Special update: Sprung structure shelter

See here for a recap of previous updates and my position (under the sprung structure shelters tab).

Thank you to the approximately 425 residents who attended yesterday’s virtual information session. The feedback and questions you shared were thoughtful, tough, and kind, which I truly appreciated.

The session was recorded and will be shared in my regular newsletter on Tuesday.

Some attendees may have noticed Councillor Hill and I were a bit frazzled. We had prepared for days for the session but became distracted by the major update shared shortly beforehand.

About an hour before the session, City staff released a memo sharing the results of their detailed site evaluations and selection scoring criteria. Two sites, both outside Barrhaven, were ranked the highest to support a sprung structure shelter:

• 1645 Woodroffe Avenue, beside the Nepean Sportsplex

• 40 Hearst Way, beside the Eagleson Park and Ride in Kanata

The location in Kanata will be used only if required.

The two Barrhaven sites were ultimately ruled out, as Nepean Woods would have incurred higher on-site works (possibly because of the slope), while Greenbank/Highbury Park has potential future uses that can limit the usable space.

The City staff memo is 20 pages long and contains good information about the process, including sites originally considered, selection scoring criteria, and detailed rationales for the two chosen sites’ selection. It’s an impressive memo.

I will take the weekend to properly read and understand the information in the memo and will share my thoughts with you in my regular newsletter on Tuesday.

If you had a question in yesterday's session that was missed or left unanswered, please reach out by replying to this newsletter or by emailing wilson.lo@ottawa.ca

In the meantime, residents can read the full staff memo here.

Chat soon!

P.S., While I have you, the Barrhaven Remembrance Day ceremony will take place in front of John McCrae Secondary School starting at 10:30 am. Parking is available at the Walter Baker Sports Centre.

P.P.S., During the session, I made a few jokes about opening a Krispy Kreme franchise at the Greenbank/Highbury Park site. Please note that’s not true. I don’t have that kind of capital.