Monthly Archives: April 2010

One hour to a cleaner neighborhood

On Saturday morning at 10am a group of Dalhousie residents will gather at the Dalhousie community centre (corner of Empress and Somerset) for an hour (or two) of neighborhood grooming. We provide the gloves, bags, and friends. In small groups, we tidy up a few blocks or nuisence spots. This year the focus will be on the two pedestrian staircases that go up/down Nanny Goat Hill. The Primrose staircase runs east-west; the Empress Ave staircase runs north/south; the bottom of the Empress stair comes out near the Good Companions centre.

One of the nicest aspects of gathering up the miscellaneous debris is soaking up the praise … there isn’t a pedestrian going by who doesn’t stop to thank us for tidying up. We hope this evangelizes into people more concerned about keeping our neighborhood tidy.

Please feel free to join your neighbors Saturday.

One hour to a cleaner neighborhood

On Saturday morning at 10am a group of Dalhousie residents will gather at the Dalhousie community centre (corner of Empress and Somerset) for an hour (or two) of neighborhood grooming. We provide the gloves, bags, and friends. In small groups, we tidy up a few blocks or nuisence spots. This year the focus will be on the two pedestrian staircases that go up/down Nanny Goat Hill. The Primrose staircase runs east-west; the Empress Ave staircase runs north/south; the bottom of the Empress stair comes out near the Good Companions centre.

One of the nicest aspects of gathering up the miscellaneous debris is soaking up the praise … there isn’t a pedestrian going by who doesn’t stop to thank us for tidying up. We hope this evangelizes into people more concerned about keeping our neighborhood tidy.

Please feel free to join your neighbors Saturday.

Tiptoe through the tulips

On Sunday is the upcoming Tulipathon Walk sponsored by Multifaith Housing Initiative to raise money and also awareness of the need for affordable housing for low-income people in Ottawa.

It’s this Sunday, May 2nd, from 2 to 4 pm, with registration beforehand at Commissioner’s Park (Dow’s Lake and Preston). It’s a 6 km. walk from there through the park to Fifth Ave. and back again – with tulips in view along the way.

Candelabra lighting for Somerset?

Noticed these candelabra in storage at the government warehouse at 1010 Somerset Street, the putative parole office now used as a stone cemetery and for architectural salvage.

While they are likely hiding out during stone work renovations on parliament hill, I thought they might make interesting pedestrian light fixtures on the soon-to-be streetscaped Somerset Street out front of this warehouse.

Tiptoe through the tulips

On Sunday is the upcoming Tulipathon Walk sponsored by Multifaith Housing Initiative to raise money and also awareness of the need for affordable housing for low-income people in Ottawa.

It’s this Sunday, May 2nd, from 2 to 4 pm, with registration beforehand at Commissioner’s Park (Dow’s Lake and Preston). It’s a 6 km. walk from there through the park to Fifth Ave. and back again – with tulips in view along the way.

Candelabra lighting for Somerset?

Noticed these candelabra in storage at the government warehouse at 1010 Somerset Street, the putative parole office now used as a stone cemetery and for architectural salvage.

While they are likely hiding out during stone work renovations on parliament hill, I thought they might make interesting pedestrian light fixtures on the soon-to-be streetscaped Somerset Street out front of this warehouse.

Dalhousie wins the Stanley Cup

I note from the morning paper that some government bodies here in Ottawa are excited at the notion of building a 65′ high  replica of the Stanley Cup. That’s about six to seven stories high. A site is yet to be found.

Obviously, such a cup won’t fit comfortably on a small downtown plaza, like the teapot with the revolving tree in front of Minto Place. I suggest it should go in a more visible spot.

Since the cup is named after Lord Stanley, and Lord Stanley’s full title was Lord Stanley of Preston (yup, true, I read it in the paper) then it could go somewhere along Preston Street. The Dow’s Lake end is out of the question, as the NCC wants that to be “natural” and even ruled out the gift of a Dutch windmill. The mid parts of Preston are all developed. That leaves the north end.

Most readers will know Preston is to be extended north of Albert, over the aqueduct, and connected to the existing intersection of Vimy Private (War Museum entrance) and the new Wellington Street. This extension is to be built as part of the very first phase of the DOTT – LRT project. So why not put it where Preston crosses the LRT line? It would be a short stroll from either the massive Bayview station or the LeBreton Station. It would be visible to motorist, tour bus, and transit traffic passing north-south and east-west. It would be accessible on major cycling routes (BikeWest, Ottawa River paths, north-south LRT corridor cycling route the Cyclopiste de Preston). As the buildings are not yet built along the street, the monument and adjacent buildings could be properly integrated. If the Ottawa bixibike system ever gets going, there would be a convenient tourist cycling route from the downtown to the War Museum to the Stanley Cup monument to Dows Lake (with a stop of gellato on Preston) and back to the downtown along the canal.

Sounds like a winner to me.