Tag: Driving

Queensview Drive and QTN: Good Neighbors?

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Change is coming on Queensview Drive. It is both an opportunity and concern for residents of Queensway Terrace North (QTN). The QTN Planning Committee is taking early action to influence City plans for this area, instead of waiting to react to proposals by outside developers. City plans for Queensview Drive will become public in the draft Official Plan later this month.

In advance of the Official Plan, QTN is asking the City to consider how Queensview Drive could better serve area residents and be connected by pathways, in an integrated plan. This could make it easy to walk or bike there for necessities, recreation, or coffee with a friend. As outlined in a Discussion Paper, titled “Queensview Drive and QTN: Good Neighbors,” this requires attention early in the planning process. While density and the height of towers will get a lot of attention, QTN wants a stronger focus on the design of the whole street to be a place residents will want to go, rather than a wall of high towers on the edge of our neighborhood.

This direction reflects the responses of a majority of residents in an informal summer survey.

A majority of respondents want to see a mix of commercial and residential uses, with a focus on services for area residents, according to the findings in our survey.

Better connections and noise mitigation are other factors that QTN wants included in the early plan. A better connection to the Queensview LRT Station has been a high priority for QTN since the earliest discussion on the LRT. It needs to be in place when the station opens, not five years later, to ensure that QTN residents have good access to the LRT.

QTN is also asking that community services, such as a recreation center, be developed at the same time as affordable housing to foster community connections. QTN, says the discussion paper, could be an “oasis” neighborhood between Lincoln Fields on the north and Queensview Drive on the south, building on its green spaces and friendly streets. That requires a change in the planning process, to center the community in the plans and work with all the stakeholders, including businesses and residents, to find mutual benefits.

Looking to the future, QTN is also asking the City to consider moving the bus barns from the current location on Queensview Drive and using that space for affordable housing and associated services (see section 5 in our paper). This would reduce noise levels on the south side of QTN and allow more affordable housing than the current in-fill strategy, which is having negative impacts on QTN .

This is a working paper to foster discussion. QTN invites feed-back, suggestions, and discussion with your neighbors. We will continue to work toward a plan that works for the future well-being of QTN as well as for the new LRT stations on our boundaries.

Kathy Vandergrift, Planning Committee

 

We want your input: Lincoln Fields, Queensview, Local Paths and the Future of QTN

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Queensview Drive and Lincoln Fields Surveys

Big changes for future development on Queensview Drive and Lincoln Fields/Carling will be included in Ottawa’s new Official Plan, expected this fall. What happens on the south and north boundaries of QTN will have major impacts for residents living here. Higher density and mixed commercial/residential development are expected as these areas become hubs close to LRT stations.

Earlier we were told there would be stakeholder discussion and community input as part of secondary plan processes for both locations. Those are now delayed until after the major decisions are made in the Official Plan. That makes it more challenging to develop a common community position and have our voices heard, since the Official Plan will set directions for development in the whole city.

The QTN planning committee is raising several concerns related to each area for consideration in the planning process. Good connections, for example, and preserving green spaces are high priorities, along with reducing high noise levels near Queensview Drive and safer crossings of Carling Avenue.

We also encourage all residents to imagine what the future could be and discuss it with your neighbours and friends in the area. Would you like to see more shops and services on Queensview Drive, reachable on foot or by bike, without the traffic of Carling Avenue? Should affordable housing be a high priority? Could QTN become a 15-minute neighborhood? That refers to living in a place where you can access services, transit, etc. within a 15-minute walk. How do we prepare for the impacts of climate change?

For now, you can register your views through two surveys:

  1. Lincoln Fields & Queensview Drive Surveys: Britannia Village Community Association is sponsoring a survey about redevelopment of Lincoln Fields for all the neighborhoods around it. Please consider taking a few moments to participate. We will get and report the results of the survey as part of further discussion.

Click here to access the Lincoln Fields Survey (includes Queensview Drive survey)

  1. Queensview Drive Survey: QTNca is sponsoring a survey about the future of Queensview Drive. Questions specific to Queensview Drive can be answered using the survey link below or as part of the Britannia Village survey above:

Click here to access the Queensview Drive survey

If you would like to send a separate message or engage in further discussion, please send an e-mail to qtncommunity@gmail.com. QTNca’s planning committee will consider your views in their work and you will receive a response from the Chair of that Committee, Kathy Vandergrift.

As we learn more about what will be in the draft Official Plan, we will keep you informed and find a way to hold some discussion and engage with our City Councillor or make formal submissions to City Council.

REMINDER – Provide feedback on our local paths (July 10)

July 10 is the deadline to speak up about the pathways that you will use to get to the new LRT stations. We strongly recommend you review and comment on the proposed plans (click to view). We need strong community support to push for a better connection between QTN and Queensview Station and safe crossings to Lincoln Fields. For more information on this please see our earlier message on paths.

Kathy Vandergrift, Chair of Planning Committee, Vice-Chair of Board

Connectivity review: Speak up about your route to the LRT & Update on Berms

How will you access future LRT stations in our area – Lincoln Fields, Queensview, and Pinecrest? Will the new paths allow you to get where you need to go? Are they well placed? Do they need improvements?

Your access to future LRT stations is the central question to be answered by the Connectivity Enhancement Study by the City of Ottawa. You have an opportunity to review the plan and provide feedback between June 26 and July 10, 2020.

Your Voice Matters

It is important that QTN residents speak up, and use this process to show community interest for safe, adequate access to this major infrastructure project. We strongly encourage you to review the plan (click to view). To help ensure your feedback is taken seriously and to allow the association to support residents, please copy qtncommunity@gmail.com on your response to the City’s consultation.

Background

Several QTNca board members participated in a meeting with the City of Ottawa on the Connectivity Enhancement Study. We continued to highlight the need for:

  • Improved and direct access to LRT stations for pedestrians, cyclists, and persons with disabilities;
  • Ensuring the proposed pathways provide safe, year-round access to the LRT;
  • Reducing the impacts of visual and sound pollution from the LRT;
  • Maintaining and enhancing green space; and,
  • Improving the communication of plans and providing opportunities for genuine community consultation.

Communication and genuine consultation has been an issue throughout the project. Residents of QTN continue to receive information after decisions have been made. Also, our opportunities to review the options are limited and brief. We must use this opportunity to have our voices heard.

We have seen a few improvements in the access to future LRT stations, but these improvements are not enough. For example, while there is now a feasibility study of an additional connection from Severn Ave to Queensview station, this important connection needs to be part of the plan, and fully funded. Millions of dollars have been allocated towards a bridge to connect those south of the Queensway to the Queensview station, but access from streets north of Queensview (Moncton Rd, Severn Ave), continues to be a problem.

Safety concerns on sections of the connectivity plan are ongoing. For example, the proposed pathway from Roman Avenue is located between the Queensway and the OC Transpo Depot, rather than closer to the houses along Severn Ave. How do you feel about this connection?

Access to Lincoln Fields station from QTN is improving with the creation of a new Multi-Use Pathway however, connections to Lincoln Fields Mall have not been included and the Sir John A. Macdonald Parkway on/off ramps are not seeing safety improvements despite a plan to implement cycling infrastructure along Carling Ave.

Connaught Park Update: Berms

A drainage study has been completed and the berms are being redesigned to address a number of your concerns. This is part of the approval process by the National Capital Commission (NCC), which controls land uses in Connaught Park.  QTNca representatives have worked to keep your concerns a high priority by submitting two letters during the public consultation and continuing to engage in stakeholder meetings that bring together KEV, the NCC, Councillor Kavanaugh, and City staff.  The NCC review of the final design is expected to finish in in mid to late July so we anticipate receipt of additional details shortly thereafter.

Have questions? Want to discuss?

As previously mentioned, we would have preferred to host a public meeting, but given the current circumstances, we must communicate by email instead. Please contact us at qtncommunity@gmail.com if you would like to discuss further.