Ottawa's Byward Market

[teej1984]

Originally Posted by acottawa

My market wishlist

3. Kick the fast food joints out of the market building - move the food vendors there

Disagree. The restaurants in here are perfect for the location. They're all independent/local and some of them (Corazon de Mais, for example) are amazing.

[OTSkyline]

I just came back from a weekend trip to Burlington, Vermont. A lakeside city of about 40-50,000 people and was amazed on how they got the "Church Street Marketplace" right (their main street version of Sparks St. or the Byward).



The street was closed to cars and paved with stones all the way through, giving this great pedestrian/main street/euro feel (unlike a small sidewalk and busy pavement road in Ottawa in the Byward). The street was lined with coffee shops, restaurants and boutiques (yes, it had its share of chains like a mall entrance leading to a Macy's, a Starbucks, etc..) but nonetheless a good retail mix. Here are things I liked about it which I don't think Ottawa does well in its Byward Market

-Pedestrian streets. As mentioned, there is way too many car traffic through the market to make it pedestrian friendly and lively. Some streets should be closed to cars and filled with cobblestone or the like - This could also help as restaurants could expand their outdoot spaces and patios and make it more even more lively for summer! Everyone knows how finding a patio spot in the Market on evenings or weekends is almost impossible.
-Church St. Marketplace had plenty of trees, benches, garbage bins and even water fountains. The fun thing was that all of these were different and artistic! To bright colored chairs to a aluminium fish statue water station!

-The street also had intercoms or speakers lined on both side of the street which played ambient music all day. It was a great feeling walking down the street, cold winter, coffee in hand, music in the background.. it just made for a great experience altogether.

I mean, benches, water fountains, garbage cans, stone roads, speakers, is that too much to ask? I feel like small changes like this could go a long way and don't require multi-million dollar investments...

[MoreTrains]

Originally Posted by c_speed3108

One thing the market district needs is for a greater number of the businesses to keep significantly longer hours or develop shared storefront models

It seems to me no matter what time of the day you go significant numbers of businesses are closed. If you go during the day there are tons of the night club type places that are not open and then if you go at night most of the vendors/stores etc are closed. It creates a really dead feel.

If it is not feasible for a business to be open at different hours they should look at sharing store fronts. For instance a night club is not going to be open during the day, but perhaps the space could be used for something else (say a coffee shop or vendor of some sort) and then at a certain hour that is packed away and the space reverts to the other use.

A good example is something like Patty Bolands, restaurant in the day, club at night.

As for things to liven up the market, yes, fixing the pavement would be great, but that would only make it so that cars are assured their presence. What should be done is level out the street/sidewalks to be on the same level, kick the cars out between 10am and 2am during the summer and 4pm-2am in the winter, but create narrow lanes and no onstreet parking to try and deter cars in off hours. Should be like the Mile in Edinburgh, and include electronic bollards that retract during off hours. Also, encourage more business to move in and use the LRT as a selling point. Creating more leasable space with the demolition of some parking structures and moving them underground would be beneficial to all I think, but as they say, its expensive.

[Urbanarchit]

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[silvergate]

Originally Posted by defishel

I actually had an idea for a small architectural/ art/ public realm projected I've been meaning to try for York Street but haven't due to lack of money and needing permission from the city to try it. There aren't many seating places in the market and virtually no plant-life, so creating something like that would be worthwhile.

Have you thought about crowd-funding it?

[Urbanarchit]

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[silvergate]

Originally Posted by defishel

I'm thinking about that, as I'm sure there would be some people in the city willing to help.

I'm going to visit yowlab and see if anyone there is interested in helping me. I have the general idea and a preliminary design: a pergola with plants/vines and Christmas lights with intermittent gaps along it for sun and room for lampposts, providing some shade for pedestrians walking or sitting. It would use the parking space though, and I still have to take measurements before I can present it, but getting approval for that would be toughest.

If I can get a team and figure out how much it would cost, I'd see about taking it to the city to try as a pilot project (a day or a week seems too short for the amount we'd spend on building it), and then maybe it could be possible?

At that point the city might just fund it. Seems like a pretty great idea to me.

[Catenary]

Originally Posted by OTSkyline

I just came back from a weekend trip to Burlington, Vermont. A lakeside city of about 40-50,000 people and was amazed on how they got the "Church Street Marketplace" right (their main street version of Sparks St. or the Byward).



The street was closed to cars and paved with stones all the way through, giving this great pedestrian/main street/euro feel (unlike a small sidewalk and busy pavement road in Ottawa in the Byward). The street was lined with coffee shops, restaurants and boutiques (yes, it had its share of chains like a mall entrance leading to a Macy's, a Starbucks, etc..) but nonetheless a good retail mix. Here are things I liked about it which I don't think Ottawa does well in its Byward Market

-Pedestrian streets. As mentioned, there is way too many car traffic through the market to make it pedestrian friendly and lively. Some streets should be closed to cars and filled with cobblestone or the like - This could also help as restaurants could expand their outdoot spaces and patios and make it more even more lively for summer! Everyone knows how finding a patio spot in the Market on evenings or weekends is almost impossible.
-Church St. Marketplace had plenty of trees, benches, garbage bins and even water fountains. The fun thing was that all of these were different and artistic! To bright colored chairs to a aluminium fish statue water station!

-The street also had intercoms or speakers lined on both side of the street which played ambient music all day. It was a great feeling walking down the street, cold winter, coffee in hand, music in the background.. it just made for a great experience altogether.

I mean, benches, water fountains, garbage cans, stone roads, speakers, is that too much to ask? I feel like small changes like this could go a long way and don't require multi-million dollar investments...

Whenever I walk through the market, or down Sparks, I think of Burlington and what the space could be. It's a pretty great example of what could be done. I really liked the solid bollards and chains to keep cars out, but still allow garbage trucks and the like to back down the street at night. Sparks street is looking more like a parking lot every day.

[Uhuniau]

Originally Posted by Catenary

Sparks street is looking more like a parking lot every day.

It is? There are some vehicles associated with various construction projects, but I can't say it looks anything like a parking lot otherwise.

[drawarc]

Adding Cobblestone would be a nice way to enhance the Byward Market. Would be nice if Sparks street mall looked more like this:
Granville Mall, Halifax, Nova Scotia by beesquare, on Flickr

[Urbanarchit]

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[Catenary]

Originally Posted by Uhuniau

It is? There are some vehicles associated with various construction projects, but I can't say it looks anything like a parking lot otherwise.

I went to Bier Markt two weeks ago on a Friday night and while eating 4 or 5 cars drove by, and some pulled over to park for upwards of ten or 15 minutes. When I left, there were three cars parked in the next block. None of these vehicles were pickup trucks or had markings, they all looked like private automobiles. The removal of the curved concrete barriers at the entrances really makes it look more inviting for cars.

[Urbanarchit]

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[HighwayStar]

Originally Posted by defishel

Leave the sides wide enough for people to walk on and visit some businesses, but some nice foliage and shade and seating would go a long way.

And don't forget the zipline screaming overhead

[MoreTrains]

Originally Posted by drawarc

Adding Cobblestone would be a nice way to enhance the Byward Market. Would be nice if Sparks street mall looked more like this:
Granville Mall, Halifax, Nova Scotia by beesquare, on Flickr

I would almost suggest a narrower middle to allow for patios on the sides. But that would be a 200% improvement over what exists now. And a 100% improvement over the current concept plan.

[rocketphish]

City looks for funding to revitalize ByWard Market
Entire project to cost $82 million

By Alex Robinson
Ottawa East News, June 15 2015

One of the big questions remaining about a plan to revitalize the ByWard Market is where the $82 million needed for the project will come from.

The plan seeks to transform the area into a more pedestrian-friendly zone with more vendors selling fresh local produce in the main market building year-round. The first phase of the project, which will include renovating the market building and landscaping on adjacent streets, is expected to cost $10 million.

The ByWard Market revitalization has already been identified as a priority for funding in the council’s strategic initiatives that are set to be passed July 8, but only $1 million has been set aside for the project so far.

Liz Bernstein, the president of the Lowertown Community Association, is pushing for city council to commit more money to the plan.

“We really need a bit more bold funding to implement this vision on the part of our city council,” she said.

“We have a solid plan with support from staff, our councillor and presumably council as a whole and the BIA – and that isn’t a small task on these kinds of projects. It’s a great plan, so let’s be a little bit ambitious and fund it.”

City staff has also applied for $400,000 in federal funding for projects connected to celebrations of the 150th anniversary of Canada’s confederation in 2017.

Coun. Mathieu Fleury said he hopes the city will commit more and that he has been in touch with provincial counterparts about additional funding.

“I’d love to see $10 million ahead of 2017,” he said.

“The city needs to commit to this infrastructure that is the second-most tourist visited spot after Parliament Hill.”

The first phase would likely take place in parts between 2015 and 2018. It would see landscaping done on William Street, ByWard South and George Street, in addition to design and renovation work on the market building.

City staff is considering making certain streets in the market pedestrian only, including large portions of William Street, which would provide a link to the new LRT station.

The later stages of the revitalization plan include knocking down the ByWard Market’s parking garage on the corner of Clarence and William Streets and building a new market building and public square in its place. There would also be an underground parking garage underneath, which is projected to cost $47 million.

Fleury said he cannot imagine the city would ever consider spending that much on a parking garage and that a private partner would be expected to take on the investment.

The city envisions the new area will be overseen by a municipal corporation with a board of directors that would report to city council.

City staff is now in the process of finalizing their draft recommendations and will then hold public consultations on them in September.

Residents can submit comments and questions either by contacting the Lowertown Community Association at info@lowertown_basseville.ca or by emailing jake.rupert@ottawa.ca.

http://www.ottawacommunitynews.com/n...byward-market/

[Harley613]

Originally Posted by rocketphish

The later stages of the revitalization plan include knocking down the ByWard Market’s parking garage on the corner of Clarence and William Streets and building a new market building and public square in its place. There would also be an underground parking garage underneath, which is projected to cost $47 million.

I have been dreaming of this forever. This HAS to be done.

[eltodesukane]

Originally Posted by defishel

That photo makes that street seem really pleasant. I concur that Sparks should have something more like that down the centre. Leave the sides wide enough for people to walk on and visit some businesses, but some nice foliage and shade and seating would go a long way.

Church Street in Burlington, Vermont.
https://www.google.ca/maps/@44.47819...56?hl=en&hl=en

[MoreTrains]

I also cannot wait for that parking structure to be destroyed. I would also like to see both William and Byward fully pedestrianized from George to Clarence.

[OTSkyline]

I've been to Church Street in Burlington and found it very nice (especially for such a small town).

Would love to see more pedestrian streets in Byward Market (no real need for all these streets, they don't really serve as connectors or for flow-through traffic), more benches on the street, lightposts, signs about the area etc..

I loved the cobblestone in Vermont; wonder how much that would cost to replace a couple of streets in the market with? I guess it's more of an "aethetics" but it really makes it more pleasing, makes people feel more safe that they actually are on a public space and not on a paved road and it just gives that sort of "old world europe" feel... Burlington also had small speakers/intercom all along the street attached to buildings that would play classical or ambiant music; made for nice atmosphere while walking down the street shoppin and grabbing coffee etc...