Ed McKenna
Summer Vacations: Over!
The Dalhousie Community Association held its first regular meeting in three months on September 7.
Yes, there was the annual DCA BBQ on Willow Street in early July, some important committee work has taken place, and the Plant Pool Recreation Association has been very active, but it’s been a quiet summer.
And in a few days’ time, summer ends. An election’s coming. There’s a busy year ahead.
Peaceable Neighbourhoods
Before we leave the summer of ’22, it’s important to note the success of the first annual Eccles Street Block Party, held during a fine summer’s evening on June 11.
With the support of the DCA’s Peaceable Neighbourhoods Committee, the Somerset West Community Health Centre, and Cornerstone Housing for Women, the event met its goals: building bridges in the community, sharing information (including the Who To Call list), and just having a good time. Watch for it next year.
The committee’s report prompted a thoughtful and wide-ranging discussion of the high visibility of people without housing in the neighbourhood this summer. The availability of drinking water for the public, the use of hostile architecture, such as armrests in the middle of public benches, and the impact on local recreational programming by the PPRA were discussed. The committee will be pursuing these issues this fall.
Preston Street Extension, or Not?
The DCA Mobility Committee will write to the city to support the application by the National Capital Commission (NCC) to remove from the Official Plan the “Preston Street Extension,” an arterial road currently planned for LeBreton Flats.
Instead of Preston crossing Albert and continuing north to the Parkway, the NCC proposes an “active transportation network linkage” in the form of a pedestrian and cycling bridge.
A comprehensive study, Building LeBreton Flats: Transportation Impact Assessment, accompanies the application. It provides an analysis of the effect of the development of LeBreton Flats on local vehicular traffic and other transportation issues.
The study concludes that extending Preston to the Parkway will draw more traffic to the area, particularly on Preston, Rochester and Booth. We don’t need more vehicular traffic on the residential streets of Dalhousie!
Climate Change is a Local Issue
We do need more trees!
The DCA is an active member of CAFES Ottawa, the Community Associations for Environmental Sustainability.
This fall we’ll partner with CAFES and Carleton University in the “Broadening Community Engagement Project,” which aims to increase diversity in local environmental and climate change efforts. This means working with students to reach out to a range of community organizations to learn more about what we can do locally to respond to climate change. There’s a hands-on element, too, which may include an updated tree inventory for the neighbourhood.
Municipal Elections
The DCA has agreed to join with other organizations in Ward 14, and, in particular, the Centretown Community Association, to sponsor a local debate among candidates for city councillor. The DCA also will support a debate for candidates for mayor.
Both events will take place next month. Watch for announcements on The BUZZ website and on social media.
Interested in getting involved, joining one of our committees, and more news about what’s happening in Dalhousie? Please get in touch! Contact: president@ottawadalhousie.ca