Canal Skateway season a success

In stark contrast to 2023, when the Rideau Canal Skateway wasn’t open for even a single day, this year the canal opened early and, with the exception of a brief mild spell in January, remained operational for a better skating season than what has been experienced in recent years.

A variety of factors have improved Rideau Canal Skateway operations. “Using data collected during our research, we are gaining a better understanding of the environment, allowing us to take more proactive steps during our daily operations,” the National Capital Commission (NCC) says.

“High-quality data stemming from our partnership with Carleton University and improved weather monitoring have allowed us to make optimal decisions to adapt to the various weather conditions the Canal may face in a season.”

The NCC’s fleet of work vehicles is now versatile, ranging from small-scale equipment to larger machinery. The NCC has also improved the management of drainage water flowing into the Canal, and it carefully times the opening and closing of the Skateway to preserve the ice and prolong the season.

Lansdowne 2.0 construction gets underway

It took little time for the City to start construction of the new event centre at Lansdowne Park. Shortly after City Council gave the final approval, fencing and hoarding were erected around the Great Lawn, and the toboggan hill was closed.

Trees were removed in areas required for construction. The City says removed city-owned trees will be replaced on a one-for-one ratio and the NCC trees will be replaced on a two-for-one ratio.

Excavated, demolition and construction material is being trucked via a temporary roadway that goes under the Bank Street canal bridge then leads to Queen Elizabeth Place, a short street that connects Queen Elizabeth Driveway via Wilton Crescent to Bank Street. This phase of the construction related to the removal of the toboggan hill will continue into March.

The City erected notice boards requesting Queen Elizabeth Driveway motorists to avoid using Queen Elizabeth Place and instead use Fifth Avenue or one of the exits west of Bank Street. This request had not been discussed with Glebe or Old Ottawa South residents who noted that diverted traffic would result in longer drives and dumping more traffic on already busy streets. With the support of Councillor Shawn Menard, the City reversed course and the notice boards were removed.

OOECA meetings now in-person only

Starting in February, meetings of the Old Ottawa East Community Association OECA) became in-person only. During COVID, the community association’s monthly meetings had been strictly on-line and then, post-COVID, they became “hybrid,” both in-person and on-line.

Now, in an effort to bring more community members together and make the meetings more social, members will be meeting on the accessible ground floor of the Old Town Hall at 61 Main Street.

OOECA meetings are scheduled for 7:00 p.m. every second Tuesday of the month except for July and August when no meetings are held. March 10 is the next OOECA meeting.

A flying start for the Brantwood Park rink

Thanks to the great efforts of volunteers, the Brantwood Community Rink opened just under two weeks before Christmas, the earliest in many years.

The difficult job of establishing the base ice was made easier when the Rideau Winter Trail kindly loaned rink volunteers a “grooming carpet” to compress snow before the flooding began. Hooked up to rink co-convenor Louis Denis’s SUV, the snow compaction work was much more effective in less than half the time. After the compaction was complete volunteers created the rink with 18 floods.

A big challenge this year has been removing the almost-every-day snowfalls. As he has for many years, Mike Galazka, with assistance from Tom Wilshaw, has plowed the heavy snowfalls, allowing volunteers and student attendants to do the finishing work.

“He’s so reliable and does great work,” says Denis. “Following a heavy snowfall, he’ll clock over 12 kilometers to complete the job.”

Volunteers will work hard to try to keep the rink open into March.

Residential plans for 160 Lees/185 Hawthorne

City of Ottawa staff continue to prepare a work plan for next steps on the residential portion of 160 Lees Avenue, the lands no longer required for the Alta Vista Transportation Corridor, as approved by City Council last December.

“Staff expect to undertake technical studies to understand the condition of the lands (including an Environmental Site Assessment) and prepare a concept plan to illustrate the development intentions for the site,” says Lily Xu, director of the City’s “housing solutions.” Staff will update the Ward Councillor once this work plan has been further developed.

In terms of 185 Hawthorne Avenue, the other City land in Old Ottawa East that has been declared surplus, “City staff are currently preparing to release a Request for Proposals (RFP) to select a housing provider who will eventually own and develop the site,” says Xu. “Only not-for-profit housing providers will be eligible to apply for this RFP. Staff anticipate this process will be complete in spring or early summer 2026.”

Safety on Canal pathways – new bike lanes

Creation of “unidirectional” bike lanes on both Colonel By Drive and the Queen Elizabeth Driveway will begin this year. The bike lane on CBD will be southbound (away from downtown) while the bike lane on QED will be northbound (towards downtown), as described in The Mainstreeter last October.

“The intent of these lanes is to shift faster-moving traffic, including e-scooters, away from the pathways, improving both the experience and safety for all users,” says the National Capital Commission.

Asked about how safety on the Canal pathways was going to be improved, the NCC cited the new bike lanes as a key means of doing this. Also, the NCC says, “[V]ehicles on our pathways must be, at maximum ‘electric-assisted,’ with the exception of mobility devices. This policy is enforced by our conservation officers who monitor the network and issue fines to those in violation.”

Other measures that the NCC is taking to improve pathway safety are the “Share the Path” campaign and summer safety blitzes, which deploy speed monitoring radars along the pathways help increase awareness of these regulations and promote safety on multi-use pathways.

Greystone Village Progress

The Regional Group forecasts that the first occupancy in its phase 3 development will be in the second quarter of 2027 with the second building completed six months later. Phase 3’s two six-storey rental buildings are now under construction just to the south and east of the Deschâtelets Building.

Currently 16 of the planned 30 “Forecourt Towns” in front of the Deschâtelets Building have been sold and many of the units on the northern side of the Grande Allée are well underway with the first closing scheduled for June 2026. Regional hopes to complete the project by the third quarter of 2027.

There are currently seven remaining units for rent and nine remaining units for sale in the 85-unit nine-storey Spencer building at the corner of Hazel and Deschâtelets. With the completion of these three projects, The Regional Group’s transformative project will be concluded.