Mark your calender for the MCA AGM on Tuesday October 10, 2023 @ 7pm @ the Keith Brown Community Building in Laroche Park! Come and take a look under the 'hood of Mechanicsville!
Celebrate CCOC opening of 159 Forward Avenue on Aug 22 from 4 to 7pm
On August 22nd from 4-7pm, lets celebrate CCOC's newest affordable housing at 159 Forward Avenue. The Merry Dairy truck will be onsite!
https://mailchi.mp/ccochousing.org/ccoc_159forward-ave?e=ee4af1f598
Laroche Park public art consultation
AS noted by Councillor Leiper:
The City's public art team has launched a public engagement survey for the art coming to Laroche Park. The survey will show all four proposals and solicit information from the public about each of them. This information will help the selection committee with their final choice of one of these proposals at the end of July. Find the survey here.
Road Close - Lyndale Avenue
City of Ottawa has authorized road Closure for Lyndale Avenue (Ward 15) from Forward Avenue to Parkdale Avenue. The road will be closed on Monday, 12 June 2023.
Road Closure - Lyndale Avenue
City of Ottawa authorized road Closure for Lyndale Avenue from Forward Avenue to Parkdale Avenue. The road will be closed from Saturday, 29 May 2023 to Friday, 2 June 2023.
Kitchissippi-wide garage sale - Saturday June 3rd
Get your stuff ready, sell lemonade or just play music on your front porch! Send a message through the FB page or Jeff's office of your location and it will be included on the map!
https://facebook.com/events/s/2023-kitchissippi-wide-communi/758599732442066/?mibextid=JFGZrd
Online reporting for found needles
If you find needles or drug paraphenalia, the closest needle disposal is at Tom Brown Arena. Its important to report your find on the link below. This helps the Needlehunter team identify locations they should check. We appreciate having Needlehunters in Mechanicsville keeping our grounds clean and residents safe!
May 23 @ 7pm at HCC Climate Resiliency Community Dialogue in Kitchissippi Ward
Mark your calender for this important community meeting on May 23rd @ 7pm at the Hintonburg Community Centre! With the crazy climate events happening, Kitchissippi needs to be prepared, tell the City what you think.
The LiVE 88.5 Community Garden Initiative | LiVE 88.5 Ottawa's Alternative Rock
So exciting! Mechanicsville Innovation Garden won the weekly Live 85.5 community garden contest! We are being presented with gardening tools and supplies from Ritchie Feed & Seed and entered for $1000 draw! We produce about 250 litres of produce for the Parkdale Food Centre and should do even better now with this help from Live 85.5 and Ritchie Feed & Seed!
https://www.live885.com/the-live-88-5-community-garden-initiative/
SJAM Parkway Lane Closures
As reported by the City of Ottawa: As part of the Stage 2 O-Train Light Rail Transit (LRT) project, there will be temporary lane closures and construction activities on the Sir John A. Macdonald (SJAM) Parkway between Island Park Drive and Woodroffe Avenue.
What
Parkway temporary lane closures between Island Park Drive and Woodroffe Avenue.
On weekdays, there will be one lane in each direction, available to general traffic on the SJAM Parkway just east of the Transitway off-ramp to just past Westboro Beach.
On weekends, there will be one SJAM Parkway eastbound lane and two SJAM Parkway westbound lanes; however, during the NCC Weekend Bikedays there will be only one lane eastbound available. For SJAM Parkway westbound, motorists will follow the routine NCC Bikedays detour.
When
Saturday, April 15 at 7:00 a.m. to Sunday, July 9 at 11:30 a.m. 2023.
Daytime hours only - 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., Monday to Saturday. 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., on Sundays.
Why
Construction activity at the Kitchissippi Lookout intersection and the Lanark Pedestrian Bridge that crosses over the SJAM Parkway.
Where
The work zone is on the SJAM Parkway, east of the Transitway off ramp to just past Westboro Beach.
Anticipated Impacts
Excavators, wheel loaders, bulldozers, drill rigs, graders, asphalt pavers, and compactors will be used for construction and bridge rehabilitation. This includes storm sewer, guiderail, traffic signal and street light installation as well as paving and line painting. Rock breaking during the first month of construction will be required. Rock breaking is NOT permitted overnight.
Noise from equipment will be audible and some equipment may cause vibrations.
Trucks will deliver granular material, asphalt, and concrete to the site and will haul away excavated material. Noise from equipment and moving of material will be audible.
Motorists should adhere to traffic control signage, posted speed limits, allow for added travel time and use extra caution when moving through active construction corridors as traffic patterns change.
Pedestrians and cyclists should use extra caution and adhere to posted signage when localized detours are in-place, to ensure safety.
Synapcity's Civic Education Event on April 30th from noon to 5pm
Join the Mechanicsville Community Association on Sunday April 30th from 12 noon to 5pm at Nepean’s Benjamin Franklin Place for Synapcity’s civic education event, Navigating Our City. During the event, citizens will learn how to navigate our civic infrastructure, understand organizations working in the city, and ultimately create positive change in their communities. The event will feature organizations and individuals working hard to create in the city and will end with a panel of City Councilors from across the city. The event will be filmed as part of a new TV Ontario docuseries based on Dave Meslin’s book, Teardown. Register now to hold your spot: https://bit.ly/SynapcityCivicEducationEvent
MEDIA RELEASE: Agreement with NCC offers more parkland at Embassy Precinct
MEDIA RELEASE: Agreement with NCC offers more parkland at Embassy Precinct
Saving greenspace has galvanized community since 2019
OTTAWA March 22, 2023 — Mechanicsville Community Association (MCA) has signed an out-of-court agreement on principles for a settlement that will cement the community’s connection to Lazy Bay Commons – a 3.7-hectare piece of land where the National Capital Commission (NCC) is seeking to build an embassy precinct.
“We are pleased to see that the NCC is respecting our community’s desire to keep the greenspace north of LaRoche Park as parkland,” said Lorrie Marlow, president of MCA.
“The principles of settlement are in line with the parkland vision set out in 2014 when we develope and endorsed the Scott Street Community Design Plan,” she added.
During the fight to prevent six embassies from being built across the site, people living in Mechanicsville named the area Lazy Bay Commons – a reference to what is now a small bay on the shores of the Ottawa River. Before building of the NCC parkway, the bay was much larger and extended to Burnside Avenue in the heart of Mechanicsville.
The Commons has provided Kitchissippi Ward’s most densely populated neighbourhood with health, recreational and environmental benefits for decades. “It’s an oasis, a really important part of living here,” she said.
According to Marlow, more than a month of intense negotiations with the NCC proved worthwhile because now the NCC’s appeal to the Ontario Land Tribunal will be settled without a formal hearing. “This is a relief for us” she said. ”Communities like ours are cash-strapped and having to raise $40,000 or more to pay lawyers and experts is a big burden on our working-class residents.”
Glad “a significant park” remains, sidewalks will be built and access provided
Roy Atkinson is an MCA Board member and chair of an MCA working group that has opposed the NCC’s embassy plans for 3 years.
“I am relieved that our determined efforts in recent weeks convinced the NCC to retain a significant park at the east end of Lazy Bay Commons, to build sidewalks around the site, and to provide a west-end pedestrian corridor” he said.
With 24% of the site now slated to remain as greenspace, Atkinson said he hopes the NCC and the City of Ottawa will join in partnership with the Mechanicsville Community Association to address outstanding health, safety and environmental issues and to create the “convivial park” the NCC promised at the outset—one that will meld the sports-oriented focus of Laroche Park with the more relaxed and natural experience offered at Lazy Bay Commons.
The MCA working group developed a “Trees Not Embassies” logo, created an online petition, erected signs on fences around Lazy Bay Commons, spoke out about security issues posed by embassies and the need for more trees, raised money during information sessions on Wellington Street and online, staged street protests along the parkway, and lobbied federal, provincial and city politicians—all during a pandemic.
“It’s no exaggeration to say that the fight over Lazy Bay Commons galvanized this community,” said Atkinson. “We fought together for a place we love.”
For media inquiries:
Mechanicsville Community Association, Roy Atkinson
Chair of MCA’s Lazy Bay Commons Working Group
Phone: 819 923 6733
Email: roycatkinson@gmail.com Website: http://www.mechanicsville.ca/
Do you love your local library - Rosemount? Have ideas on how it can be even better?
Do you love your local library - Rosemount? Have ideas on how it can be even better?
READ is looking for you! We're having a brainstorming and next steps meeting the evening of Wednesday May 17th. We would love to have more Rosemount library users join us in the discussion and also consider joining the READ working group. RSVP here if you want to attend OR learn more. Bring your ideas and enthusiasm for our local branch!
Background: READ (Rosemount Expansion & Development group) is a working group which formed almost 10 years ago to advocate for an expanded and renewed Rosemount library branch. We have been quiet the past four years during Rosemount's renovation and during the most challenging years of the pandemic. However, now that our new head librarian has started in her position and programming is coming back online (some programs have yet to return 'post-pandemic'), we are looking at ways to support Rosemount and help make it even better as a strong local library branch.
Free SWCHC afterschool program
Free SWCHC afterschool program, call Alyssa (613-297-0214)) for details
Road Closure Authorization - Forward Avenue (Laurent Leblanc Ltd.)
City of Ottawa has authorized Road closure for Forward Avenue from Burnside Avenue to Barnsley Private. The road will be closed on Monday, 23 January 2023 to Friday, 3 February 2023.
99 PARKDALE - Civil Works Along Parkdale Avenue
Brigil staff at 99 Parkdale Avenue are advising the community that they are scheduled to begin civil works along Parkdale Avenue on 2023-01-09. The goal of this operation is to cut into the roadway to tie into the services within the roadway to service the new building. Throughout this operation, they will be following the traffic control plan previously submitted to and approved by the City of Ottawa. A team of traffic control specialists will facilitate the staging required to perform this work safely, including directing the flow of vehicular traffic around our work and assisting pedestrians as they approach the area. The working hours are between 9:00am and 3:00pm. The anticipated duration for this work is approximately three weeks, at which point the roadway and sidewalks along Parkdale Avenue will be reinstated. Should anything change, they will provide notice to the community.
If you require any additional information, please reach out to Jessica Di Pasquale directly (Email: jdipasquale@brigil.com )
Call to Artists- Laroche Park
City of Ottawa has a call to all artists to submit their qualifications for the opportunity to design, fabricate and install permanent, site-specific artwork for the newly redesigned Laroche Park.
Road Closure - Forward Avenue
City of Ottawa ha authorized road closure for Forward Avenue (Ward 15) from Burnside Avenue to Barnsley Private. The road will be closed on Monday, 19 December 2022 to Friday, 23 December 2022.
Trees Not Embassies recommends the Bangladesh High Commission seek an alternate location for its Chancery
Trees Not Embassies recommends the Bangladesh High Commission seek an alternate location for its Chancery. Downtown Ottawa has empty office towers and needs diplomats working there. Tunneys is being prepared for residential homes, diplomatic homes would be welcome there too. Save our greenspace for all Canadians to enjoy!
Letter from MPP Joel Harden endorsing concerns brought forward by community about Lazy Bay Commons
Below is MPP Joel Harden’s letter to NCC endorsing the concerns brought forward by the Mechanicsville Community Association with regards to the NCC proposal for an Embassy Precinct in Mechanicsville’s Lazy Bay Commons.
