Library board approves Wellington St. site for central library
Posted Feb 1, 2017 05:11:12 AM.
Last Updated Feb 1, 2017 06:04:02 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
OTTAWA — The city’s public library board concluded a marathon four-and-a-half-hour meeting, Tuesday night, by voting in favour of a city-owned site at 557 Wellington St. for a new central library.
The vote was 8-1, with Somerset councillor Catherine McKenney the lone dissenter.
“I really had to vote with my conscience,” McKenney told reporters after the meeting. “I really do believe that we are leaving the most vulnerable populations behind.”
Many of the 22 public delegations to the library board raised concerns about accessibility issues — ranging from the steep escarpment at the edge of the site hampering walking and what they feel is a lack of nearby transit, pointing to current bus routes and the estimated 300-metre distance to the nearest future LRT station. They argued both of those will make it harder for low-income Centretown residents to access the library.
“Regardless of where the library goes, there’s going to be debate,” said Mayor Jim Watson, who is not on the library board but sat in on Tuesday night’s meeting.
“It’s great to have consultation but we can’t go on for two decades and not do anything,” Watson said. “We’ve got to get on with it, stop the debate and start the digging.”
With the library board approving the site and a partnership plan with Library and Archives Canada, the matter will go before city council on February 8. Library and Archives Canada will also obtain federal government approval.
The library board hopes to break ground on the new central library in 2018, and open the new library by 2020.
