the city is treating byward market businesses like an afterthought | opinion
6 minute read
maxine hill, owner of canada in a basket in the byward market, is upset about street closures for construction around canada day.
bruce deachman
/
postmedia
has the city, in its haste to “re-imagine” the byward market through activations, programming, placemaking and other fashionable planning jargon, forgotten the businesses that have helped make the market worth visiting in the first place?
the question seems especially timely after the recent unveiling of ottawa’s new arts, culture and entertainment — or ace — district, a designation meant to market the byward market and other downtown areas as vibrant destinations. at the moment, though, the initiative appears to be more branding than blueprint.
so far, the new designation, which was created in partnership with the ottawa art gallery and comes with a $600,000 budget, amounts to new colourful murals on pavement and parking garage walls, and a six-week “soundscape festival” installation in the space below plaza bridge at elgin and rideau streets.
according to the city, the initiative will deliver roughly eight to 10 commissioned works, “ranging from large-scale vinyl façade installations on landmark buildings to experimental projections and participatory public works.”
all well and good, but, if the city wants the market to become the centrepiece of an entertainment district, it might begin by treating the businesses already there as partners rather than bystanders.
after speaking with a number of business and property owners, it’s hard to escape the feeling that they’re being treated as little more than an afterthought.
the latest friction between merchants and the byward market district authority — the city-created organization charged with managing and reviving the market area — concerns byward square, a project that many ottawans — and apparently many merchants — are only now learning about.
byward square will see the block of byward market square from george to york streets closed to vehicular traffic and replaced by pop-up vendors and outdoor seating. it will feature, according to bmda bumpf, “gathering areas,” “family-friendly and interactive installations” and “community programming and cultural activations.”
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it will also have a licensed area “showcasing beer brewed and poured right here in the byward market.”
finally! i don’t know about you, but i’m sick and tired of beer tents outsourcing the pouring of their drafts to other jurisdictions.
the pilot project is expected to open on july 9 and run for three months, with outdoor food vendors rotating through on a monthly basis.
some merchants are concerned about the parking spaces that will disappear. others question whether the market needs more outdoor food and beverage offerings. still others support — or at least don’t oppose — the idea of byward square itself, but want the city to postpone construction until the fall and open the space next year, when the market celebrates its 200th anniversary.
that would make sense. so of course that’s not what’s happening.
businesses only learned on june 10 that construction would begin on june 23 and continue until the square’s july 9 opening. during that time, the street and portions of george street plaza at the south end of the market building and the area in front of eq3 would be closed.
six days after telling businesses and residents of the closure, and in a sop to businesses that seems little more than an afterthought, the bmda announced that the street would be temporarily opened on july 1 — canada day.
that hardly mollifies shop owners such as maxine hill, who has owned and operated canada in a basket in the market building for 25 years and fears that the roadwork, arriving during one of the busiest times of year, will come with a heavy cost.
“can we not do this in october, after the busy tour bus season?” she asks. “do it for next year. i’m not against betterment — i know there are things that need to be done. but this is going to cost me thousands of dollars.”
hill’s objections extend beyond the loss of business and the poor timing. she worries about access — both for emergency vehicles and suppliers — and what she sees as the failure of the bmda and city to treat merchants as genuine partners in determining what happens in the market.
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“i’m sad and upset that this is being done with no consultation — just a last-minute letter and an email we received saying, ‘oh, by the way, we’re closing your street.’”
in an emailed response to hill’s concerns, the bmda’s district operations assistant addison cormier explained that “the prolonged winter conditions and frozen ground” delayed numerous city infrastructure projects, pushing back the timing of the square’s construction.
hill isn’t having it.
“i’m getting really antsy about all of these plans that seem to be ad hoc, unprogrammed, unconsulted, and not in line with any reality,” she says.
khaled farhat, owner of byward café in the byward market, has started a petition among business owners, asking the city to halt plans for street construction around canada day.
bruce deachman
/
postmedia
bmda senior communications and public-relations officer olivia gninhi says that the business advisory committee, an ad hoc committee of byward market businesses that advises the bmda board that oversees the bmda, has “been engaged throughout the planning process.”
that’s cold comfort for shawna laing, manager of the outdoor iris galerie kiosk, where customers can get hi-resolution images of their eyes. or at least they can until june 30.
the business, which employs five people and has been located on the william street side of the byward market building for nearly three years, was told by the bmda in a phone call on june 16 that the galerie had two weeks to be out of its space. she says no reason was given, only that there was no other space in the market for the shop. she later learned, from someone installing an awning, that the new configuration of byward square meant that the maple syrup stall would be moved to her spot.
“i’m surprised and disappointed,” she says, describing the short notice as “not a very respectful way to treat tenants.” but she feels powerless to do anything to combat the decision.
“i think i’m in mourning because i’ve just loved working here so much.”
shawna laing, manager of iris galerie in the byward market.
bruce deachman
/
ottawa citizen
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that sense of improvisation is further illustrated in a request for proposal (rfp) that the bmda put out for byward food vendors for the project. the rfp was issued on may 28 — a thursday — with a deadline for proposals of june 3 — the following wednesday. how many restaurant operators, i wonder, could realistically put together a proposal, staffing plan and budget that quickly?
the rfp further states that food vendors cannot sell any beverages, a restriction that asks vendors to give up one of the more profitable parts of their business while at the same time inconveniencing their customers who just want a burger and a coke.
bill sioulas, who owns the mercury court building on dalhousie street and manages the byward property where eq3 is located, says that, as a landlord, he discusses any changes he might want to make to his buildings with tenants beforehand.
“you work with them,” he says. “you don’t dictate.”
sioulas says the decision to go ahead with construction in the market around canada day is just one more example of a lack of forethought by the city and bmda. he points to the two-storey stacktx small-business incubator/shipping container that interferes with eq3’s shipping/receiving area as another problem he’s not been able to convince officials to fix.
khaled farhat, meanwhile, who owns byward café in the market building, is circulating a petition to area businesses asking mayor mark sutcliffe and rideau-vanier coun. stéphanie plante to set up an emergency meeting of stakeholders to determine a better time to undergo construction of the square.
“this timeline was delivered to the community as a finished directive rather than a collaborative plan,” the petition reads in part. “implementing a major infrastructure shutdown right outside our doors with minimal warning leaves business owners completely unable to adjust inventory procurement, staff scheduling, or financial forecasting.”
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things like parking and pedestrianization will always be hot topics in the byward market, with plenty of opinions on all sides. but, if the city and bmda are serious about creating “gathering areas” in the area, they would do well to gather the people who are already there and listen to their concerns.
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