Proposed NCC policy aims to ‘put the park back into the parkway’
Scenic routes should not be viewed as commuter routes, planning chief says
By Don Butler, OTTAWA CITIZEN March 19, 2014 6:20 PM
OTTAWA — The National Capital Commission is developing a new policy for its scenic parkways that will give priority to accommodating pedestrians and cyclists rather than automobiles.
“The proposal is aiming for a shift in paradigm, putting the park back into the parkway,” Lucie Bureau, the NCC’s chief of planning and transportation, said Wednesday at a media briefing about the commission’s Capital Urban Lands Master Plan.
It’s not clear whether the new policy will have any impact on the thousands of commuters who rely on some of the parkways to get to and from work.
“Cars will continue to be on the parkway,” said Bureau, who called the NCC’s 120 kilometres of scenic roadways “one of the defining elements” of the capital region.
She said the parkways should not be viewed as commuter routes.
“What this policy is putting forward is putting more emphasis on the corridor rather than only on the roads.
“How can we provide more access for the whole community to those important shoreline lands which are part of the parkways, and provide more events, more activities?” she said.
Fred Gaspar, the acting vice-president of the NCC’s planning and environmental management branch, described the proposed new parkway police as an “aspirational.
“Hopefully, the public will receive quite warmly that we’re making it quite clear that our goal for the parkway is to emphasize the park element,” Gaspar said.
“That said, we’re mindful that we exist in an urban setting and it’s extremely important that all Canadians, residents and visitors alike, feel welcome in the parkway setting.”
One matter the parkway policy will likely have to address is the City of Ottawa’s request to run a portion of the western light rail transit line through land along the Sir John A. Macdonald Parkway.
Gaspar said the NCC’s board has been “extremely clear” that it’s “not comfortable with the notion of a light rail train coming through the parkway.”
NCC officials and city staff “continue to talk” about the issue, but there have been no significant developments so far, he said.
However, the city has invited the NCC to participate in an environmental assessment of the Western LRT and had agreed to share all its data with the NCC, Gaspar said. That “will be extremely important towards arriving at any decisions.”
The NCC is holding public consultations on the new parkway policy and the proposed urban lands master plan. Online consultations began Monday and there will be public meetings in Ottawa and Gatineau later this month.
The urban lands plan, which has been in development for years, will provide policies and land-use designations for about 4,500 hectares of federally owned land inside the Greenbelt and in urban parts of Gatineau.
When completed next year, it will be the first master plan covering federally owned parkways, recreational pathways, river banks, employment areas such as Tunney’s Pasture and Confederation Heights and the Central Experimental Farm.
“We will have a policy document that will clearly state the long-term intentions of the NCC for all of those lands,” Bureau said.
dbutler@ottawacitizen.com
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Have your say:
The National Capital Commission is holding public consultations on its proposed Capital Urban Lands Master Plan and revised parkways policy. Here’s how you can participate:
Online: Until April 6, you can complete a questionnaire on the NCC’s website at
http://fluidsurveys.com/s/capital-ur...-plan/langeng/
In person: The NCC is holding two bilingual public meetings. The first is at the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau on March 25. The second is on March 26 at the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa. Both run from 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.
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Let the City build its ORT line on the Ottawa River Parkway where the CP line use to run so they can then, you know, build more pedestrian accesses crossing the roadway.
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