Jack Hanna
Talented CCA veterans vie for president
Mary Huang has been re-elected as CCA President for 2024. The election, held in conjunction with the CCA’s recent annual general meeting, was a contest between two CCA veterans.
The other contender was Stuart MacKay, a manager in an IT staffing company and candidate for city councillor in the 2022 municipal elections. (He finished second to Ariel Troster.)
Both Huang and MacKay are long-time and very active CCA members. Huang is entering her third term as president. MacKay has served on the CCA Board since 2019.
Huang’s priorities include affordable and accessible housing, food security, and the revitalization of Ottawa’s downtown.
“We see increasing numbers of our neighbours undergoing stress because of precarious housing and food insecurity,” she says. “Some businesses in Centretown are struggling due to the high rates of people working from home.”
The solutions, she says, include office-to-residence conversations, more government-supported affordable units, and the creation of magnets such as an innovation hub.
MacKay will serve as a director on the CCA’s board.
CCA board retains experience
The CCA board has 12 directors.
Three directors are halfway through a two-year term and so will continue on the Board through 2024. They are Anne Lavender, Stéphane Laviolette, and Alice Nakanishi.
There were 10 candidates for the remaining nine board seats, so an election was held in conjunction with the recent AGM.
A strong cohort of experienced CCA board members was re-elected, including all members of the executive from the past year. The returning directors are: Martin Canning, Robert Dekker, Brenda Knight, Stuart MacKay, and Mindy Sichel.
New faces on CCA board
A handful of newcomers were elected. The CCA Board welcomes Mary Gramiak, Nate Little, Natalie Lyle, and Marko Miljusevic.
NCC inches towards closing QED to cars
The keynote speaker at the CCA’s Zoom AGM, attended by 87 people, was Alain Miguelez, the National Capital Commission’s (NCC) vice-president of capital planning and chief planner.
Among other things, he spoke about the future of the Queen Elizabeth Driveway (QED), which borders the Rideau Canal. The big question is whether the QED should be permanently closed to motor vehicles.
The CCA has long advocated for the QED to be permanently closed to cars and converted into a grand promenade.
For decades, the NCC has closed the canal-side roadway to cars on summer weekends. During the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic, it was car-free for months on end.
Miguelez said when QED is dedicated to cyclists and pedestrians, it is well-used. In 2023, there were 133,000 such visits.
NCC surveys show a car-free QED is popular. “The public likes it. Obviously people like it.”
But some folks have concerns, he said, including the smooth movement of emergency vehicles, increased traffic on nearby streets, and the impacts on Bank Street merchants, so there will be more data collection and consultation.
In conclusion, the NCC executive said, “consideration should be given to expanding… the potential for active uses.”
2024 brings more to see and do
The NCC’s Miguelez said several construction projects are almost finished and that will provide more for Centretown folks to see and do. For example, the pathway along the Ottawa River below Parliament Hill is scheduled to reopen next autumn.
The promontory beside the National Gallery, which used to be called Nepean Point but now is Kìwekì Point, has been closed for construction for half a decade. It will reopen this summer, with a new footbridge to Major’s Hill Park and a terrific lookout over the Ottawa River.
Want to go for a swim next summer? Westboro Beach still is under construction but a portion will be reopened to swimmers in 2024.
Security in the community: a rising concern
Councillor Ariel Troster told the CCA AGM security is a growing worry in Centretown.
“Security concerns were the number one issue we heard, especially last summer,” the councillor said.
“A lot of the special challenges downtowns across North America face are hitting us hard in Centretown. We have a lot of people who are feeling the change in our neighbourhood, who are concerned about folks who are struggling.”
A pilot project that launches in Centretown this summer will see social workers, rather than police officers, respond to calls for troubling but non-criminal events.
“You will be able to call 211 and what will be dispatched is not police, but people with harm reduction and mental health experience, people with the ability to engage with someone having a mental health crisis or an addiction challenge, or who might just need to be connected to a community resource.”
Make your home or business safer
The CCA has formed a group to enhance safety in the community.
The Safety Emergency Preparedness and Wellness Working Group (SEPAW) will receive suggestions from the police on means to make residential buildings, homes and businesses safer.
A meeting date in the next few weeks will be set soon. For information: anti-racism@centretowncitizens.ca