Residents voice concerns regarding Lansdowne redevelopment plans

The concern from citizens was apparent, as was their frustrations that Lansdowne 2.0 felt like a rehash of an original design and partnership between the City of Ottawa and the Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group (OSEG) which they see as a failure.

A public meeting was hosted by three community associations and organized by a coalition of community groups at Lansdowne Park’s Horticulture Building on Wednesday, Oct. 11.

Residents were able to share their views on the latest proposal for Lansdowne 2.0 and the reception was overwhelmingly negative.

One main theme was the financial aspect, and how the first redevelopment phase of Lansdowne Park has not seen any positive cashflows.

“We’re here because the Lansdowne project originally designed by OSEG and the City of Ottawa has been a failure, an abject failure. An urban catastrophe,” said Alan Freeman, a resident of the Glebe.

That sentiment was shared by many.

“We got here because of aggressive bureaucratic compromise that chased half measures that left us with this unfinished non-park non-community, because we tried to please everyone. And there’s version of this plan that’s going to please everyone but there is a version of this plan that will please no one.” said Brandon Bay, president of the group Make Housing Affordable.

While the perceived failure of Lansdowne 1.0 was a frequent punching bag for residents, they also took aim at what was absent from the report, namely a lack of new transportation plan to make Lansdowne more accessible.

“The proposal wants to bring more people down to Lansdowne. I think this is a commendable goal. Of course people have to be able to get to Lansdowne conveniently, which is something the proposal does not address,” said Catherine Knoll, manager of 613Flea. “Unfortunately, there is no LRT or even dedicated bus lanes to get there, so getting to the site by public transit can be challenging.”

She worries the new proposal would mean fewer people would attend community events at Lansdowne, primarily due to a lack of access, and minimal parking.

Attendees at the meeting were asked to hold up a green card or a red card depending on their view. At the end of the meeting, when asked by an organizer if there was support for the project, residents lifted their cards and there was a near unanimous sea of red.