Tag: LRT

New Official Plan will change QTN

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The draft New Official Plan (OP) for the City of Ottawa will have major impacts for the future of QTN. It is not bedtime reading. It is not easy to understand the impacts of the high-level, big ideas about population growth that make headlines. For those who love QTN, however, now is the time to be part of shaping our future.

Below are a few key issues that are being discussed by the QTN Planning Committee and links to further reading for anyone interested in learning more. Everyone can provide input directly to the City and to your planning committee. The deadline for public feedback on the draft OP is February 17, 2021 – the City’s website provides more information on how to provide feedback.

We are raising concerns, doing research, and working to promote what residents have named as the most valued features of living in QTN:

1. From suburban to urban

 QTN is included in the Inner Urban Transect. Under this plan QTN would change from a suburban to a more inner-city-like area over the next 25 years. How the change will be managed is not yet clear. Impacts include:

  • Increased density, which means more people living in the same area
  • More two-to three story low rise housing forms, small yards
  • Services within walking/biking distance – what is called a 15 Minute Neighborhood
  • Greater flexibility for proponents of in-fill and redevelopment projects

Questions include:

  • Does QTN fit well in the Inner Urban Transect?
  • Are the measures to protect the desired features of QTN strong enough?
  • How will “regeneration” be implemented in QTN?
  • Will the tree canopy and “green” character of QTN be maintained?
  • Will services be improved at the same time as density increases?

2. Queensview Drive and Lincoln Fields as Transit Hubs

Queensview Drive will change to a mixed use commercial/residential area under the draft OP, with higher density development in the transit hub close to the station. It will be designated as a Minor Corridor. What that could mean for QTN is the focus of planning committee discussion.

  • How can we ensure that there are benefits for QTN, improve connections to the LRT station and services, and prevent any negative impacts?

There will be a secondary plan for the area around the Queensview/Pinecrest Station. That plan will include the QTN neighborhood. More details and a public meeting will come in the Spring. Our focus right now is to ensure the OP does not constrain what we can do through the secondary plan and is strong on policies that promote what people value about QTN.

For more information, see:

Lincoln Fields is already changing and will undergo more change as a Transit Hub. A secondary plan for the Lincoln Fields Area is moving forward again, after several delays. More than a year ago QTN called for more careful attention to this area in an article published in the Ottawa Citizen which is an issue that has been reported on more than once.

There will be more details and another public meeting in the Spring. You can learn more about the Lincoln Fields Secondary Plan here. The QTN planning committee named some priority issues in a letter to City planners (PDF), and we are working with other neighborhoods around Lincoln Fields mall to strengthen the focus on community concerns in the planning process.

Send us your feedback

The QTN Planning Committee welcomes your questions, suggestions, or feedback on the issues that will affect our future. You can direct your questions or comments to the planning committee by emailing qtncommunity@gmail.com.

Queensview Drive and QTN: Plans for the Future

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Change will be coming to Queensview Drive in the next few years. That can be good for QTN or it could create problems. The QTN planning committee is engaged in ongoing discussions to help ensure that the concerns and views of residents are considered. We welcome questions, suggestions, and active participation by all residents in a planning process that will affect all of us in the future. Below are a few of the current issues for attention.

Minor Corridor/Complete Street: The draft new Official Plan for Ottawa designates Queensview Drive as a minor corridor with increased density in mixed commercial/residential uses. What is the impact for QTN? That is one focus of the work being done by the planning committee. A more friendly street with easy-to-access-services is one goal.

Transit Hub and Inclusionary Zoning: The area around the new Queensview LRT Station will be designated a transit hub and the City plans to use new provincial policies for inclusionary zoning to encourage affordable housing. We are raising questions about how these new policies will be implemented to prevent negative impacts and provide some benefits for QTN.

Connectivity to the LRT Station and Services on Queensview: Many QTN residents put a high priority on being able to walk or bike to the new LRT station. Community-oriented services on Queensview Drive could be a benefit, if designed well. It will take persistence by QTN to ensure there are easily accessible, safe, friendly pathways to use.

At the same time, we are addressing concerns about new street connections that could increase traffic through QTN and concerns about on-street parking. At present the City has said there are no plans to open Queensview Drive onto Connaught Street. Parking issues may need to be addressed as they arise. Ensuring community voices are heard is our focus.

Noise: We continue to advocate for measures that will reduce the unacceptably high noise levels along the south side of QTN. The way redevelopment proceeds could be either an improvement or add to the problems.

Relocation of Bus Depot: There are no immediate plans. Relocation will likely happen within the 25 year timeframe of the new Official Plan. It is good to start talking about it now so that community priorities and concerns are considered early – before it is too late to have influence.

Official Plan and Queensview/Pinecrest Station Secondary Plan: The new Official Plan for Ottawa will set major directions. Residents can make suggestions until February 17. The plan will head to City Council for approval this fall.

More detailed plans for this area will be adopted in a Secondary Plan. The Secondary Plan will also include more specific directions for the future development of QTN. Watch for more details and a public meeting this Spring.

To stay up to date, check out some of these resources:

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