw9M0noya-Bpcu6AYmHEdxTVE7yMm3TdBGGCMm8ZyaTm0huPkpG0ZnZGx2gAaLHnR-6fYs1DwvFQbfjap6y7LvmHOZ7euOyWgyex1R_BFVYlOjc20fqJ-7m7hkz_NMydCTA/s400/wellington-st-looking-east-1898.jpg" width="400" height="330" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="1320" alt="Photo taken from Wellington Street, looking east, at around O'Connor Street, with the street extending into the horizon. From left to right: The stone and wrought iron fence at the perimeter of Parliament Hill, the north sidewalk (material unclear), a boulevard planted with a continuous row of trees, the roadway which is dirt and rutted, a bicyclist in the road heading straight toward the camera, a horse drawn carriage further away on the opposite side of the street, telephone poles each with nine rows of eight insulators, the south sidewalk (concrete?) with some trees, buildings on the south side of Wellington Street, all around 4 storeys tall. The photo has an all-caps caption at the bottom (from the book from which it was scanned), Wellington Street Looking East" title="Photo taken from Wellington Street, looking east, at around O'Connor Street, with the street extending into the horizon. From left to right: The stone and wrought iron fence at the perimeter of Parliament Hill, the north sidewalk (material unclear), a boulevard planted with a continuous row of trees, the roadway which is dirt and rutted, a bicyclist in the road heading straight toward the camera, a horse drawn carriage further away on the opposite side of the street, telephone poles each with ni..."></a></div><a href="https://centretown.blogspot.com/2020/01/wellington-street-part-4-as-city-grows.html#more">This post is long. Click here for the rest of it »</a>Centretownerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03798054152996264061noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2014451593167123858.post-67676052881424756622020-01-08T12:00:00.000-05:002020-01-30T02:35:24.646-05:00Wellington Street Part 3: Wellington and Rideau's on again, off again, connection (1820s-1913)<p style="font-size:smaller;font-weight:normal;margin:0px;"> <a href="javascript:expandcollapse('w3head')" title="Show/Hide a list of headings that are in this post">[Show/Hide Contents]</a></p><span class="posthidden" id="w3head"><ul style="line-height: 1.0;margin-top:0px;"><li style="margin-bottom: 0px;"><a href="#w3head010">The Fortress at Barrack Hill</a></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0px;"><a href="#w3head011">Wagon Trail to Sappers' Bridge</a></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0px;"><a href="#w3head012">Sparks Street Extension to the Canal</a></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0px;"><a href="#w3head013">Wellington Street extension to the Canal</a></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0px;"><a href="#w3head014">Dufferin Bridge restores Wellington-Rideau connection</a></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0px;"><a href="#w3head015">Postscript: Confusion Square</a></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 20px;"><a href="#w3REFS" onclick="javascript:expandcollapse('w1REFS')">References</a></li>
</ul></span><br>
In this blog series about 200 years of physical and nominal changes to Wellington Street, most of the action is West of Bank Street, particularly in LeBreton Flats. The <a href="https://centretown.blogspot.com/2020/01/wellington-street-part-2-west-ends.html">previous post</a> showed the earliest of these changes. Today we will examine the changes to the east end of Wellington Street in the 1800s, as it dabbled with connections to Rideau.<br>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxBtdA4tlqc49eN3UTpC7n2-pTtgISxB_n543qCUaY-xHTBRc061Jwv3NnMXusd_J78GfwHZa15qm6gWMp9B0hWxt5E3UYCZE0YDIM_EftlGgAEscPEItrpFuv5Uyz0WLlnpsXAUKjtyA/s1600/IMGP48962.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxBtdA4tlqc49eN3UTpC7n2-pTtgISxB_n543qCUaY-xHTBRc061Jwv3NnMXusd_J78GfwHZa15qm6gWMp9B0hWxt5E3UYCZE0YDIM_EftlGgAEscPEItrpFuv5Uyz0WLlnpsXAUKjtyA/s400/IMGP48962.JPG" width="400" alt="This photo is of the Plaza Bridge, which spans the Rideau Canal to connect Wellington and Rideau Streets, looking east up Wellington Street with Confederation Square in the foreground and Parliament Hill on the right. It was not taken in the 1800s, but in 2012 when I visited the Chateau Laurier during Doors Open Ottawa"></a></div><a href="https://centretown.blogspot.com/2020/01/wellington-street-part-3-wellington-and.html#more">This post is long. Click here for the rest of it »</a>Centretownerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03798054152996264061noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2014451593167123858.post-48485125862204570812020-01-06T12:00:00.000-05:002020-10-13T15:57:00.145-04:00Wellington Street Part 2: The west end's Muddy Trails to street rails (1828-1870s)<p style="font-size:smaller;font-weight:normal;margin:0px;"> <a href="javascript:expandcollapse('w2head')" title="Show/Hide a list of headings that are in this post">[Show/Hide Contents]</a></p><span class="posthidden" id="w2head"><ul style="line-height: 1.0;margin-top:0px;"><li style="margin-bottom: 0px;"><a href="#w2head005">Union Bridge across the Chaudière</a></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0px;"><a href="#w2head006">Pooley's Bridge and the Wellington link</a></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0px;"><a href="#w2head007">LeBreton Flats is laid out</a></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0px;"><a href="#w2head008">George Street and Victoria Terrace</a></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0px;"><a href="#w2head009">George and Wellington: intersection or continuation?</a></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 20px;"><a href="#w2REFS" onclick="javascript:expandcollapse('w1REFS')">References</a></li>
</ul></span><br>
In the <a href="https://centretown.blogspot.ca/2020/01/wellington-street-part-1-ottawas.html" target="_blank" title="Wellington Street Part 1: Ottawa's earliest roads and their namesakes (1800-1826)">previous post</a>, we drew lines from the Dukes of Richmond and Wellington and connected them to the roads bearing their names in Ottawa via the Earl of Dalhousie and Colonel By. We ended with Colonel By establishing By Town and laying down Wellington and Rideau Streets in Upper Town and Lower Town, respectively. <br>
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Today we continue the saga of Ottawa's Wellington Street and start to look at its earliest connections with other roads and the names they've had. We'll be focusing on the western end of Wellington Street as it skirts around the edge of LeBreton Flats. (The <a href="https://centretown.blogspot.com/2020/01/the-many-traces-of-wellington-street.html#Contents" target="_blank" title="Contents section of the Introduction post in this series">full list of posts</a> is in the Introductory post in this series, populated as each part is posted)<br>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqkWSi3az4_hGg7sn0Uj337ar57YBuZ7zzW5x_QqACpoZPUzoAkuDaWPpSO07WNJXzGDrqF7xeMMdxVXF3rb-cBeZZ87Fr5xT8eokLJOq9AUMRecHJF8j8BWSseblvGIAFX29ooBeDRHI/s1600/1828-05-05+Col+By+Rideau+Canal+sketch+crop+rotate+contrast.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Map (Sketch) of Rideau Canal drawn by Lt Col John By 1828-05-05, cropped to the intersection of Ottawa and Rideau Rivers with the nascent Bytown and initial canal locks. A yellow east-west line along the path of Rideau/Wellington Streets curves at its east end northwards and crossing the Ottawa River at the Chaudière Falls, where it intersects with Wright's Britannia Road (later Aylmer Road). At the curve, a less prominent line extends southward toward Hogsback and continues following the Rideau River. Obtained from http://passageshistoriques-heritagepassages.ca/ang-eng/recherche_et_archives-research_and_archives/militaire-military/carte-map" border="0" data-original-height="831" data-original-width="843" height="394" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqkWSi3az4_hGg7sn0Uj337ar57YBuZ7zzW5x_QqACpoZPUzoAkuDaWPpSO07WNJXzGDrqF7xeMMdxVXF3rb-cBeZZ87Fr5xT8eokLJOq9AUMRecHJF8j8BWSseblvGIAFX29ooBeDRHI/s400/1828-05-05+Col+By+Rideau+Canal+sketch+crop+rotate+contrast.jpg" width="400"></a></div><a href="https://centretown.blogspot.com/2020/01/wellington-street-part-2-west-ends.html#more">This post is long. Click here for the rest of it »</a>Centretownerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03798054152996264061noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2014451593167123858.post-4709694063590308762020-01-02T12:00:00.000-05:002020-10-13T15:57:00.144-04:00Wellington Street Part 1: Ottawa's earliest roads and their namesakes (1800-1826)<p style="font-size:smaller;font-weight:normal;"> <a href="javascript:expandcollapse('w1head')" title="Show/Hide a list of headings that are in this post">[Show/Hide Contents]</a></p><span class="posthidden" id="w1head"><ul style="line-height: 1.0;margin-top:0px;"><li style="margin-bottom: 0px;"><a href="#EuroSettlers">The first European settlers</a></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0px;"><a href="#EarliestRoads">The earliest roads</a></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0px;"><a href="#OldWhiteMen">Eponyms of the earliest roads</a></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0px;"><a href="#Wellington">Establishing Wellington Street and Bytown</a></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 20px;"><a href="#w1REFS" onclick="javascript:expandcollapse('w1REFS')">References</a></li>
</ul></span>To go beyond a <a href="https://centretown.blogspot.com/2019/11/the-many-traces-of-wellington-street.html" target="_blank" title="Intro blog post to this series and overview of Wellington Street renamings.">simplified summary</a> and conduct a thorough review of the history of changes to all the roads in Ottawa called "Wellington Street", we need to go back to Ottawa's earliest days as a settlement and where that all came from. <br>
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It's easy enough to say "Richmond Road was named after the Duke of Richmond and Wellington Street was named after the Duke of Wellington", but that doesn't answer the questions of who those people are and what relation they bore to Ottawa and to the people who built its first roads. So let's get into that.<br>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKWOlYvBwMuVGbHWfy-2B_Ryb5dDsAXXjGTNUY4_zaxzbn-a17s2EO6QDJKr3N_bpHmtkiV3XYkf-uICVDunJzTBDWSEyCvU8YSJuKGq4QHjVFkyVF77WtwT9JIULlRrIQ5kedum0Ai_Q/s1600/Sir_Arthur_Wellesley%252C_1st_Duke_of_Wellington.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKWOlYvBwMuVGbHWfy-2B_Ryb5dDsAXXjGTNUY4_zaxzbn-a17s2EO6QDJKr3N_bpHmtkiV3XYkf-uICVDunJzTBDWSEyCvU8YSJuKGq4QHjVFkyVF77WtwT9JIULlRrIQ5kedum0Ai_Q/s400/Sir_Arthur_Wellesley%252C_1st_Duke_of_Wellington.png" width="293" height="400" data-original-width="1170" data-original-height="1600" alt="Portrait of the Duke of Wellington, from Wikipedia. The Duke of Wellington is standing at half-length, wearing Field Marshal’s uniform, with the Garter star and sash, the badge of the Golden Fleece, and a special badge ordered by the Prince Regent to be worn from 1815 by Knights Grand Cross of the Military Division of the Order of the Bath who were also Knights Companion of the Order of the Garter."></a><sup><a name="cite-w1-1a" href="#ref-w1-1" title="'File:Sir Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington.png.' Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Accessed on 2020-01-01, Might as well have a picture of Wellington in a blog series about him, eh?" onclick="javascript:expandcollapse('w1REFS')">1</a></sup></div><br>
<a href="https://centretown.blogspot.com/2020/01/wellington-street-part-1-ottawas.html#more">This post is long. Click here for the rest of it »</a>Centretownerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03798054152996264061noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2014451593167123858.post-87824779458565642282020-01-01T23:48:00.017-05:002023-05-05T11:21:33.756-04:00The many traces of Wellington Street - IntroductionYou may already know that Ottawa has both a Wellington Street and a Wellington Street West, but it was not always so simple. A man standing at the corner of Scott and Bayview in the pre-smartphone days of the early 2000s asked me for help finding an address on Wellington Street, and I had to confess that I didn't know which of three Wellington Streets to direct him to!<br>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><div dir="ltr" lang="en">I'm looking mostly at YOU Wellingtons. You are unnatural and should not both exist.</div>— Cassie 🚲🐈 (@cfulgham) <a href="https://twitter.com/cfulgham/status/765236647827017730?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 15, 2016</a></blockquote><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script><br>
I was reminded of this recently and <a href="https://twitter.com/Centretowner/status/1187971061163417600" target="_blank" title="link to Twitter thread on 2019-10-25 where I initially discuss this.">got curious about</a> when these various geometric and name changes took place. I already knew that the City of Ottawa renamed many streets, including two of the Wellingtons, following amalgamation in 2001, and a quick look at an aerial photo reveals clues to how various physical changes broke Wellington Street up. Dennis Van Staalduinen tried his best to explain it on a couple of <a href="http://www.janeswalkottawa.ca/" target="_blank" title="Homepage for Jane's Walk Ottawa">Jane's Walks</a> in 2012 and 2013, the notes of which he has <a href="http://denvan.ca/wp/oldwelli1-2/" target="_blank">posted on his website</a>, and a <a href="http://denvan.ca/wp/wellington-connection/" target="_blank">follow-up map</a> in 2016. I even covered the topic myself in a <a href="https://centretown.blogspot.com/2010/07/wellington-street-meet-wellington.html" target="_blank">2010 blog post</a>!<br>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_Yp-7SRmp-DX7KXeNKBUUL_pzhzgnkAPA2XZsHDdrDufjtZgerqfT109nlKjcKnAJZhwRZ6hjJEEpmCh___Bd3XsaJP1su45_duiFasMF_OeQUCdCcpF93G6aWxANxH78ag8gDCPm8sA/s1600/IMGP62587.JPG" imageanchor="1" name="WellingtonEast" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Photo of a green highway-style sign reading Wellington East and pointing to the right" border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_Yp-7SRmp-DX7KXeNKBUUL_pzhzgnkAPA2XZsHDdrDufjtZgerqfT109nlKjcKnAJZhwRZ6hjJEEpmCh___Bd3XsaJP1su45_duiFasMF_OeQUCdCcpF93G6aWxANxH78ag8gDCPm8sA/s400/IMGP62587.JPG" width="400"></a></div><br>
But these were all snapshots; I wanted the whole story. I searched my own collection of books on LeBreton Flats, Ottawa, and the NCC, and found nothing describing the actual changes to Wellington Street. I searched the Web as well, but found only the most recent changes. It turns out that anybody who's written about LeBreton Flats has been more interested in the buildings, people, and land, than on the nomenclature and alignment of its primary artery! (I jest; this is entirely reasonable) <br>
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So I took a few trips to the <a href="https://biblioottawalibrary.ca/en/ottawa-room" target="_blank" title="Ottawa Public Library Ottawa Room, main branch, 3rd floor. Reference only (i.e. you must consult the resources in the room, you can't check them out)">Ottawa Room</a>, bought a subscription to Newspapers.com, and collected a trove of information about Wellington Street, with many twists and turns along the way. Changing names and alignments is a Wellington Street tradition that goes back to the early 1800s and most recently this past September!<br>
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Over the past two months, I've painstakingly assembled this information into the following blog series to detail everything I can find out about Wellington Street—everything, that is, <i>except</i> for the buildings, people, and land! <strong>Depending on how you count it, Wellington Street was officially renamed between 7 and 21 times</strong>, and that doesn't even count all the times where it got physically disconnected or redirected! I've done my best to filter out the wrong information and provide sources for the rest; corrections are welcome by email, tweet, or comment (all comments are moderated).<br>
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The first part goes up tomorrow at noon, and the rest of the 10+ parts are in various stages of development and will be posted thereafter. The posts and the headings within them will be added to the <a href="#contents">bottom of this post</a> as they are added. But first, a quick rundown of Wellington Street:<br>
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<a href="https://centretown.blogspot.com/2020/01/the-many-traces-of-wellington-street.html#more">This post is long. Click here for the rest of it »</a>Centretownerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03798054152996264061noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2014451593167123858.post-44024730847052651022019-11-15T12:00:00.000-05:002020-10-13T15:57:00.145-04:00Confirmed: Fleet Street uses water to pump waterI'd like to correct the record. <br />
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On October 1 of this year, while attending a drop-in Open House about the City of Ottawa's plans to rehabilitate the Booth Street heritage bridge (more on that to come in a future blog post), a City representative mentioned offhandedly that the Fleet Street water pumping station had been converted to electric pumps "decades ago", like in the 1950s. <br />
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One of the LeBreton Flats residents in attendance, echoing the sentiment of many, expressed dismay that he'd been telling people for years that it was a water-powered water pumping station. I, myself, had made this claim in my 2012 blog post <a href="https://centretown.blogspot.com/2012/12/3d-thursday-3d-through-aqueduct-part-2.html" target="_blank">3D Through the Aqueduct (part 2)</a>.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlpojTcBGU_fdWk57MP05XtoSi9dVyVWdhh2ucKc9TOKvfUx95nw26ARkGfGuHLbiESFNhFm5T8Qx11mqGrsPC9jfpZg5v7jEnxnvOu1r8YCRlrEW19lnNG-nZgjU8d-TbCXcmHJ5TYdI/s1600/DSC18644.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlpojTcBGU_fdWk57MP05XtoSi9dVyVWdhh2ucKc9TOKvfUx95nw26ARkGfGuHLbiESFNhFm5T8Qx11mqGrsPC9jfpZg5v7jEnxnvOu1r8YCRlrEW19lnNG-nZgjU8d-TbCXcmHJ5TYdI/s400/DSC18644.JPG" width="400" height="300" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="1200" /></a></div><br />
While still at the Open House, I did a quick Google search on my phone, and found only unsubstantiated claims. A City employee working on a project about one of the aqueduct's bridges is a pretty compelling authority. My next step was to <a href="https://twitter.com/Centretowner/status/1179160011882270725?s=19" target="_blank">send out a Tweet</a> calling on the crowdsourcing power of Twitter to confirm or deny these electric claims.<br />
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">One piece of 'new' information supplied by Ian Izzard of the City: the Fleet St Pumping station has been fully electric powered (not hydraulic from aqueduct) since the 1950s. Can anyone confirm this? <a href="https://twitter.com/HeritageOttawa?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@HeritageOttawa</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ottcity?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ottcity</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LeBretonFlats?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#LeBretonFlats</a></p>— Charles A-M (@Centretowner) <a href="https://twitter.com/Centretowner/status/1179160011882270725?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 1, 2019</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script><br />
That yielded nothing conclusive. There was a <a href="https://app06.ottawa.ca/calendar/ottawa/citycouncil/ec/2007/04-10/ACS2007-CCS-PEC-0008.htm" target="_blank">City report describing the pumping station as water-powered</a>, but that report was prepared by the Councillor's office, not the water department. <br />
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I eventually (Oct 17) emailed Councillor McKenney, who sent the request down the bureaucratic ladder, and the very next day I got this wonderfully clear and detailed response from Paul Montgomery of the City's water department. (Emphasis added, slightly edited).<br />
<blockquote>Mr. Akben-Marchand,<br />
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There are five water turbine powered centrifugal pumps at the Fleet Street pumping station; all are still used and in service. A small amount of electrical power is required, for automated controls, lighting and such, but <strong>the primary sources of motive power for the station's installed pumps is water and, of course, gravity.</strong><br />
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Many people incorrectly assume that we use the river, at Fleet Street, to drive generators which would then drive electric motors and, in turn, to drive pumps. Rather, we use water powered turbines to drive mechanical gear boxes / speed increases to then directly drive the installed pumps.<br />
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Approximately 20m<sup>3</sup>/s of Ottawa River water flows, through a headworks control gate structure located along the shore of Nepean Bay, through the covered Aqueduct below the former Ottawa Street, to the Fleet Street Pumping Station and then down through the turbines. The approximate head, across the turbines, is 27 feet.<br />
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Treated drinking water flows by gravity, through a large buried watermain from the Lemieux Island Water Treatment Plant, to supply the five pumps at Fleet. At full capacity, the Fleet Street pumping station can supply approximately 200ML/day to the City.<br />
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Thanks,<br />
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M. Paul Montgomery, P. Eng.<br />
Plant Manager, Water Production - East<br />
Water Services, PWES</blockquote><br />
That settles that! I publish it here for posterity, and for the next person who hears rumours of the plant's electrification!<br />
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By the way, that "200ML/day" refers to Megalitres per day, or 200,000,000 litres! I discussed the underground Ottawa Street aqueduct in <a href="https://centretown.blogspot.com/2012/12/3d-thursday-3d-through-aqueduct-part-1.html#OttawaStreet">this 2012 blog post</a>.<br />
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<h3 class="post-title entry-title"><a name="Updates"></a>LeBreton Flats updates/errata</h3><br />
On the topic of corrections and updates, here are some to some previous blog posts about LeBreton Flats:<br />
<ul><li>In the 2012 post, <a href="https://centretown.blogspot.com/2012/12/3d-thursday-3d-through-aqueduct-part-2.html" target="_blank">3D Thursday: 3D through the aqueduct, part 2 of 2</a>, I didn't know the purpose of the wooden bracing on the Fleet Street Pumping Station building. A <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/lrt-construction-could-crack-heritage-sites-1.1706422" target="_blank">CBC Ottawa News video from 2013</a> says that the City was doing repairs to cracks that developed on both the pumping station and Pooley's Bridge following blasting at the site of nearby condo development on Lett Street.</li>
<li>The tree featured in the 2014 post, <a href="https://centretown.blogspot.com/2014/01/the-lonely-elm.html" target="_blank">The Lonely Elm</a> was cut down in Winter 2014-2015 (literally: the two nearest photos showing the tree present and absent were on 2014-12-21 and 2015-03-28). The price of progress for LRT and, it would seem from aerial photos, the Combined Sewage Storage Tunnel (CSST) access shaft.</li>
<li>Also in the Lonely Tree post, I referred to a section of Wellington Street as "Old Wellington", which was incorrect. It would have just been "Wellington".</li>
</ul><br />
I actually have a number of LeBreton Flats related blog posts in various stages of development that I hope to publish soon, including the results of quite a bit of research about Wellington Streets.<br />
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<em>[Look for more one-photo posts under the label <a href="http://centretown.blogspot.ca/search/label/Singles">Singles</a>]</em>Centretownerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03798054152996264061noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2014451593167123858.post-61277905952782530582018-08-20T12:00:00.000-04:002018-08-20T12:00:12.277-04:00Chinatown double-flyoverI found this well-timed photo as I was catching up on sorting my significant backlog of photos. Looking up at the corner of Somerset Street West and Booth Street, the sky is divided by the traffic signal arms. In the left quadrant is a gull, and in the right quadrant is a low-flying Air Canada jet:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiACqwnXyy-rZ-n1tZQjnS2Qg-TD86eBMyCZFTBIuf7GeqVZCWq6kGGoeQ1OJ5MVlaEkK1ja_HLk66Pah58b7hxUA_7u4jfUiGyOb3sdQK8VzfuO_W4Oz1EK1vUj79qR9FBdmIDPE5-dPc/s1600/DSC31572.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiACqwnXyy-rZ-n1tZQjnS2Qg-TD86eBMyCZFTBIuf7GeqVZCWq6kGGoeQ1OJ5MVlaEkK1ja_HLk66Pah58b7hxUA_7u4jfUiGyOb3sdQK8VzfuO_W4Oz1EK1vUj79qR9FBdmIDPE5-dPc/s400/DSC31572.JPG" width="400" height="300" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="1200" /></a></div><br />
<i>[Look for more one-photo posts under the label <a href="http://centretown.blogspot.ca/search/label/Singles">Singles</a>]</i>Centretownerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03798054152996264061noreply@blogger.com0Booth St & Somerset St W, Ottawa, ON K1R, Canada45.40949 -75.71056699999996919.887455499999998 -117.01916099999997 70.9315245 -34.40197299999997tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2014451593167123858.post-10290232388957042212018-02-19T09:00:00.000-05:002018-02-19T09:00:49.603-05:00That time I was on the Skate Patrol for ten years (Family Day finale)Today is Family Day and the last day of Winterlude, which makes for a good place to finish my series about my time as a member of the Rideau Canal Skate Patrol. You may want to first read <a href="http://centretown.blogspot.ca/2018/02/that-time-i-was-on-skate-patrol-for-ten_3.html" target="_blank">part 1</a> and <a href="http://centretown.blogspot.ca/2018/02/that-time-i-was-on-skate-patrol-for-ten.html" target="_blank">part 2</a>.<br>
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Starting in 2011, the NCC wanted a skate patroller to be up on the ground level for the annual flag-raising ceremony which marks the official opening of the canal, and I was that skate patroller. I wasn't in the scrum during the actual flag-raising, instead I stepped back to take a video of the flag raising. I believe this one was take 2, because some of the media photographers missed the flag going up the pole the first time:<br>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJanrpRoQY-oWkSfLBhBMUnoTeyWNfwUAqrrCII1CXKyZKg7CPJcsxwzvarAAPRPVjPnl1eJHgdr5sieShVMd37Mj2xob8VLpN0dlYE8ktjYzQddlg-wKrvCnr8peqjF5tRxt85MJNDtQ/s1600/IMGP27987.AVI" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJanrpRoQY-oWkSfLBhBMUnoTeyWNfwUAqrrCII1CXKyZKg7CPJcsxwzvarAAPRPVjPnl1eJHgdr5sieShVMd37Mj2xob8VLpN0dlYE8ktjYzQddlg-wKrvCnr8peqjF5tRxt85MJNDtQ/s400/IMGP27987.AVI" width="400"></a></div>
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I then posed for some photos, including this one with an Ice Hog mascot (think groundhog, but with ice) and someone who was introduced to me as a dignitary from the insurance company that sponsored the skate patrol that year:<br>
<a href="https://centretown.blogspot.com/2018/02/that-time-i-was-on-skate-patrol-for-ten_19.html#more">This post is long. Click here for the rest of it »</a>Centretownerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03798054152996264061noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2014451593167123858.post-78594820014483853612018-02-04T09:00:00.000-05:002018-02-04T09:00:58.800-05:00That time I was on the Skate Patrol for ten years (Part 2)In <a href="http://centretown.blogspot.com/2018/02/that-time-i-was-on-skate-patrol-for-ten_3.html">Part 1</a> of this three-part series, I explained how I got my start on the Rideau Canal Skate Patrol. I left off in 2009, the year after we got new neon yellowish-green jackets. Here I am in said jacket at my <a href="http://pedbridge.blogspot.ca" target="_Blank" title="My blog with weekly construction photos of the Corktown Footbridge">favourite Ottawa footbridge</a>:<br>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwe22ZaM8zkS4imAo120Z-uj_5Lg3dzrJWfzBTiadPqfw12_s5RyUCIIPa6_6pzsTwcCrlyxdCxnmcO4FBxk_qURiVmuQDxsSHekmTqHJK8kSdu78S3DPr_jDCLcwLIRM5TwmL2eY3rUk/s1600/IMGP06944.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwe22ZaM8zkS4imAo120Z-uj_5Lg3dzrJWfzBTiadPqfw12_s5RyUCIIPa6_6pzsTwcCrlyxdCxnmcO4FBxk_qURiVmuQDxsSHekmTqHJK8kSdu78S3DPr_jDCLcwLIRM5TwmL2eY3rUk/s400/IMGP06944.JPG" width="400"></a></div><br>
2009 was a year with many changes, and not just the Obama bandwagon that Beavertails jumped on:<br>
<a href="https://centretown.blogspot.com/2018/02/that-time-i-was-on-skate-patrol-for-ten.html#more">This post is long. Click here for the rest of it »</a>Centretownerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03798054152996264061noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2014451593167123858.post-6415168131081474992018-02-03T09:00:00.000-05:002018-02-03T09:00:38.861-05:00That time I was on the Skate Patrol for ten years (Part 1)The 40th edition of Ottawa's Winterlude festival has opened this weekend, and its crown jewel, the Rideau Canal Skateway, is enjoying a good season. This year has had the earliest start in four years, after a record short 18 skating days in 2016 and 25 skating days in 2017.<br>
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The official <a href="http://twitter.com/NCC_Skateway" target="_blank" title="official Twitter account for the NCC's Rideau Canal Skateway">@NCC_Skateway Twitter account</a> often posts tidbits about the skateway, for example, a <a href="https://twitter.com/NCC_Skateway/status/958705834657280005?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank" title="#CanalFact: The #RideauCanal Skateway has a team of 60 #skate patrollers to ensure safety on the world's largest skating rink!">tweet</a> mentioning that there is a team of 60 skate patrollers on the canal.<br>
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As it happens, I served on the Rideau Canal Skate Patrol for ten years, and I've been meaning to write about it. Now that I've been off the patrol for a while, it's time for me to come out of the shadows...<br>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcDthuY8YlXqqdTgnsJ2NoqbJCGgvgC-kyVNIpoyCiwC-k5VDCFwbz_22NhSRo2lL0viWbdGT_Echz6ksLv7m3fAuCBZz_9rs8x1wNBm3twqz0Rf6dMRgyhp9btXBJq1MspDPqhBIIxlI/s1600/IMGP28981.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcDthuY8YlXqqdTgnsJ2NoqbJCGgvgC-kyVNIpoyCiwC-k5VDCFwbz_22NhSRo2lL0viWbdGT_Echz6ksLv7m3fAuCBZz_9rs8x1wNBm3twqz0Rf6dMRgyhp9btXBJq1MspDPqhBIIxlI/s400/IMGP28981.JPG" width="400"></a></div><a href="https://centretown.blogspot.com/2018/02/that-time-i-was-on-skate-patrol-for-ten_3.html#more">This post is long. Click here for the rest of it »</a>Centretownerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03798054152996264061noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2014451593167123858.post-67559169970926161992016-08-21T17:12:00.002-04:002018-01-29T18:55:08.367-05:00Lifecycle of a potholeThe 2006-2007 reconstruction of Bank Street between Wellington and Laurier is the first major road reconstruction projects I photographed, albeit much less than subsequent ones. These multi-million-dollar reconstructions are designed to revitalize the underground infrastructure beneath our streets to last for decades to come. The surface situation can be a different story, however.<br>
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I took interest in one particular manhole cover at Bank and Slater, and took photos of it every now and then as I passed by the location on my bike, and so begins our story...<br>
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In June 2007, the sidewalks were finished and the tree pits installed outside the former location of the Shopper's Drug Mart in what is now called the Jack Layton Building. The roadway, meanwhile, was still in gravel:<br>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkstMlxTy1ehHYuciiFLgbYkWNPKRz8yTzZ-k2MpyL-1bM3jwR2cG59tqLEpyOjT7suDawDe1LFmYrATbppT3dXRKZ4cPZq03K8IUNJZ1GkZcnQcrD4nGP_o0ErZk5uD0oSUuN5YB1v6c/s1600/IMGP01123.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkstMlxTy1ehHYuciiFLgbYkWNPKRz8yTzZ-k2MpyL-1bM3jwR2cG59tqLEpyOjT7suDawDe1LFmYrATbppT3dXRKZ4cPZq03K8IUNJZ1GkZcnQcrD4nGP_o0ErZk5uD0oSUuN5YB1v6c/s400/IMGP01123.JPG" width="400"></a></div>
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In early September 2007, the first lift of asphalt was laid down. Of the stores visible in this photo, the Moores and the Money Mart are still there, the GNC and Blue Gardenia having closed since.<br>
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<a href="https://centretown.blogspot.com/2016/08/lifecycle-of-pothole.html#more">This post is long. Click here for the rest of it »</a>Centretownerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03798054152996264061noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2014451593167123858.post-33660249426485464402015-06-04T12:00:00.000-04:002015-06-04T12:00:01.127-04:003D Thursday: Hangar Doors Open Ottawa @avspacemuseumThis coming weekend, June 6 and 7, 2015, is <a href="http://www.ottawa.ca/doorsopen" target="_blank">Doors Open Ottawa</a>, an annual festival where the public gets the chance to look behind usually-closed doors—for free! There are 22 new buildings this year, including the Canadian Nurses' Association headquarters, <a href="http://ottawa.ca/cgi-bin/doors/2015.pl?id=27&lang=en" target="_new">CNA House</a>, at 50 the Driveway in Centretown. <br>
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Outside Centretown, but also new this year, is the <a href="http://ottawa.ca/cgi-bin/doors/2015.pl?id=15&lang=en" target="_blank">Canada Aviation and Space Museum's Reserve Hangar</a>, where they store all the airplanes and stuff that doesn't fit on the museum floor. Put on your 3D glasses and turn up your screen brightness and check out these aircraft photos!<br>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIYUo44o8RIlsQlOap-lWd4_TKdvHEMg8Nv8l81WyTb3QowCmLjQl9X52sobswsm51wLCQkam20DPWLgniFwguTIFt-TscmgCegiJbTeSLrg0KG8O0UJO4QQG8FPH-xNOiHFCZfqRt9H4/s1600/IMGP51458-3D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIYUo44o8RIlsQlOap-lWd4_TKdvHEMg8Nv8l81WyTb3QowCmLjQl9X52sobswsm51wLCQkam20DPWLgniFwguTIFt-TscmgCegiJbTeSLrg0KG8O0UJO4QQG8FPH-xNOiHFCZfqRt9H4/s400/IMGP51458-3D.JPG"></a></div>
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Source photos for the 3D image: <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTeDRckDmVcmRqOHsrL-JUV7syRFKW5mRZbKEx2LBvBYFmYJeBerEer7HwEoJkV9ogAXve5lrU1IJu1cOmmARh9imSL1JOvtlYgjHGM3JT0t1Ao3AxFjpYG89xZx9_4s4UYJDbYe6NPSc/s1600/IMGP51458-L3D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><!--<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTeDRckDmVcmRqOHsrL-JUV7syRFKW5mRZbKEx2LBvBYFmYJeBerEer7HwEoJkV9ogAXve5lrU1IJu1cOmmARh9imSL1JOvtlYgjHGM3JT0t1Ao3AxFjpYG89xZx9_4s4UYJDbYe6NPSc/s400/IMGP51458-L3D.JPG" />-->Left</a>, <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKWFCAv0LvTSxbd46ktS4AQi1Go3ZOGwp9nTsED9xWJ3X8daEzYkIYTGiBmU1fn_2hWLesKGwgJeM1yYydJbDfda_qCcskLG-ekrfOXF_EWtQ4KCFZujGf3pmklVebW8EpG_kOWLdYZL8/s1600/IMGP51458-R3D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><!--<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKWFCAv0LvTSxbd46ktS4AQi1Go3ZOGwp9nTsED9xWJ3X8daEzYkIYTGiBmU1fn_2hWLesKGwgJeM1yYydJbDfda_qCcskLG-ekrfOXF_EWtQ4KCFZujGf3pmklVebW8EpG_kOWLdYZL8/s400/IMGP51458-R3D.JPG" />-->Right</a></div>
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The above photo is from inside the museum itself, which isn't part of the free tour (but it's a great photo, isn't it?). All the other photos in this post are from a tour I had the fortune to attend a couple of months ago. <br>
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In the photo below, immediately behind the tour group is a wooden full-scale model of a forward fuselage for Bombardier's <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombardier_CSeries" target="_blank">CSeries</a> aircraft. <br>
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<a href="https://centretown.blogspot.com/2015/06/3d-thursday-hangar-doors-open-ottawa.html#more">This post is long. Click here for the rest of it »</a>Centretownerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03798054152996264061noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2014451593167123858.post-46359027844593285862014-08-05T12:00:00.000-04:002014-08-05T12:00:03.098-04:00Ash to ashes...The Emerald Ash Borer beetle is continuing its destruction of a significant portion of Ottawa's <a href="http://centretown.blogspot.ca/2009/06/urban-tree-conservation.html">urban canopy</a>, and Centretown isn't escaping it either.<br />
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On Percy Street, at the CCOC's housing development at the former Percy Street School, a row of ash trees are marked for removal. Someone has added cloth signs to the tree trunks, including this one that says "That ash is boring me to death!"<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCTdYYx73scCuNOvMTleSXJ4dfWht5dJgFgDenTHzfzT5iXtoa8Vc1GaoH07e3Ttggx2_TqFte5ORugkfXgpUzQ0RhbExnvUT3UgG6UP1XNoLfL_mtBNDuDTJyBq1CW_xwAZblCFPXEOE/s1600/DSC10716.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCTdYYx73scCuNOvMTleSXJ4dfWht5dJgFgDenTHzfzT5iXtoa8Vc1GaoH07e3Ttggx2_TqFte5ORugkfXgpUzQ0RhbExnvUT3UgG6UP1XNoLfL_mtBNDuDTJyBq1CW_xwAZblCFPXEOE/s400/DSC10716.JPG" /></a></div><br />
From the ground, these mature Ash trees don't look too bad. Lots of leaves left...<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd2JD36HTOxax4ygqh5iZMmSvu6ca7-zPsFKiEb7uXsRWYh9vFhaj8qwK4xiGkgLLthzAm6fWc6yUZVOmP4-CP9Rj60mvi2n4423VqrkR-ul1DieZceEypk8KvXTZ9pfGgu9wwFe0drUA/s1600/DSC10717.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd2JD36HTOxax4ygqh5iZMmSvu6ca7-zPsFKiEb7uXsRWYh9vFhaj8qwK4xiGkgLLthzAm6fWc6yUZVOmP4-CP9Rj60mvi2n4423VqrkR-ul1DieZceEypk8KvXTZ9pfGgu9wwFe0drUA/s400/DSC10717.JPG" /></a></div><br />
But from across the street it's clear that the trees' days are numbered.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkikkpOQySGPWGhIZAD4-vUvu-HAxwIMQIr8GAFL7ez8QlKbS2mDRtXiRKblWH4sK5ZknfTO0pKa8vsUyU5rslmoxpXOhIPYeZdNKazpJLrSD0g39qmMS70U_H-IHprMTsEGwW0vy1kGs/s1600/DSC10719.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkikkpOQySGPWGhIZAD4-vUvu-HAxwIMQIr8GAFL7ez8QlKbS2mDRtXiRKblWH4sK5ZknfTO0pKa8vsUyU5rslmoxpXOhIPYeZdNKazpJLrSD0g39qmMS70U_H-IHprMTsEGwW0vy1kGs/s400/DSC10719.JPG" /></a></div><br />
The City has some useful information about the EAB on its website at <a href="http://ottawa.ca/eab" target="_blank">ottawa.ca/eab</a>Centretownerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03798054152996264061noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2014451593167123858.post-1306348830737435402014-05-22T12:00:00.000-04:002014-05-22T12:00:02.896-04:003D Thursday: Lewis blossomsSpring is finally here, and with it the trees are blossoming. Across from Minto Park* on Lewis Street, this tree makes for quite the 3D experience:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbaOcGlOQbMPUXhI1jL98GLXdy77e5gZy1w279jPw43TXnxWBkUEGhio_ZNixeM6hyphenhyphenNYfDvZQqXEbvrTrpt3WUIA1bA-uyyw0RoF6t7OuVMIQAvgru06LOJzYTInFox_rWD9DHxeWg7Yc/s1600/DSC09496-3D-0_50.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbaOcGlOQbMPUXhI1jL98GLXdy77e5gZy1w279jPw43TXnxWBkUEGhio_ZNixeM6hyphenhyphenNYfDvZQqXEbvrTrpt3WUIA1bA-uyyw0RoF6t7OuVMIQAvgru06LOJzYTInFox_rWD9DHxeWg7Yc/s1600/DSC09496-3D-0_50.JPG" height="400" width="277" /></a></div>
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Source photos for the 3D image: <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih3CRCtOnGCrJsE6emPrgGJZG_EkbItvijJgt1l0UJkfT4mhDE92ZCCdJAEoPkm_qUNxeCdk26kWZ1jrVxvMc48EaxSfvZpjWFeKasx0OahCarJpsbSwIlrOcZqF1OofZbvD-7h1n7ec4/s1600/DSC09496-L3D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><!--<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih3CRCtOnGCrJsE6emPrgGJZG_EkbItvijJgt1l0UJkfT4mhDE92ZCCdJAEoPkm_qUNxeCdk26kWZ1jrVxvMc48EaxSfvZpjWFeKasx0OahCarJpsbSwIlrOcZqF1OofZbvD-7h1n7ec4/s1600/DSC09496-L3D.JPG" height="400" width="300" />-->Left</a>, <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVmAg2iUori-GyV4z-8Ym5IBX7SGEJ-FAiV9cjHRdvoAT1bmoKjJRFpvCNld2qMZBB23eBI2xtbEd_eQbny9ke-_8muFEGDr1YiQ_eeIFTXhDOYUqMNp2w18OIaG7NVPE5ChQq7b8iGUc/s1600/DSC09496-R3D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><!--<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVmAg2iUori-GyV4z-8Ym5IBX7SGEJ-FAiV9cjHRdvoAT1bmoKjJRFpvCNld2qMZBB23eBI2xtbEd_eQbny9ke-_8muFEGDr1YiQ_eeIFTXhDOYUqMNp2w18OIaG7NVPE5ChQq7b8iGUc/s1600/DSC09496-R3D.JPG" height="400" width="300" />-->Right</a></div>
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Also within the Golden Triangle, a couple blocks east on Lewis, at MacDonald, is another blooming bush whose lotus-like flowers look like they're floating in the air when you look at them with 3D glasses on:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBkUSejK9NEPyRvRX2eKUfMti7LSGI_NrEyi-rpXDC4lOK8aZ2MXyuo6iJ982KiXfTllve-CYQJrvB8pW5i7M0Z36CiaWXah-N_EmaapEcNlcoJuf0AJOhJBo7VGwodGuzy5rAfLvovAA/s1600/DSC09495-3D-0_00.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBkUSejK9NEPyRvRX2eKUfMti7LSGI_NrEyi-rpXDC4lOK8aZ2MXyuo6iJ982KiXfTllve-CYQJrvB8pW5i7M0Z36CiaWXah-N_EmaapEcNlcoJuf0AJOhJBo7VGwodGuzy5rAfLvovAA/s1600/DSC09495-3D-0_00.JPG" height="305" width="400" /></a></div>
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Source photos for the 3D image: <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiB_Pd8MPBu3VZlot-ytEDym81kp9G4vxDcMZ3lcq1Q4XEeyU0EYiAHinF_tib5exbK53cTOP8M1xWa6knVqR-dJERX2F5HSSf-3S_kaT3Xo8ddyld_y2Ry9lYK11KYch-OxJ9qJ_hTjs/s1600/DSC09495-L3D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><!--<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiB_Pd8MPBu3VZlot-ytEDym81kp9G4vxDcMZ3lcq1Q4XEeyU0EYiAHinF_tib5exbK53cTOP8M1xWa6knVqR-dJERX2F5HSSf-3S_kaT3Xo8ddyld_y2Ry9lYK11KYch-OxJ9qJ_hTjs/s1600/DSC09495-L3D.JPG" height="300" width="400" />-->Left</a>, <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGJipaNYccJKMTsY_Cja3nNgvF-oPzDS6N_r1y-o8Gnw0rVLu4IxlL1AhPTJTcdP-Y52EeQhyv5ARJx8EX1F4dKxdodN6vEprnHeQUsZi618SfCD_1hfleqFopLojZqv8TNLR-TAkNt4M/s1600/DSC09495-R3D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><!--<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGJipaNYccJKMTsY_Cja3nNgvF-oPzDS6N_r1y-o8Gnw0rVLu4IxlL1AhPTJTcdP-Y52EeQhyv5ARJx8EX1F4dKxdodN6vEprnHeQUsZi618SfCD_1hfleqFopLojZqv8TNLR-TAkNt4M/s1600/DSC09495-R3D.JPG" height="300" width="400" />-->Right</a></div>
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Let's hope the nice weather lasts!<br />
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*On the topic of Minto Park, the <a href="http://www.centretowncitizens.ca/" target="_blank">CCCA</a> is hosting its annual BBQ, plant sale, and e-waste drop-off at the annual <a href="http://centretown.blogspot.ca/search/label/Minto+Park">Minto Park Sale</a>, on Saturday, June 14, 2014. These fundraisers will be important for the CCCA as we will need funds for expert assistance as we prepare for our OMB appeal of the Centretown Community Design Plan this fall. If you'd like to volunteer for the CCCA's Minto Park Sale activities or for the OMB appeal effort, please contact the CCCA (ccca@centretowncitizens.ca).<br />
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<em>[Tune in on Thursdays at noon for a new 3D image. View the <a href="http://centretown.blogspot.ca/search/label/3D">3D label</a> for other posts with 3D images. <a href="http://centretown.blogspot.ca/p/3d-photos.html">3D FAQ</a>]</em>Centretownerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03798054152996264061noreply@blogger.com0Golden Triangle, Ottawa, ON, Canada45.416961446873245 -75.68716309574131245.414174946873246 -75.692205595741314 45.419747946873244 -75.68212059574131tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2014451593167123858.post-87808786197917976632014-05-20T12:00:00.000-04:002014-05-20T12:00:00.391-04:00Tulips & tower cranes sprouting upIn the first weekend of May, the tower crane for Broccolini's hotel/condo at 199 Slater went up. This is right across the street from the BMO building at 280 Laurier, at the Slater Street "Bank" Transitway station. The BMO building had some nice flowers by its windows to go along with the view.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFOM21F8ci8vbQ798V-fCo2jyb7NDar9e1Eg-qYNRXMTat47J48mWVtkmaaiwjHsIAzr0CldCcCyoRr4i4GOnTBTu6E1A9OyB008UOy0zXAReL6l9UFdmV8Do3ih4hnGRT2YCDqrCAgJA/s1600/DSC09316.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFOM21F8ci8vbQ798V-fCo2jyb7NDar9e1Eg-qYNRXMTat47J48mWVtkmaaiwjHsIAzr0CldCcCyoRr4i4GOnTBTu6E1A9OyB008UOy0zXAReL6l9UFdmV8Do3ih4hnGRT2YCDqrCAgJA/s400/DSC09316.JPG" /></a></div>
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<em>[Look for more one-photo posts under the label <a href="http://centretown.blogspot.ca/search/label/Singles">Singles</a>]</em>Centretownerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03798054152996264061noreply@blogger.com0Byward Market - Parliament Hill, Ottawa, ON, Canada45.419336060263568 -75.69862774213123745.418987560263567 -75.699258242131236 45.419684560263569 -75.697997242131237tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2014451593167123858.post-23673270199443733162014-05-07T12:00:00.000-04:002014-05-07T12:00:05.521-04:00Peds on Weds: Condo access failSuppose you're going to spend <a href="http://www.obj.ca/Real-Estate/Construction/2012-01-04/article-2853963/Construction-permits-jump-47%25-in-November/1" target="_blank" title="Ottawa Business Journal - Construction permits jump 47% in November - 2012-01-04">$18.5 million</a> on a 12-storey (later 16-storey) condo building. You might build it with exclusively one-bedroom apartments that cater to young, single individuals. Such apartments aren't big enough to raise children, so you wouldn't need to worry about your residents getting in with a stroller. And your target market is decades away from using a wheelchair.<br />
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So despite <a href="http://www.aoda.ca/" target="_blank" title="Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act">legislation</a> that gradually encourages more and more compliance to provide equal access to people with disabilities, you install a step at the front door:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-nTzbuGfWrmWFc6CBsxOooVQF4aOyywVyxnmDW6QbcnlxIEnIIU80lN_gWDC04xn-c0fTs5UUiOvXpd9U29UWvsuUXDFxzRzmY1yHDK9QyAuL5Pk-bHUPHU2fBxzhRaDXqorQwTTDZpg/s1600/DSC08204.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-nTzbuGfWrmWFc6CBsxOooVQF4aOyywVyxnmDW6QbcnlxIEnIIU80lN_gWDC04xn-c0fTs5UUiOvXpd9U29UWvsuUXDFxzRzmY1yHDK9QyAuL5Pk-bHUPHU2fBxzhRaDXqorQwTTDZpg/s400/DSC08204.JPG" /></a></div><br />
If a resident loses a limb or is paid a visit by a wheelchair-using relative, there's a second-class entrance at the side of the building. When they're dropped off at the front of the building (as is customary), someone who is unable to walk up a step would of course have no difficulty walking 60 feet or so out of their way on a snowy sidewalk:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6oQyBOkhsHwveCipYJVD4z7-au-4bAtc_tFw6idVBwI3yjmENlgzxghIxVaxD8eF1mAMVAUzasaeX02SBU8-OBtnRY2i2oiztIde1wX6QYitx2mxnndA3uV7NBQh_NyuRpr0Z4c9Wdks/s1600/DSC05224.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6oQyBOkhsHwveCipYJVD4z7-au-4bAtc_tFw6idVBwI3yjmENlgzxghIxVaxD8eF1mAMVAUzasaeX02SBU8-OBtnRY2i2oiztIde1wX6QYitx2mxnndA3uV7NBQh_NyuRpr0Z4c9Wdks/s400/DSC05224.JPG" /></a></div><br />
To add insult to (hopefully no) injury, the entrance was initially built with a direct ramp from the sidewalk. The step was added after the fact:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi61bkc5195KDS-7rj1MrIYUpKJc6flxdt-Oe9W9i0hU35-R0tzydycwg7KpUysTHuX0z2uZs_tIfincykucrdW7cG402Hg8KK4bnXMrfQzkjGEfMa1bDWWRlJA-TRpF2e-qDCWrVsyD50/s1600/IMGP59536.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi61bkc5195KDS-7rj1MrIYUpKJc6flxdt-Oe9W9i0hU35-R0tzydycwg7KpUysTHuX0z2uZs_tIfincykucrdW7cG402Hg8KK4bnXMrfQzkjGEfMa1bDWWRlJA-TRpF2e-qDCWrVsyD50/s400/IMGP59536.JPG" /></a></div><br />
According to the <a href="http://www.soholisgar.com/team.html" target="_blank">Condo project website</a>, a new development in "contemporary Canadian cities" has the following requirements: "a sharp and creative Development Team with a solid track record of success ... design innovation, marketing savvy, systematic project management, financial prowess and political acumen." (I won't go into the "partnership with...neighbours" bit where the first the community association heard of this development was the day before it went to the Committee of Adjustment)<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLF4pPGx4VzqO_xEucVzZXbgsdx4sQFthLbVxXwywXibWTd087ps-xe-dYKyHg_I6ZsND1JL8mK1DZ7D2k6Hh_KmwLT_L5BOmZkVl1xQ2GAOy0s6YbkDma6XBHXaQC3v73t29aIOfnxUM/s1600/soho-lisgar-homepage-2014-04-26.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLF4pPGx4VzqO_xEucVzZXbgsdx4sQFthLbVxXwywXibWTd087ps-xe-dYKyHg_I6ZsND1JL8mK1DZ7D2k6Hh_KmwLT_L5BOmZkVl1xQ2GAOy0s6YbkDma6XBHXaQC3v73t29aIOfnxUM/s400/soho-lisgar-homepage-2014-04-26.jpg" /></a></div><br />
But as the <a href="http://www.centretowncitizens.ca/" target="_blank" title="Centretown Citizens Community Association">CCCA's Seniors Committee</a> regularly writes in their column in the <a href="http://www.centretownbuzz.com/" target="_blank">Centretown Buzz</a>, our ageing population means that we also need to ensure that new buildings are built with accessibility and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visitability" target="_blank">visitability</a> in mind. These qualities are essential in ensuring that ageing individuals can continue to live in their homes, ensuring a healthy diversity of the community.<br />
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There's only so much you can do for older buildings that were constructed before universal accessibility was a consideration, but for new buildings there's no excuse a person with a mobility restriction can't enter the building with as much dignity as an able-bodied person from the first time they visit.<br />
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<em>[Tune in on Wednesdays at noon for a new pedestrian-themed blog post. View the <a href="http://centretown.blogspot.ca/search/label/Pedestrians">Pedestrians label</a> for previous Peds on Weds posts]</em>Centretownerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03798054152996264061noreply@blogger.com0Centretown, Ottawa, ON, Canada45.417068534342889 -75.69668832924287545.416372034342892 -75.697948829242875 45.417765034342885 -75.695427829242874