tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9691568472566521982024-02-20T21:46:17.456-05:00West Side ActionWhat's happening on the west side of downtown Ottawa: Downtown to Westboro, Ottawa River to Dows Lake. News and opinion on the LRT, DOTT - Downtown Ottawa Transit Tunnel, cycling, pedestrians, development, happenings, streetscaping & livable streets, BikeWest, Cyclopiste de Preston,Dalhousie EcoCorridor.Eric Darwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01042460139621819388noreply@blogger.comBlogger584125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-969156847256652198.post-87933524647312518372010-08-04T10:48:00.001-04:002010-08-04T10:50:08.231-04:00You missed the latest post ...If you get this message, you are still subscribed to or are reading WestSideAction at the OLD blog site. <br />
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Eric DarwinEric Darwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01042460139621819388noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-969156847256652198.post-5204885126683443572010-08-03T10:05:00.003-04:002010-08-03T11:39:17.634-04:00More on Bronson's fake trees<em><span style="font-size: xx-small;">I had thought Ottawa was perhaps unique in wanting to install fake trees on concrete foundations along Bronson rather than plant real trees with real roots. </span></em><br />
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The City is reconstructing Bronson next year. In their rush to pave over every possible inch of Ottawa space for rush hour commuters to head over to the greener pastures of Pointe Gatineau or out to Greely, they discovered they had no room left over for pedestrians, cyclists, transit users, residents, adjacent businesses, kids heading to school or grandma heading to the lawn bowling club. No room for bus shelters, benches, or trees ... so the City proposes installing <strong>fake trees, </strong>as they don't require room for roots to grow, are immune to salt, etc. See the second illustration below for a sketch of the proposed artificial foliage, and don't forget those yellow and red cars are speeding along at 70 or 80, and the benches are on private property only if the owners cede the space to the city. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg15yFlC9zKJMgnQd-wc8_HPdKmruiQ9gAf3lPjp6XiUoXty0VC6vaJC7DrPT4rtkG02B_RKttSj6MX_PKryijoLlCasjkY8v6ADRUoVd_84es8dEMEbkY4HvgNXEGfGwyaNn-rXxnM5U/s1600/Bronson2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" bx="true" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg15yFlC9zKJMgnQd-wc8_HPdKmruiQ9gAf3lPjp6XiUoXty0VC6vaJC7DrPT4rtkG02B_RKttSj6MX_PKryijoLlCasjkY8v6ADRUoVd_84es8dEMEbkY4HvgNXEGfGwyaNn-rXxnM5U/s400/Bronson2.jpg" width="307" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div>I had thought Ottawa was perhaps unique in wanting to install fake trees on concrete foundations rather than plant real trees with real roots. Alas, I was wrong. Regina is doing us much better. They are chopping down real trees to replace them with fake trees. <br />
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Victoria Park in downtown Regina is being refashioned. Supposedly, work crews digging to plant trees discovered lots of gas mains, wiring, etc in the area (who knew!?) and so the City is proposing "shade screens -- large metal frames of self-weathering steel that will rust to a durable orange-brown, linked with curving reflective strips of shiny aluminum" (National Post, pg A6,"Residents liken park design to Nazi camp"). <br />
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The story goes on to describe residents as "disillusioned by the loss of trees and ... an emblem of tradition lost to modernism, and of nature lost to the city". <br />
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There are a couple of themes here worth pondering upon. One is the desire of City departments to get rid of real trees, with their inconvenient growth and variability and seasonal change. We have seen our cities steadily remove all large trees, and now apparently the small ones have gotta go too. <br />
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The other theme is the underground utilities. On Bronson, for example, we requested the City require new and reconstructed utilities be burried deep enough so trees could be planted. Oh, the looks of horror on their faces ... they had no intention ever of requesting let alone <em>requiring</em> utilities be located more than 36" deep. The role of landscaping was to fill in the left over spots, if there were any. That a street might have stakeholders or influence other than for utilities and commuters was unthinkable. Such unthinking gave us ugly Bronson in the 50's and such unthinking still prevails with (some) city staff and consultants today, over a half century later. Ugliness and disutility designed in from day one.Eric Darwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01042460139621819388noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-969156847256652198.post-45013408725590777942010-08-03T08:10:00.000-04:002010-08-03T08:10:00.083-04:00Raw 60's<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAo7BtQz0FluM70HheDbqsf9y04ioeYpQXZ_0SGKCKI2dxKd0Yt6-lp7V_cnjdEVs4X9kdhfdlXsbyEuQZzDdaXtUug0fKtrtlnrcIy6u5dTVkh0EzlNbgYMzUZ3VMSNPvJsZNyygR0eM/s1600/P6171834.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" bx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAo7BtQz0FluM70HheDbqsf9y04ioeYpQXZ_0SGKCKI2dxKd0Yt6-lp7V_cnjdEVs4X9kdhfdlXsbyEuQZzDdaXtUug0fKtrtlnrcIy6u5dTVkh0EzlNbgYMzUZ3VMSNPvJsZNyygR0eM/s320/P6171834.JPG" /></a></div><br />
Raw Sugar coffee and tea house on Somerset at Cambridge is totally decorated in chrome tables and chairs, 60's fake leather, there are the appropriate figurines and a Hammond organ. <br />
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Yesterday, it was in my aunt's house, today it's a museum display. But the brownies still taste good.Eric Darwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01042460139621819388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-969156847256652198.post-16140596079069926872010-08-02T08:05:00.001-04:002010-08-02T08:05:00.443-04:00The race is won ...<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8QNXJMxXrnC-EoEEFDJ8C3OIKsJihnxbnykym3c8qu8uMnNH3zTpR-wwNsImGvOBoRSlUSzER9SdE3uqvu2EAhlcSnge8BYzrjXZ1jVaXY_RcDg9e_Z-vJwlXw-hWLtYa84dAFQbPUEg/s1600/P7101838.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" bx="true" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8QNXJMxXrnC-EoEEFDJ8C3OIKsJihnxbnykym3c8qu8uMnNH3zTpR-wwNsImGvOBoRSlUSzER9SdE3uqvu2EAhlcSnge8BYzrjXZ1jVaXY_RcDg9e_Z-vJwlXw-hWLtYa84dAFQbPUEg/s400/P7101838.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">A little while ago I posted this picture of the "loop" wires that were to be installed at the Preston intersection with Somerset. The street was also scheduled to be dug up ... would the street diggers remove the street before the wires got burried, or would the wire people install the wires only to see them dug up the next week ...</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIkBFCLCftRpHyhWFvQMZwvre2rK5QvaArr5n37o7Cl8XCaXsvI4Hcl9VR6cwiDtQtLGOAv_3GEAzaf2TfvCd5bXEiYzJAEjkvzvPMEnSmKbizw_nRfbbl8U1yzvuMqOxBkr7qAWjL6FY/s1600/P7301898.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" bx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIkBFCLCftRpHyhWFvQMZwvre2rK5QvaArr5n37o7Cl8XCaXsvI4Hcl9VR6cwiDtQtLGOAv_3GEAzaf2TfvCd5bXEiYzJAEjkvzvPMEnSmKbizw_nRfbbl8U1yzvuMqOxBkr7qAWjL6FY/s320/P7301898.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">The diggers won. Bell and Enbridge are busy doing their infrastructure stuff before the sewer work is done later this month. So the traffic people won't find a street there to put their loop into. </div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">Unless ... Bell patches the street and the traffic folks install it between the Bell work and the sewer work ....</div>Eric Darwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01042460139621819388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-969156847256652198.post-82691335619117002472010-08-01T08:05:00.000-04:002010-08-01T08:05:00.495-04:00Rideau Canal cruisin'<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg65E4zSpDxPh3j_vpYos38r37hyBJ9s7YFQy1zcdNxdvth5h1BckEUvi3InUaYI72Yth6DCs5wdhbN9JLmNPXUjtjLbyQuecNEfJboFfdFJzxnoeZwYEtsTS53uNH9cRwEIRmt2QnBp3c/s1600/P7291892.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" bx="true" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg65E4zSpDxPh3j_vpYos38r37hyBJ9s7YFQy1zcdNxdvth5h1BckEUvi3InUaYI72Yth6DCs5wdhbN9JLmNPXUjtjLbyQuecNEfJboFfdFJzxnoeZwYEtsTS53uNH9cRwEIRmt2QnBp3c/s400/P7291892.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
The Kawartha Voyageur seen here at Hartwell Locks, near Carleton U. <br />
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If you think it looks too big to fit through the canal locks, you are right. It is too long. However, they roll up the awning at the front and the entire bow section swings up on a hinge, revealling the boat to be the square barge that lies beneath.Eric Darwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01042460139621819388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-969156847256652198.post-19253378659097304162010-07-31T08:05:00.002-04:002010-07-31T08:05:00.554-04:00No 2 resumes passage, further blockage expected<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPhgNNxmuQqkb3TGe6eZ1IPoST_FsDadh6oecxFbVBKeISWYD6XNSlZHS1YOEQT3wTd9tZMEqs3P3u4Xqts750YnlXOBaMPQnxCiM8O9cSZOjqlAWziC_goJQGhdd6rm3gPu6HSyC1VBs/s1600/P7291894.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" bx="true" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPhgNNxmuQqkb3TGe6eZ1IPoST_FsDadh6oecxFbVBKeISWYD6XNSlZHS1YOEQT3wTd9tZMEqs3P3u4Xqts750YnlXOBaMPQnxCiM8O9cSZOjqlAWziC_goJQGhdd6rm3gPu6HSyC1VBs/s400/P7291894.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">On July 29 Somerset Street was reopened under the new Chinatown Royal Arch, after a two month closure to vehicles. The No 2 bus route resumed passage through Chinatown.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The sidewalks have been relaid and provide a more comfortable and direct route for pedestrians again. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The scaffolding remains around the Arch for the use of the painters coming from China who will apply 17 coats of paint to the make the arch more colourful. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Meanwhile, just a few blocks further west on Somerset, construction has started for the new utilities and streetscaping. Major work will be completed this fall, but landscaping won't be completed until fall 2011. We can expect some further blockage of the street both this year and for about two months in 2011. </div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin9CdBp6wTD8Jl5lO_piXPd1SIEuEAYsuh5lffm2NtCHpSyggxJt9mcPBkn6QGbKuiwYfccm_6E_5ykf47WEEQAJLpTNHwGp8qFjsBGBnHYqk3XXnXeWkW0vysGkXTgGP2S7EQUiNLY20/s1600/P7291896.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" bx="true" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin9CdBp6wTD8Jl5lO_piXPd1SIEuEAYsuh5lffm2NtCHpSyggxJt9mcPBkn6QGbKuiwYfccm_6E_5ykf47WEEQAJLpTNHwGp8qFjsBGBnHYqk3XXnXeWkW0vysGkXTgGP2S7EQUiNLY20/s400/P7291896.JPG" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi559OnvIs3sHKqmXsMYkK3L8bXPtNUdeQ3ACv7dnYO5zTMjghoy0XIE3nUx_jqAFIqyIIjQ0kjZUpMFTIwC38S-BtSJ_d1ZR3-VOSukh9F4KGb0Hv_FHo1E2vvMu66NQZeJAaT8Y2_u6A/s1600/P7291897.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" bx="true" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi559OnvIs3sHKqmXsMYkK3L8bXPtNUdeQ3ACv7dnYO5zTMjghoy0XIE3nUx_jqAFIqyIIjQ0kjZUpMFTIwC38S-BtSJ_d1ZR3-VOSukh9F4KGb0Hv_FHo1E2vvMu66NQZeJAaT8Y2_u6A/s400/P7291897.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>Eric Darwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01042460139621819388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-969156847256652198.post-15551761313259014142010-07-30T09:00:00.001-04:002010-07-30T09:00:02.071-04:00Gov't Downsizing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizu9rS3XLo3ZB61svfKtGZv6CS67wlhe2E3Gf0QNVqYh90UbDdCBUB6eLbpze2X-ks5rvpjRQIA95poC87PkUE_mkynbgp8Y4GZiTAOkMhXaHbMQ48oLznrQJmj4jEPU3yuhuqgXSTSNM/s1600/P7211896.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" hw="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizu9rS3XLo3ZB61svfKtGZv6CS67wlhe2E3Gf0QNVqYh90UbDdCBUB6eLbpze2X-ks5rvpjRQIA95poC87PkUE_mkynbgp8Y4GZiTAOkMhXaHbMQ48oLznrQJmj4jEPU3yuhuqgXSTSNM/s400/P7211896.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
These mini-traffic lights were on a post in Gatineau. I could not determine if they were for cyclists. Or pedestrians. Or if they went off and on with the bigger lights. <br />
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I recall seeing these everywhere in France, but that is because they skip the big light fixtures on the far side of the intersection in favour of big ones over the stop line only. <br />
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The plethora of push buttons didn't make it any clearer. I eventually walked my bike across against a red light (I was on a bike path detour that led me to the intersection and abandonned me).<br />
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It felt like bait and switch. Segregated bike path: good. Detour sign -- they were thinking of me! good. Abandonned at the intersection: bad. <br />
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Ottawa has more overhead traffic signals than anywhere I have been in the world (and that's lots of places!). More signalized intersections. More signals at the intersection. More posts. More big metal arms. More signage. No wonder we are high tax and low results sort of place, the highest and best use of tax dollars is installing signalized intersections. Maybe, just maybe, the new age of austerity will give us these cuter, more friendly and human scaled signals.Eric Darwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01042460139621819388noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-969156847256652198.post-48578648047595138332010-07-29T08:10:00.001-04:002010-07-29T08:10:01.071-04:00Enjoying nature<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHFO4GOCH9ssTSklDOuQGWlZ4TJFTtfkTIYdOwE8IvVRwo5VatApgfYx8ZwlJl0dAFOX_32iVTCRNZzwRROtXkZEIjBKxPNInahTQRVOAMyWlK0arbesNyAeZuDRSJ65z9A4txSl7HVu0/s1600/P7191879.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" hw="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHFO4GOCH9ssTSklDOuQGWlZ4TJFTtfkTIYdOwE8IvVRwo5VatApgfYx8ZwlJl0dAFOX_32iVTCRNZzwRROtXkZEIjBKxPNInahTQRVOAMyWlK0arbesNyAeZuDRSJ65z9A4txSl7HVu0/s400/P7191879.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
I was cycling around the Ottawa West neighborhood the other day: Northwestern, Cowley, Patricia, Carleton. <br />
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This long lineup of parked cars is on the roadside parking lot where a neighborhood path goes under the Ottawa River Commuter Expressway. Once on the path, I looked for all these people, but the area was deserted. <br />
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Alas, they were just the abandonned bits of personal transporters left behind by cubicle farmers at Tunney's Pasture. Free parking, no posted time limit.Eric Darwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01042460139621819388noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-969156847256652198.post-29062130860433052612010-07-28T08:05:00.001-04:002010-07-28T08:05:00.506-04:00La Maison d'Oscar<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi00HgxLJdn9AzEEwH15MuRinD3znINcbywo3Z75rNKpzDIctrlxpIcUBpBsi_PDi9lPKD30Zp74pTSemDSX7CMlMls57KyBhzXZesLNXKbHXBTfQ3qRS7k_PVtmoMXoVgeOVi1smzv7jE/s1600/P7191880.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" hw="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi00HgxLJdn9AzEEwH15MuRinD3znINcbywo3Z75rNKpzDIctrlxpIcUBpBsi_PDi9lPKD30Zp74pTSemDSX7CMlMls57KyBhzXZesLNXKbHXBTfQ3qRS7k_PVtmoMXoVgeOVi1smzv7jE/s400/P7191880.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>Eric Darwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01042460139621819388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-969156847256652198.post-60100594078973716112010-07-27T08:05:00.001-04:002010-07-27T08:05:00.776-04:00Animating LeBreton Flats streets<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ_hjQi3VbS3sD5GpAsCqKTusL5tBOBMpfLXRu3cKvLGwBqlZftjo1b9i0nRmOx_HytPIc-oh7oHP7KRxB5ehMKddMxG-T7oleNwytZRPiegMuToppCfwhxxOfdYQXfdU4UugHMGdGeDg/s1600/P7251878.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" hw="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ_hjQi3VbS3sD5GpAsCqKTusL5tBOBMpfLXRu3cKvLGwBqlZftjo1b9i0nRmOx_HytPIc-oh7oHP7KRxB5ehMKddMxG-T7oleNwytZRPiegMuToppCfwhxxOfdYQXfdU4UugHMGdGeDg/s400/P7251878.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
The picture above is a new condo door installed by Claridge on its ground floor condos on Lett Street (LeBreton Flats, under the yellow tower). <br />
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It is highly significant. <br />
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City and NCC plans for the development call for animated streets, full of people walking, playing, shopping ... but the first phase building as regular sliding doors on all ground floor units. You know, patio doors. No lock nor key to access them from the outside. No lobby space inside those doors, just step straight into the living room. In short, the developer paid lip service to the notion of animated streets but built the opposite. <br />
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The second phase of the first building faces Lett and Fleet Streets. The ground floor units (mostly) have hinged glass doors. With exterior handles. And locks. So someone can actually come and go at street level. <br />
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It is an<span style="font-size: xx-small;"> improvement</span>.Eric Darwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01042460139621819388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-969156847256652198.post-28074280667530263212010-07-26T16:12:00.000-04:002010-07-26T16:12:13.376-04:00Sidewalk to No-where<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6wAPxTUHxZKnrYpltiqCi_fs1J1Ip7Uopfh0MbMSjaQnQ4e7E8KTA_2FNJfKUGINJraRTOkklxYJpTIy77_bjuwDtHLwyFPlHn_BfkerXyzERvmyCL0Pwm0_u8OPQmd3iKHl0tHSH5tU/s1600/P7241876.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" hw="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6wAPxTUHxZKnrYpltiqCi_fs1J1Ip7Uopfh0MbMSjaQnQ4e7E8KTA_2FNJfKUGINJraRTOkklxYJpTIy77_bjuwDtHLwyFPlHn_BfkerXyzERvmyCL0Pwm0_u8OPQmd3iKHl0tHSH5tU/s400/P7241876.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-size: xx-small;">the sidewalk on the west side of Sliddel approaching the Ottawa River Commuter Expressway</span></em></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyGZQfovQVO0YvpLWWy9xA1Qu1QzU5iaqsCDh3ZKe4gMcnOdxApARa87Z-VEnaahNGtgm1Cjnh6BahcC1pyFqpHxBLXHZloXzZaMBND31_fbzttv_nYBXRk-61oH1kyxsJkWKpKhPW_00/s1600/P7241877.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" hw="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyGZQfovQVO0YvpLWWy9xA1Qu1QzU5iaqsCDh3ZKe4gMcnOdxApARa87Z-VEnaahNGtgm1Cjnh6BahcC1pyFqpHxBLXHZloXzZaMBND31_fbzttv_nYBXRk-61oH1kyxsJkWKpKhPW_00/s400/P7241877.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-size: xx-small;">The sidewalk on the east side of Sliddel</span></em></div><br />
Sliddel is a little street that connects the new trafic roundabout at Bayview-Burnside to the Ottawa River Commuter Expressway. As shown, it has sidewalk stubs that sort of die as they approach the NCC lands.<br />
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The City and NCC had no apparent problems with deciding where to put cars, curbs, traffic signals, and sod. They have lots more problems with pedestrians and cyclists. <br />
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Why dont the sidewalks go right out the traffic lights where people cross? According to city staff: <br />
<em><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong>At the time of our project design, they indicated to us that they would not support a pedestrian crossing across the Ottawa River Parkway at Slidell Street. </strong></span></em><br />
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<em><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong>That being said, we have just worked out some details with the NCC to improve the accessibility at this intersection, in advance of the completion of their overall plans for the area in conjunction with future developments. Painted cross-walks, pedestrian push buttons and depressed curbs should be installed at the intersection within the next few weeks.</strong></span></em> <br />
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Things are not quite so optimistic for cyclists. The roundabout lacks cycling guidelines, preferably instructing cyclists to take the centre of the lane. The City is consulting with the traffic and cycling dept to see if anything is warranted.Eric Darwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01042460139621819388noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-969156847256652198.post-59467296214178511382010-07-24T10:59:00.000-04:002010-07-24T10:59:07.760-04:00The east is red<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVvlec-oChOikAv1jbk04_aaGpFHVB_rsDcn27p6gGOFqnBdJjY2X7n-NoV9K2bYxOBvkWMU9Xg4ySBnUoDk1uTK_Yx3a8kBf1KHbMXg5aqYxxwVlMsXVQD39BSzOBqlnx0uQlBQqQV0o/s1600/P7231879.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" hw="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVvlec-oChOikAv1jbk04_aaGpFHVB_rsDcn27p6gGOFqnBdJjY2X7n-NoV9K2bYxOBvkWMU9Xg4ySBnUoDk1uTK_Yx3a8kBf1KHbMXg5aqYxxwVlMsXVQD39BSzOBqlnx0uQlBQqQV0o/s400/P7231879.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-size: x-small;">Woodblocks with Chinese wishes on them, to be stamped into the red cement at the Chinatown Royal Arch. </span></em></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The road detour at the Chinatown Arch comes off at the end of this week. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Chinese artisans arrive next weekend for the next phase of the Arch project: installing 17 coats of paint on the arch. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">For more frequent Arch pictures and news, go to <a href="http://www.ottawachinatownroyalarch.blogspot.com/">http://www.ottawachinatownroyalarch.blogspot.com/</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div>Eric Darwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01042460139621819388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-969156847256652198.post-84205569712915039852010-07-23T10:48:00.000-04:002010-07-23T10:48:42.718-04:00Highway to nowhere<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbqjsAk4wVk2sJXwZtl1vo-w2binTJRElJMHrXkht_gyczVEMBv7AMhR33rqTmpNRkoGbAkAbHGrwWJEfH0R2ua-ftHbPV9300aMnxprEN0DX5hmyUynjRvVSs-VejM_FFqJF0Hkmyy78/s1600/P7141843.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" hw="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbqjsAk4wVk2sJXwZtl1vo-w2binTJRElJMHrXkht_gyczVEMBv7AMhR33rqTmpNRkoGbAkAbHGrwWJEfH0R2ua-ftHbPV9300aMnxprEN0DX5hmyUynjRvVSs-VejM_FFqJF0Hkmyy78/s400/P7141843.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
The city's roads department has its signals branch located on Gladstone on either side of the O-Train cut. The yards are full of signal poles and light fixtures. Mostly these lights are "out" at night; but one recent evening there were multiple heads cycling through red-yellow-green.<br />
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Immediately behind them is a dense patch of bush, through which a ped path winds that will someday become the cycling path along the Otrain corridor.Eric Darwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01042460139621819388noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-969156847256652198.post-8309151770502372262010-07-22T09:22:00.001-04:002010-07-22T09:28:49.534-04:00Metering thoughts<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZnrO-9-Rp9eGrxB9_vhqeO8KbsXD04fi3nmf3R_rjIKwTSeSt1ASKGbNxVibMq8LO50HSClAXps41k9myPfzCkybZx9b7jBln8DoNo0sP45DfNByXXybRaHoEqyKb3Vffg3K4WJ__4RQ/s1600/P4301645.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" hw="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZnrO-9-Rp9eGrxB9_vhqeO8KbsXD04fi3nmf3R_rjIKwTSeSt1ASKGbNxVibMq8LO50HSClAXps41k9myPfzCkybZx9b7jBln8DoNo0sP45DfNByXXybRaHoEqyKb3Vffg3K4WJ__4RQ/s400/P4301645.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
The City continues -- with some delays* -- to replace parking meters with pay-and-display kiosks. <br />
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The old meters are not immediately removed, however, since motorists are used to what they look like and seek them out. Instead, each one is converted for six months or so to signs telling motorists to look for the pay-and-display kiosk. <br />
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After that breaking in period, the old meters are removed. All of them. A small percentage of them -- 12% -- will be retrofited to become bike hitching posts. The city will then go out to find places to locate these new posts. <br />
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Some meter posts perhaps should be removed. The ones immediately adjacent a curb, for example, which would sometimes get in the way of car doors [more car first thinking here...]. But the city being run on a rational and systems based approach, instead of removing just the problem posts removes ALL of them, and will send out crews to reinstall them in new locations. Criteria had to be developed for where they will be put. Not along the curb. Not along buildings or fences (as in the picture above) because then cycles cannot be put on both sides of the post. <br />
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Wouldn't it have been cheaper to identify which posts need to be removed, and left in place the ones that could be converted to cycle posts? Under the city's plan, we go to the expense of removing all the posts, developing a new location plan with all sorts of location criteria, and then reinstalling the posts, which is so expensive it will take years to get just some of them reinstalled. I'm willing to bet that while parking meter posts could be squeezed in anywhere they city wanted, the new cycling post criteria will be so tough we will shortly be told we can't have a post here or there because they dont fit the criteria. <br />
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Local businesses are annoyed at the lack of bike parking posts now. With the removal of the meters, there will be even fewer hitching posts. I already see cycles locked to benches and trees along Preston. Both the Somerset/Chinatown BIA and the Preston BIA have asked the city to do a one for one replacment of parking meter posts for cycle hitching posts, and the response was negative. <br />
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Next summer, when all the old parking meter posts are gone, and the few recycled cycle posts are in ... the shortage will become apparent. Four thousand parking meter posts will be missing, only 500 new posts may have been installed. Media can pencil it in for next June: write story on shortage of bike parking spots. <br />
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<em><span style="font-size: xx-small;">*delays ... the new pay-and-display kiosks are made in France. There have been delays getting them to Ottawa by shipping container as this is a peak-season for trans-atlantic shipping, and now the port of Montreal is closed due to a labour dispute.</span></em>Eric Darwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01042460139621819388noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-969156847256652198.post-1590752475290905442010-07-21T11:37:00.000-04:002010-07-21T11:37:40.726-04:00A different climate<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix-vvspfooCfdALGiEigbKz7vBFGeVShW5TOiK35IcFQmaL_09bfBUkdldD3p5IZktv-iqKhbZ3hlQEcjr57yStgHgKOzg0MLg8Xo_3doVmpllO-BA3PqDov2p7RuATolfrjcJgOV0vqU/s1600/bronson.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" hw="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix-vvspfooCfdALGiEigbKz7vBFGeVShW5TOiK35IcFQmaL_09bfBUkdldD3p5IZktv-iqKhbZ3hlQEcjr57yStgHgKOzg0MLg8Xo_3doVmpllO-BA3PqDov2p7RuATolfrjcJgOV0vqU/s320/bronson.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">This is the centre boulevard of Carling Avenue. The section from the Otrain to Bronson is to be reconstructed in 2011. This section will NOT be dug up should the city decide to run an LRT along the Carling median. Also note that the city plows streets to the side only, so the centre boulevard is not used for snow storage. So what is put down in the 2011 reconstruction is what we will see for the next half century or more. </div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">At the open house, I suggested the median be landscaped properly. I suggested there be a 18" setback from the curb, then a 2' wall be constructed and the centre filled with great dirt or structural soil and planted with trees, shrubs, or even decorative grass. The City planners wagged their heads no...no...no. The stuff wouldn't survive. It couldn't possibly work. Besides, there's already a nice park to the south ... as if the NCC facilities obviate the city from ever bothering to do something nice to their lands.</div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHog9RdWFbX7IVvMMAig4zPHIim2Lt5pnDlbaHWIMxGWLKa0WUBO7t0cXd3PDDXjJMB9hLeuo8sbegg-6TsLM4qn6tdZGLZ98XG9Pmah98X1MnLSI1ZRJtNfxm6pCUfSewjM-83L1EcBw/s1600/P7211887.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" hw="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHog9RdWFbX7IVvMMAig4zPHIim2Lt5pnDlbaHWIMxGWLKa0WUBO7t0cXd3PDDXjJMB9hLeuo8sbegg-6TsLM4qn6tdZGLZ98XG9Pmah98X1MnLSI1ZRJtNfxm6pCUfSewjM-83L1EcBw/s400/P7211887.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">Here is Allumettes in <strike>Hull </strike>Gatineau. Remember when Hull was the poor cousin to Ottawa? Well, the story is different now. Note the decorative centre light standards, the lush planting, the close row of trees, all apparently thriving in their hostile climate north of Ottawa.</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">After weeding, a watering (fertilizer?). The resultant lush attractive streetscape shows the results of the manicuring work.</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div>Eric Darwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01042460139621819388noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-969156847256652198.post-31519337219853325612010-07-20T12:21:00.000-04:002010-07-20T12:21:31.581-04:00More on Bronson Road DietThis morning the CBC did a follow up interview on the problem with Bronson. They interviewed Dan Burden, who is a leading proponent of road diets. I have used his materials in suggesting to the city that Bronson needs to be put on a diet, and their answer, without any justification, is always ... "no". <br />
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You can listen to his interview here: <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/ottawamorning/">http://www.cbc.ca/ottawamorning/</a><br />
Select the story called "road diet". He points out that some cities are already up to their thirty-third road being put on a "diet" and dear old Ottawa won't even consider putting one road on a diet. Sigh.Eric Darwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01042460139621819388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-969156847256652198.post-61302492291745772152010-07-20T08:05:00.000-04:002010-07-20T08:05:00.389-04:00New and Improved ?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdRmoOWX5KwK5U5IWs-mHqzvgVEPWQ9r_W0jEPZnc8vuVdisCUpNgrjBzr7AxIwD4LCb6mmixTzWcSKcbrOIsjFvtdGCM5hQVuZqkkeXub-J-XPcCNQknwPDx_2OoWNMTehXHBzigk0-Y/s1600/P7131843.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" rw="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdRmoOWX5KwK5U5IWs-mHqzvgVEPWQ9r_W0jEPZnc8vuVdisCUpNgrjBzr7AxIwD4LCb6mmixTzWcSKcbrOIsjFvtdGCM5hQVuZqkkeXub-J-XPcCNQknwPDx_2OoWNMTehXHBzigk0-Y/s400/P7131843.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div>It has stopped raining. These puddles at the corner of Louisa and Preston are a real wet foot hazard and splash hazard to summer pedestrians; and will be slush and ice hazards in the winter. <br />
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We can put a man on the moon, send a politician to a conference, but somehow can't quite get the water to drain off crosswalks or sidewalks.Eric Darwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01042460139621819388noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-969156847256652198.post-40078719418274507732010-07-19T11:20:00.001-04:002010-07-19T11:49:07.430-04:00Bronson road dietYour blogger was interviewed on CBC radio this morning about the Bronson issues. He was also a news story in the local news lineup. You may be able to hear the interview by going to <br />
<a href="http://www.cbc.ca/ottawamorning/">http://www.cbc.ca/ottawamorning/</a><br />
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and selecting the "fake trees" item. <br />
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The story must have gotten some feedback, since they followed up looking for additional people to interview in the coming days on the subject of road diets.Eric Darwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01042460139621819388noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-969156847256652198.post-62979855967974518412010-07-19T08:00:00.001-04:002010-07-19T08:00:06.476-04:00Place de Dominos<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMZ7hRf9pYO701yaAtzHIEryIn2z4X8syZq_Dah9aPXyes4z1UFAxGi5Fr2F-eU5xMw2ozqUFsKiDI0JUHhpiK_TFsu3h_8Fd1j2C3F-lGuiaD8rzANDZ0PCI6AsItyNSmJTHPAXQhXho/s1600/P7181875.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" hw="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMZ7hRf9pYO701yaAtzHIEryIn2z4X8syZq_Dah9aPXyes4z1UFAxGi5Fr2F-eU5xMw2ozqUFsKiDI0JUHhpiK_TFsu3h_8Fd1j2C3F-lGuiaD8rzANDZ0PCI6AsItyNSmJTHPAXQhXho/s400/P7181875.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
Over the last while, workers have been busy on scaffolding painting the exterior of Place de Ville. The plain square glass box dates back to the late 1960's. It lacks any sort of top or lid, and was bronze and black. Workers are painting various parts of it with primer, then the final coat of ... bronze and black. <br />
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In its current condition, it reminds me of the new building complex in New York, called the Domino. The building exterior is a box that has been articulated with various coloured squares. The building lots like a colourful domino, and is to be built on the site of the former Domino sugar plant. <br />
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While this isn't a former sugar plant, it is a cubicle farm, and I think it could be improved with a polychrome paint exterior. And I would make some of those paints the ones that change colour if hot, or wet. In this way, the building would be a cheerful colour when wet, a cool colour in heat waves, a warm colour in winter ... sort of like those colour-change hot wheel cars we had when we were kids.Eric Darwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01042460139621819388noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-969156847256652198.post-59458418405893693862010-07-18T08:05:00.001-04:002010-07-18T08:05:00.214-04:00Light shining on St Anthony<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe2ef01lEhqVRKmiWuy6X9d1lnvKTsIVzQB6IhZauEwlNbPSoQcnESKdpXbA6aFGgOjBYcDOPWJhCFfQhfEQy-mCKVfN_sVA4hBI6Q4zJuCXSnnmkUd8xXFM2gHBiyR8oIB_2i9mGjcns/s1600/P7131841.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" rw="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe2ef01lEhqVRKmiWuy6X9d1lnvKTsIVzQB6IhZauEwlNbPSoQcnESKdpXbA6aFGgOjBYcDOPWJhCFfQhfEQy-mCKVfN_sVA4hBI6Q4zJuCXSnnmkUd8xXFM2gHBiyR8oIB_2i9mGjcns/s400/P7131841.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">St Anthony school on Booth Street is getting some new windows. The new pattern, shown in the photo below, looks more in keeping with the architecture of the school than the old windows coming out. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiIKrXIB7wWxcANQ4rwWSndaxH187MBy5tl4hP_SRkfDrvN2F6exTZiInssb4nHPj3CyGxdMeFlQBXrCOv2KAvl8tlOaI2AJzh1PuNhn-LmsPoLAJCd0b0mBYRpGnr5qm8G1ZXAMs-yj4/s1600/P7131842.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" rw="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiIKrXIB7wWxcANQ4rwWSndaxH187MBy5tl4hP_SRkfDrvN2F6exTZiInssb4nHPj3CyGxdMeFlQBXrCOv2KAvl8tlOaI2AJzh1PuNhn-LmsPoLAJCd0b0mBYRpGnr5qm8G1ZXAMs-yj4/s400/P7131842.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>Eric Darwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01042460139621819388noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-969156847256652198.post-30628508720523307502010-07-17T08:05:00.001-04:002010-07-17T08:05:00.108-04:00Milky rain, milky rain<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu8Q_QUfsnIZxMRvhOoZp1ccyKxXeTFgcXi2CuMbCnGn6643M0N8h6zo5g5G4PKL6m18tyHB5-7hop2k1XE_ETb6qQGbUXmZ5sp2GEB8Q6mKTMns7DcWMRaS2c3vhp26j7ftoZ6pIidOM/s1600/P7131838.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" rw="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu8Q_QUfsnIZxMRvhOoZp1ccyKxXeTFgcXi2CuMbCnGn6643M0N8h6zo5g5G4PKL6m18tyHB5-7hop2k1XE_ETb6qQGbUXmZ5sp2GEB8Q6mKTMns7DcWMRaS2c3vhp26j7ftoZ6pIidOM/s400/P7131838.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">It was raining the other day, and there was this curious milky substance running down the curbside gutter. I followed it back to the source: the road construction sign. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The back of the sign is painted white, and in the rain the paint just washes off. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I wondered if maybe the sign had anti-graffiti treatment on the back, so the paint would not stick. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">In the meantime, what does all this while paint do to our sewers?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmQMSzVFpQll3MgeV7k-i9rCLEnalM8t0Gw3X_DlXNcazRTDy7Dp_oV48fbTItQkiWgI7pKEZe7M8yXYvvLs3FsBahS81fEPl1xo6w0oSmnqFOUjKJt-Y1LWOelkl28Gi2CF6riYhy-8M/s1600/P7131839.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" rw="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmQMSzVFpQll3MgeV7k-i9rCLEnalM8t0Gw3X_DlXNcazRTDy7Dp_oV48fbTItQkiWgI7pKEZe7M8yXYvvLs3FsBahS81fEPl1xo6w0oSmnqFOUjKJt-Y1LWOelkl28Gi2CF6riYhy-8M/s320/P7131839.JPG" /></a></div>Eric Darwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01042460139621819388noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-969156847256652198.post-10424782879904591302010-07-16T08:05:00.002-04:002010-07-16T08:05:00.246-04:00Look up, way way up...No, this is not a story from The Friendly Giant.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Charlesfort is an Ottawa builder of deluxe condos. His exteriors have character, drawn from past architectural styles. He built The Gardens at Bronson/Albert and one at Bronson near Carling in the MacIntosh style (not Apple, nor Steve Jobs, but in the style of a Scottish architect). </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>Their latest projects are in the art deco style. Shown above is the roof line of the Hudson in downtown Ottawa on Kent Street. The style attracts the eye upwards, only to be distracted by a large silver chiller unit mounted on the roof. Tacky. (the picture was taken from Somerset St, the red brick building in the foreground is another project).<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I was surprised to see the chiller looks different now than from a few weeks ago. It is no longer bright silver, it seems to have been painted with a muted sky and cloud motif, that makes it blend in much better with the skyline. Kudos to the condo board or Charlesfort for doing so. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> The same firm has similar art deco style buildings underway on Richmond Road near Woodroofe and opposite City Hall on Lisgar. But next time, just put the chiller inside a mechanical penthouse. It's better to design it right than to cover it up.</div>Eric Darwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01042460139621819388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-969156847256652198.post-71641759584469885902010-07-15T08:05:00.002-04:002010-07-15T08:05:00.044-04:00The race is on ...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCCqCscaBUURHQKboIH6koNIBG-13C3psEW9rhZcUQCXNaHYpKtGAO8mp3OYqd5heaW2kTcyzD-6J7YAQ9B4XFFw1YknyRnMx_9E_Pr6HCdG22dnXu8BptRbEyimMQ4f9Bm0PaBnj5KXM/s1600/P7101838.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" rw="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCCqCscaBUURHQKboIH6koNIBG-13C3psEW9rhZcUQCXNaHYpKtGAO8mp3OYqd5heaW2kTcyzD-6J7YAQ9B4XFFw1YknyRnMx_9E_Pr6HCdG22dnXu8BptRbEyimMQ4f9Bm0PaBnj5KXM/s400/P7101838.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
Preston reconstruction is almost complete. Final details are going in ... like the traffic loops. <br />
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The loop shown above is going to be installed right outside May's Chinese Restaurant at the corner of Somerset and Preston. <br />
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Except ... on August 3rd Somerset is going to be dug up big time for the same treatment as Preston got for the last few years: new pipes, utilities, and protected parking bays. Guess what -- the spot shown above will be getting a six foot or so wider sidewalk. And four trees.<br />
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Will the city get the wiring installed in enough time to get it torn out in August? Or will they be so slow the installation crews will arrive to find the road already gone?? Stay tuned for the great race...Eric Darwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01042460139621819388noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-969156847256652198.post-26756372128237214172010-07-14T08:05:00.003-04:002010-07-14T08:05:00.855-04:00Economical thirst quenching<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8EE35yxLQJwcfleEX_iADSc9dvfhGhLVA3EwsqHKLSoYEMy6u1EzVqlMNq6Tj7Tg8Qj-masSpUsRthhOOpv3WiQD0j2m6-9ciHVFLqU3GVJqwIEM9I1Wc6iMJ56Zo9P_2cJ04aqT-8ik/s1600/P7091857.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" rw="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8EE35yxLQJwcfleEX_iADSc9dvfhGhLVA3EwsqHKLSoYEMy6u1EzVqlMNq6Tj7Tg8Qj-masSpUsRthhOOpv3WiQD0j2m6-9ciHVFLqU3GVJqwIEM9I1Wc6iMJ56Zo9P_2cJ04aqT-8ik/s400/P7091857.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><br />
My bike panniers will each hold a six pack very nicely. It's a bit too precarious to fit in a 12 pack. <br />
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If you go to the LCBO, two six packs will cost you the six pack price times two. <br />
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If you go the Beer Store, their policy is two six packs will cost you a twelve pack (and two twelve packs costs same as a 24). <br />
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I think the Somerset Beer store is a fabulous place. Except ... expect some long lines if you show up at 10am Monday (recycling day).Eric Darwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01042460139621819388noreply@blogger.com0