Icebergs ... on Preston Street

A few days ago, I wrote of a meteorite - made of Luigi-ite - being found on Preston.
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Now, icebergs !
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Icebergs float, but just barely. Most of their bulk is unseen underwater.
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Who knew that fire hydrants had a similar tale? Shown here is a nice four-pack of hydrants, waiting for installation along Preston Street. Below the bright yellow tops, is a red pipe and way way down, is a valve point, to which a pipe runs to the water main.
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I have made a point of looking for fire hydrants in a number of foreign lands. I never saw any. They seem to be a north american piece of streetscape furniture.

New plans on Booth Street

Shown is the old Desjardins IGA/Loeb Booth Street, located just a few metres south of where Booth crosses Somerset.
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The building has been vacant for several years. Attempts to find a new grocer have failed. A government funded study on installing a food coop floundered. The building has a typical industrial facade, but behind the facade I hear there are several old houses joined together. The result is uneven and shifting floors bridging stone foundations.
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Thirty years ago Desjardins had the current Loblaws marketing plan in place. There were grocieries, and furniture, a hardware aisle, and upstairs a baby furniture department (remember when this Dalhousie neighborhood had kids? they are pretty scarce now...).
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While the "for sale" signs are posted outside, I hear that it will shortly be demolished to permit the construction of a 40 unit apartment building for seniors. This is good news. It removes one of the uglier underused parts of the street and replaces it with something new and vital.
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The Z6 condo building now under construction a few blocks south will add a jolt of fashion and style to the streetscape. Now, if only Domicile or someone would replace Chado's/Cousin Eddey's garage, the biggest eyesore of all, just a few blocks further south, then Booth could resume its role as a respectable street in our Dalhousie neighborhood.

Blog Radio

A number of MSM (Main Stream Media) read this blog. Several stories I have written about appear at day or two later in the local dead trees, twice as front pagers. Coincidence no doubt.

A few days ago I wrote about police foot patrols in my Dalhousie neighborhood on the west side of the downtown. CBC radio did a followup interview today.

Broadcast is estimated for Friday, 7.15am, 91.5 on your dial.

DCA - AGM Tonight

There is a community association for the neighborhood bounded on the east by Bay St - on the north by the Ottawa River - on the west by the O-Train tracks - and the south by Carling Avenue. Called the Dalhousie Community Association (DCA) after the now-retired ward name for the area, the association concerns itself with planning, traffic, and social issues in this mixed income changing neighborhood that incorporates both "Chinatown" and "Little Italy".

Their Annual General Meeting is tonight at 7pm at the Dalhousie Centre, corner of Empress and Somerset, 3rd floor. Free cookies. I'll be baking my special nutritious unfatening gingerbread/peanut butter combo cookies. Be sure to come on time in order to get a few. Don't deprive your children of these treats, bring them too.

There will be short panel discussion on (the lack of) park space in the community. Did you know our neighborhood has the lowest amount of city park space of any neighborhood in the city? Now this might now be a disaster if the area consisted of detached homes on large green lots, but this is a fairly dense neighborhood on small lots with what green space remaining is under threat from property owners paving their yards and the City which is eager to convert our green space into transportation corridors. But a number of opportunities exist to improve and quickly add to the park space, if the city can be convinced to act.

Should be a pleasant evening, somewhat interesting, and maybe even fun. Come-on out !

Shrinking Condos

original Z6

revised Z6

The Z6 is a condo building to be built at the corner of Balsam and Booth, facing St Anthony's schoolyard and the yellow brick convent. Photo 1 shows the 5 storey building orignally proposed for the site, having 26 units. The second photo shows the building "downsized" to 17 units, only four floors now, with the rounded cornice line at the front now removed. Construction is to commence 1 May with completed scheduled for spring 2010.

Immediately to the left of the Z6 are a series of land parcels owned by Fanto. They applied for rezoning to permit a seven storey condo at the corner of Balsam and Rochester, with two more 'future' buildings to be built on either side of it. They did not get the desired rezoning, facing opposition from the Councilor and Dalhousie Community Assoc. I gather they are now considering a lower rise building or stacked townhouses for their site.

Wither the Walls?

The first two sections of improved streetscaping went in on Preston Street in 2008 as part of the underground utilities renewal. The remaining three sections of the street will be done in 2009, except for intersection paving which I will address in a separate post.

The second picture (above) shows new concrete walls installed last year in front of residential properties south of the Queensway. There was not time to finish the landscaping last fall, but this spring the lawns will be replaced and shrubs will be planted between the small curb and the base of the wall. The uniform landscape treatment in front of several properties will help reduce visual clutter. The result should be good.

For the sixteen years I have been on the Preston rezoning and streetscaping project, I have always lobbied for including the predominantly residential areas north of Somerset in the project boundaries. This has been a long long battle. One of my objectives was to improve the streetscape and appearance of the dominant row of houses shown above (picture 1). This row of houses, 3 stories high, suffers from neglect, and some uncaring landlords. I think only one unit is owner occupied. I always argued that no amount of streetscaping elsewhere could undo the strong impression this row makes...

Yet the row has lots of potential. Many verandahs have the original wood columns on stone pillars. It could be improved. For several years the City told me they could, as part of the street reconstruction, install a common concrete wall of standardized height and having standardized individual stairs up from the sidewalk to the terraced area. From the terrace at the top of the wall, each property owner would install and maintain their own verandah steps and decorative landscaping according to taste.

Yet in the final open house of the Preston St project held last night, the planners show all the existing mish mash of wooden walls and irregular walk widths and paving materials left in place. When they relocate the sidewalk out about 1 metre from the existing sidewalk, they propose to plant a row of shrubs and a few trees. That's all. I am so disappointed. This is a rare opportunity to improve a frontage that cannot be otherwise done with 1o individual owners and their diverse interests (a number of which seem to focussed on 'spend no money'). If the City has its way, the prominence of this row and the jumble of irregular walls will leave the strong impression on street users that nothing has improved. Thirty million dollars of improvements later, the north end of Preston will remain a blot on the streetscape.

Composting Thoughts on Garbage Collection Day

After putting out the full blue box of bottles/cans/tetrapaks I went looking for the Glad bag of household garbage. The garbage can in the driveway was empty. I went into the kitchen, and discovered the little plastic bag from Luciano's was stuffed rather full of household garbage. Once I gathered up the wastecans from the bathrooms and bedrooms, I still had barely half a green bag of garbage, and this is in a household of two adults, one teen (with a weekend crowd of five more teens living in). So I cleaned out some stuff that I otherwise hadn't yet parted with, in order to not waste the space in that garbage bag. I know this logic is somewhat ... lacking ... in coherence.

On garbage day through the winter I frequently had a stuffed-full green bag or sometimes two. The difference between then and now is composting. I went into the last winter with the compost bins in the backyard already full. Therefore during the winter I threw away the carrot peels, eggshells, potato peels, brocoli stems and other compostables. As the compost bins thaw, the piles inside are shrinking, and I have begun composting again. Can these organics really amount to half a green bag or more of garbage, per week? Guess so.

I am always impressed by the townhousers around the corner from me on Walnut Court. About 45 townhouses all put their garbage out at one curbside collection point. The pile of blue or black boxes, and leaf bags, is always several times larger than the collection of a dozen or so green bags. The sheer volume of recyclables is visible to even the dimmest observer. Once green bins are introduced, the volume of green bags should go down even more. Lesson: sell your shares in Glad Bags.

Now, if only whomever stole my black newspaper bin a few weeks ago would return it ...

City Centre Tower

The City Centre Tower, constructed about 1965, lost its red letters around the roof line last week. Nothing was left but the dirt on the brickwork. Yesterday and today workers on scaffolding were cleaning the brick. In the photo, the north wall to the right has already been cleaned; and work continues on the east wall.

Double click on the picture to see it up close.

Tailrace Kayaking

The Tailrace, aka Bronson Creek, flows out of the Fleet Street Pumping Station at the eastern end of LeBreton Flats. Bronson Creek was until a few years ago the private property of The Bronson Corporation.

It is used as a whitewater kayaking course. The kayakers have already been out this season. On Wednesday, a member of the club was adjusting the gates the kayakers pass through.

The kayak course is another hidden gem in the West Side area, and well worth putting it on your evening stroll, dogwalk, or cycling route.

Sir John Carling Bldg - demolish vs conversion

The Sir John Carling building is a large gray office slab rising out of the eastern edge of the Experimental Farm between Dows Lake / Prince of Wales Drive and Carling Avenue. Built in 1967, it is certainly a more-attractive building than many government cubicle farms. The distinctive brise soleil screens on the exterior (only on the west and south sides, the picture shows the east side without sun screens) were inspired by the trendy architecture of Brasilia, and promoted by the then minister of agriculture (Hees??), if my ageing memory serves me right.

The Feds plan to demolish the building in 2010. I can understand their claims that it is an inefficient building, even if I disagree with them. Public Works today wants large floorplates to challenge building occupants in finding their way through the maze of gray partitions, and far be it for me to reduce the mental challenges that might keep our civil servants alert. PubWorks also likes higher ceiling levels to pipe mechanical air into the warren.

I suggest they sell it to a condo developer. Seriously. There, I said it. The thin building floorplate is more suited to residential uses.

I don't see why having condos on the farm is any different from having civil servants in a highrise on the farm. In fact, the condo might generate more diversity of activity at all hours of the day and night.

And don't be mislead by the current appearance of the building surrounded by farmland to the west and greenspace to the east, because the greenspace to the east (the Dows Lake side, shown in the picture) is NOT PERMANENT GREENSPACE. It is not parkland, part of the experimental farm, nor part of Dows Lake / Commissioner's Park. It is, in City zoning, identified as MCF 1.5, ie Mixed Use Centre with a floor space index of 1.5. The (aborted) CDP for the area calls, amongst other good things, for higher density development here.

Recall too that the Carling Avenue LRT service promoted by Clive Doucet and others uses a part of this lot to swing the LRT from the Carling median under the (future) buildings down to the current O-Train line towards Bayview Station. As for the land to the west, isn't this one of the sites identified for a potential new Civic Hospital?

Please don't accuse me of wanting to pave over the Farm. The Carling Building is already there, the issue is whether to refurbish it as office space, demolish it, or my suggestion: a residential building. The (potential) land uses to the east and west of the Carling Building are already in the public forum. Can the Carling building be recycled, reused, repurposed? I hope so. Demolition is the recourse of losers.

Sanguiccio

Sanguiccio is a strange word to English eyes, but if you say it fast enough it sounds like someone with a strong Italian accent saying sandwich.

Owner Genio Ienzi is opening his sandwich shop at 183 Preston Street (the former Muscle Madness location) to cater to the strong take out market. He is supporting other local businesses too: his meats come from Luciano's Fine Foods.

Genio is currently negotiating with a small artisan baker to supply buns -- pannini -- and specialty loaves of bread. When talking to Genio, he gave me a sample of his last slice on hand: it's texture was incredible and light, full of yeast bubbles. He suggests patrons can buy a loaf, slice it, and freeze the pieces in separate freezer bags to be toasted or warmed up one delicious slice at a time.

Preston Construction Starts Soon

The Preston Street streetscaping project starts up again soon. Preliminary work by Rogers, Bell and Enbridge is already underway. Heavy construction begins on the sections south of Oak Street on April 14 (after Easter weekend).

Work on the section from Spruce north to Albert Street begins the beginning of May.

The intersections of Preston and Albert, Somerset, Gladstone, Beach, and Carling may not be given their decorative paving until 2010.

The City is holding a public briefing to remind residents and businesses of the scope of the project and what is being built where, on March 31st at 7pm at Plant Recreation Centre. That meeting will also cover the planned detour routes.

Shuffling the PAROLE OFFICE to Somerset St

The present location of the Parole Office on Elgin Street has been subject to a lot of complaint from area politicians and community groups. Corrections Canada has suggested addressing their unhappiness by relocating the office to 1010 Somerset (pictured above) conveniently located between the Plant Recreation Centre and Devonshire Public School.

They are holding a public consultation meeting at the Bronson Centre at 7pm on Monday, March 30th. Comments can also be sent to www.csc-scc.gc.ca/consultation.

The office will serve about 200 federal offenders a year. It employs about 36 parole officers and others.

Advantages of the proposed location (compared to the Elgin site) include the relative absense of senior bureaucrats living in our neighborhood [invaluable for throwing up bureaucratic roadblocks], the lower income profile of the area, and perhaps the on-street amenities. They also chose a spot that's almost out of each local councilor's ward, being on the boundary of Hintonburg and Somerset wards.

Woodpecker on Primrose

Saw the pictured woodpecker on Primrose St in front of St Vincent Hospital around 1pm on March 17th. He had created a significant litter of woodchips on the lawn and sidewalk, which is how I spotted him, since his pecking was silent. It was bigger than a robbin, smaller than a crow; much larger than the woodpeckers I normally see in this neighborhood.