De-paving the parkways would create billions of dollars worth of "surplus" Crown real estate.
"Nussbaum: Covid showed us how we can make our cities more livable." (Ottawa Citizen, 3 weeks ago.) The head of the National Captal Commission wants to expand a pilot project---taking buses, cars and trucks off public highways and 'giving the land back to the people'. Since when did the NCC give land back to the people---you just banned the public from Rideau Hall. Land that was promised for Major's Hill Park was sold to the American embassy. In 1992 the 88-acre Moffat Farm was sold to a builder of luxury homes; the City wanted to keep the Veteran's Affairs property green. Trees on Mooney's Bay Park were chopped down and a child care centre was constructed. Former federal politicians John Manley and John Baird want to preserve the Lebreton Flats as a National Park.Nine acres of green space adjacent to the Sir John A. Macdonald Parkway are being converted into an embassy precinct.
National Interest Land Mass-The scenic highways in the National Capital are untouchable. "Land forming part of the NILM will be retained by the NCC on behalf of the government in perpetuity."
1.) Ottawa River Parkway, Wellington St. to Carling Ave. - 254 ha.
2.) Champlain Bridge, Island Park Drive - 15 ha.
3.) Airport Parkway - 120 ha.
4.) Eastern Parkway Hemlock Rd. to Hwy 417 - 72 ha.
5.) Eastern Driveway and Rockcliffe Parkway from Sussex Drive to Greenbelt - 255 ha.
6.) Ottawa River shoreline proposed Voyageur Parkway - 84 ha.
7.) Leamy Lake Park and part of the Philemon Wright Corridor - 285 ha.
Proposed NILM Lands.
1.) Experimental Farm Dr. Corridor Queensway to Experimental Farm - 76.0 ha.
2.) Western Parkway Corridor, Carling Ave. to Queensway - 40.0 ha.
3.) Alta Vista Corridor, Kitchener Avenue to Smyth Road - 69.0 ha.
4.) Hull South Parkway, Lucerne Blvd to Gatineau Park - 275.0 ha.
5.) Part of Philemon Wright Corridor - 103 ha. (Google:1988-09-15-TB-re-NCC.)
The Greber Report of 1950- Federal, scenic highways and parks in the NCR are dedicated to the memory of Canadian soldiers who died fighting in foreign wars. They will be owned by the citizens of Canada in perpetuity.(Greber Report, page 228/395.)
Report of the Federal District Commission, 1949, page 37/75. "The park and parkway system of the Federal District Commission is justly famous for its utilization of the scenic beauty of the Federal Capital Area whenever possible. The parks and driveways are and will be located along the banks of the Rideau and Ottawa Rivers, the Rideau Canal and Dow's Lake. In all, about twenty-two miles of parkways have been developed over a period of many years, and with the exception of several minor gaps, it is possible to drive along these scenic roads from the Village of Rockcliffe to the Champlain Bridges...The system comprises areas of natural beauty which were acquired by the Commission to ensure their retention and protection."( The Federal District Commission is now the National Capital Commission-savecfbrockcliffe.)
Op-Ed: De-Pave the (Sir) John A. Macdonald Parkway: "The impending removal from the Parkway of hundreds of buses per day leads me to question whether it makes sense to devote a huge portion of the city's prime riverside real estate to a commuter roadway. It is a massive waste to keep the Parkway as it is"..."The NCC's new CEO Mark Kristmanson, seemed open to the idea of reassessing the value of the Macdonald Parkway in a recent interview with the Citizen, but he wondered whether it (and the region's other parkways)might be part of our 'cultural landscape' and whether they might have heritage value as 'relics of the 20th century'...."There are over 52 kilometres of parkway between Ottawa and Gatineau; how much of that need be preserved for heritage value?" (Ottawa Citizen, February 25, 2014.)
House of Commons Debates Ottawa June 1, 1970: Mr. Skoberg (Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan) New Democratic Party: "Is the government of Canada, through the National Capital Commission, giving favourable consideration to the development of a plan which would eliminate automobiles from the downtown area of Ottawa?"
Mr. Martin P. O'Connell (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Regional Economic Expansion). "...At present, no plans exist for the elimination of automobiles from downtown Ottawa."
House of Commons Debates Ottawa May 15, 1970. Mr. Duncan Gordon Blair (Grenville-Carleton) Liberal: "...Is the government aware of a statement or statements to the press by the Chairman of the National Capital Commission to the effect that he might close the national capital parkways in this region for a week, for the strange inquiries of...proving their importance in carrying traffic?""The second part of my question is whether the Acting Prime Minister can assure the House that the government will not permit the people of this area this inconvenience (caused) by the disruption that this extraordinary and senseless experiment will cause."
Hon. George J. McIlraith (Acting Prime Minister; Solicitor-General of Canada). "The statement has caused concern.I am very doubtful that the Chairman has any such authority under the National Capital Act passed by this Parliament."
Driveways in Ontario, March 31, 1985.
Ottawa River Airport Eastern Driveway Colonel By Eastern Parkway Queen Elizabeth Hog's Back Road Rockcliffe Park Queensway Island Park Station Boulevard Experimental Farm. (From: "1984-85 Annual Report of the NCC, page 32/70.)
A YouTube video showing the Queen Elizabeth and NCC parkways, Google:"Ottawa Snow Drive and Walk, NCC Scenic Driveway, Experimental Farm..." The video was uploaded a week ago.
Prince of Wales Drive adjacent to the Experimental Farm is being widened from 2 lanes to 4 lanes. Google: "Dow's Lake-Glebe Report, June 11, 2010."
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