manor park sidewalk plan will outlast current residents, councillors argue
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arundel avenue near kilbarry crescent, two of the four streets in manor park where sidewalks are to be installed .
julie oliver
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postmedia
a controversial plan to add sidewalks to some quiet streets in manor park sparked a debate at ottawa city council about making infrastructure decisions that will far outlast current residents.
at issue: four streets in the neighbourhood west of st-laurent boulevard and a $13.9-million renewal project that includes road, water and sewer main upgrades. if the city spends $180,000 for the sidewalks along one side of arundel avenue, jeffrey avenue, kilbarry crescent and braemar street, it could avoid paying between $500,000 and $700,000 to add those same sidewalks later.
opinions in the neighbourhood have been divided. among other arguments, some residents contended that sidewalks offered safety for everyone, including those with disabilities. others argued that the streets were not busy and that even those with mobility challenges preferred wide, flat streets to narrow sidewalks.
rideau-rockcliffe coun. rawlson king has been fighting to defer the staff recommendation to install sidewalks. a city survey found slightly over half of neighbourhood residents preferred no sidewalks. king’s own consultation found that 79 per cent opposed them.
on april 8, king presented a motion to city council to remove some sidewalks from the project.
“manor park will see more change within the next 10 to 15 years than in the last 50,” king said. “and so that warrants, in my estimation as a local councillor, proper study. and that is what we were really seeking before work was undertaken.”
a motion by rideau-rockcliffe coun. rawlson king to remove some of the proposed manor park sidewalks was defeated by a 16-7 vote of councillors.
tony caldwell
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postmedia
the motion was about applying city policies in a way that reflected how people moved through their neighbourhoods, king said.
“it also reflects our role as councillors to ensure that citywide approaches are implemented in a way that makes better sense for the communities we represent,” he said.
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king’s motion failed 16-7.
on one side of the debate, river ward coun. riley brockington argued that residents were allowed to disagree with a city plan in their neighbourhood.
“because this is a democracy and city councillors aren’t employees of the city of ottawa,” he said.
on the other side, some councillors said decisions made now would affect future generations.
kitchissippi ward councillor jeff leiper said in his own ward westboro was built to rural standards with ditches and there were still no sidewalks in much of that neighbourhood.
in the past, councillors were able to influence these decisions in consultation with residents. if they didn’t want sidewalks, they were not built, leiper said. but some newer residents can’t fathom allowing children to walk on streets with no sidewalks because of faster and more aggressive traffic, he said.
“the new residents of westboro have a very different understanding of how streets should function than many of the people who have lived there for decades,” leiper said. “and, if we don’t take the opportunity to put sidewalks in when we do the street rebuilds, we are not going to have that opportunity again for 70 or 80 or 90 years.”
the issue also raises question about the city’s liability when decisions create barriers or unsafe conditions for people using public spaces, rideau-vanier coun. stéphanie plante said. courts across canada have repeatedly found that municipalities are liable when infrastructure creates unforeseeable risk to users, she said.
“we do not reopen that analysis street-by-street because a group of residents disagree with the outcomes,” plante said. “we can reduce risk and liability. we can improve safety and build infrastructure that allows people to move more through their community safely and independently. that’s the option i’m going for.”
a march 30 file photo of braemar street in the manor park area.
julie oliver
/
postmedia
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meanwhile, kanata north coun. cathy curry said surveys couldn’t guide decisions.
“when you survey people right now, well, they’re only the people that live in that house right now. when you’re a city, a municipality, you build things for 100 years,” curry said.
sidewalks have been built in some streets in curry’s ward despite objections from residents, she said.
“what happened? people emailed me said, ‘wow, thank god we did those sidewalks. i’m sorry i fought against them. we love them.’ and i’m telling you the same thing will happen here.”
speaking to reporters after the decision, mayor mark sutcliffe said he supported king’s motion because he knew how hard king had worked on it and how much of a concern it was to residents, but he also understood the points brought up by both sides.
“we have rules. we apply them universally and we don’t want a situation where every neighbourhood is different,” sutcliffe said. “i think we all knew going into the meeting that it was going to be unlikely that his motion would pass, just based on where the other councillors stood on this.”
marcia wallace, the city’s general manager of planning, development and building services, said she was not concerned that making an exception for one neighbourhood would set a precedent.
“we have policies that are rooted in our official plan and our transportation master plan,” wallace said. “that’s what guides the decisions we make on these kinds of projects. and, really, that conversation was about the pressures on one neighbourhood. i think they’re the same kinds of pressures councillors get in many neighbourhoods. but, from a staff perspective, we follow the policies regardless.”
manor park resident peter burpee, a member of committee formed in november 2024 to oppose the sidewalks, said he was not sure what the next step would be for sidewalk opponents.
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manor park was one of the first planned residential neighbourhoods in ottawa, dating back to 1948, and it was designed with safety in mind, he said. neighbourhoods in alta vista, beacon hill and barrhaven used the same standards.
“it was a one-size-fits all decision on the part of the city,” burpee said. “and they will probably do it again.”
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