Jamie Brougham

I remember back in the 1980’s, when I lived on Glen Avenue, I hardly knew that the Rideau River existed. I did not engage with it, in part because it was not as clean as it is now and all of the public attention was focused on the Rideau Canal, with its skating and boat parades – even the Pope had a ride on it. There was little interest in the Rideau River.

By contrast today, for the growing numbers of people in the know, the river is every bit as interesting as the Canal. From Mooney’s Bay to the Ottawa River, the river corridor is mostly green with interesting vegetation, wildlife, and geographical features. There are bull rushes, flowers, turtles, fish, hunting birds, and so many more plants and animals. Parts of the river are fast moving, while other parts are more still, like lakes; some parts are deep, while in other spots you can walk across.

In the middle of our City of a million inhabitants, it’s astounding that one can still be completely alone on the water, in an absorbing, wide-open space. Want a little drama in your life? Get out on the river when the ice is breaking up, or when the clouds are menacingly low, or when there’s a misty haze early on a summer morning.

To facilitate some access, the City now put docks in on the west side of the Rideau. With more people paddling, the waterway starts to have that cottagey island feel, as it should, since the land between the river and the Canal is actually an island. It is unique and its engagement should be facilitated.

Most remain unaware

But like me in the 1980s, most area residents remain unaware of the great environmental, sustainable social resource that is the Rideau River, and that needs to change.

If our governments want to do Ottawa a favour, they might designate the whole Rideau River corridor an urban park, particularly on the East side where there’s less shoreline development. For its part, Parks Canada has declared that it wants to create National Urban Parks across the country. Sadly, though, the NCC, which controls most of the eastern shoreline, says that its official plan includes nothing with respect to the urban Rideau River corridor.

So it is that, with the support ofseveral community associations, lovers of the river corridor are advocating for the eastern shore of the Rideau from Mooney’s Bay to the Ottawa River to be Ottawa’s Urban National Park. The NCC says it’s willing to work with local communities and partners who may wish to do something with its lands in the Capital Region. I would argue that Parks Canada is a suitable partner, and an NCC/Parks Canada collaboration would provide a great opportunity to involve local communities in the planning as well.

Achieving a healthy balance

With a national park to enhance our urban natural environment, we can take a huge stride forward to create a better social resource, to help mitigate our City’s heat island effect and to offset the effects of global warming. Residents needn’t travel out of the City to escape the heat – they could enjoy the great outdoors right in the heart of town. Visitors to the Capital can enjoy quick access to a naturalized, waterfront park displaying a little of what makes Canada so special. Hurdman “Park”, a reasonably large, forested area in the middle of the corridor, is only a couple of LRT stops from downtown and is easily accessed by bike or on foot. A proposed footbridge that would span Clegg Avenue and the park would facilitate a short ride to the Rideau Canal, Flora Footbridge, Lansdowne Park, and historic Bank Street.

The pandemic and its aftermath have shown us the importance of achieving a healthy balance between economic, social, and natural resources in our communities. Working together to develop a beautiful Urban National Park in the heart of Ottawa is a proposal worthy of backing by all of us in this community.

You can show your support by writing your elected representatives to let them know that a national urban park along the Rideau River Corridor is an idea that you support. Share with them your thoughts on what could make it great and, hopefully, in the not too distant future, we can all build a bridge for others to follow.

Jamie Brougham is an Old Ottawa East Resident and a Rideau River enthusiast – on it, in it, and down both of its sides!