Posted May 4, 2015, 9:00 PM
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Registered User
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Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: Ottawa
Posts: 1,909
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Thought I should post this. While a grocery store may not have been guaranteed, I think rejecting it because of increased traffic is a poor reason. People can walk here and if driving here is inconvenient, those who could drive and bike because they live beside it will choose that route. Parking and traffic will always be a reason no matter where you put a grocery store, so using that as an excuse to oppose it isn't fair.
We need a grocery store, and if developers can confirm they've got someone then let's get it built. Provide less parking as it's supposed to serve locals, but don't reject a grocery store for this reason.
Quote:
Ottawa Community News
Grocery store a pipe dream for new Parkdale towers, resident says
Ottawa West News
By Emma Jackson
Two high-rise towers have been given the green light at the corner of Parkdale Avenue and Scott Street, but the Hintonburg Community Association is skeptical it will solve the area’s food desert any time soon.
Developer Richcraft Homes got approval at the April 14 planning committee meeting to build two 25-storey buildings with a total of 384 residential units as well as office and commercial space at 250, 266, 268, 272 and 274 Parkdale Ave, 1518 Scott St. and 9, 11, and 13 Bullman St.
Some of that commercial space is zoned to allow a major grocery store chain – something the area desperately needs, according to Kitchissippi Coun. Jeff Leiper.
“For many years Hintonburg and especially Mechanicsville were considered food deserts,” Leiper said. That’s been mitigated somewhat with the opening of the Hintonburg Market and the West End Well co-op on Wellington Street West, but access to a range of fresh food at affordable prices is still lacking, he said. “People in the neighbourhood would like to have something that is more of your traditional grocery store.”
But Hintonburg Community Association member Jay Baltz isn’t put all his eggs in that basket.
“Every single proposal that has come through has drawn a grocery store on the ground floor because they know they’re popular,” Baltz said. “That’s just a pretty picture.”
He said major grocery stores rarely feel they have enough parking or customer base to justify opening a store in the bottom of a condo. A total of 174 parking spaces and 144 bicycle parking will be provided underground to serve tower B, which includes plans for the grocery store. Tower A will have 116 parking spaces and 80 bike parking spots.
The bigger issue, Baltz said, is the traffic-generation effect of the towers, which will be 19 storeys higher than the zoning originally allowed.
A traffic study found that peak hour traffic would increase by about 120 vehicles in the morning and 150 vehicles in the afternoon – acceptable for all traffic lights in the area, except for Parkdale and Scott, which will get a new left-hand turn lane northbound on Parkdale to help it operate better.
Baltz said the intersection is already so bad it’s going to be hard to fix.
Not to mention, traffic studies are often done in isolation, he said.
“When they have approved 20 big towers in one area, there has to be an acknowledgement that all 20 are going to have an impact,” he said.
Leiper agreed the traffic will be a major concern moving forward, even though he doesn’t expect the buildings to break ground until after the light-rail transit system is finished in 2018.
“There are legitimate concerns around the impact of traffic,” he said. The Parkdale and Scott intersection is already considered failed, Leiper noted. “It’s just not going to make it more failed.”
COMMUNITY BENEFITS
The development will generate $1.3 million in Section 37 community benefits, which will be used to relocate hydro poles in the area, inject up to $200,000 into the Rosemount library branch improvements and provide affordable housing units inside the development.
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