The Glebe Annex Community Association.

From Carling to Bronson, to the Queensway to Lebreton South. Ottawa Civic Hospital update to GACA residents, September 2017. Some of the concerns include:

• The process by which this agreement occurred---a detailed NCC report recommended Tunney's Pasture for the best location for the civic hospital. The Ottawa Hospital rejected the report and location, pushing for the Central Experimental Farm land instead. Without further consultation a decision was quickly taken by the federal government to the give the board the location they wanted. (It should be noted, however, that while promised, the land has yet to be transferred.) This decision was felt by many to be unfair. 
• The parking lot at Dow's Lake, bounded by Carling Ave., Preston St. and Prince of Wales Dr., is included in the land that will be given from the federal government. (Queen Juliana Park is also part of this land deal and will also be lost.) Concerns were raised as to what the impact will be on the festivals that take place in the area, such as the Tulip Festival and Winterlude. The impact on local businesses is also a concern, particularly as thousands more people will be moving into the area after a series of high-rise condominiums are built in the area, squeezing parking yet further. 
• The need for the extra land as proposed in the zoning was also a point of concern. While there is a request to remove 5 hectares (more than 12 acres) of land from the Central Experimental Farm, no substantiation was provided as to why that land is required for the hospital site. (Of note, the current Civic Hospital is 23 acres of land-hospital officials are looking for a parcel more than twice that size, while only increasing the number of beds from 600 to 700 or 800.)
• There was a recommendation to increase the height of the buildings, so as to leave more land untouched. The question of "why do you need so much land" was in essence unanswered, although the hospital responded that the city is growing and that the hospital needs to be prepared. Officials also explained that measures such as individual rooms help to contain the spread of infections and make life better for the patients, to justify the need for more space. (They did not, however, answer why more height could not be the solution to this problem.)
• The request for additional height was particularly called for with respect to parking. Preliminary drawings indicate that more than a third of the land is planned to be dedicated to parking and internal roads, with parking and driving space planned to take up as much space as the hospital buildings itself. In the past, the hospital voiced that it was reticent to build a multiple storey parking garage (citing cost, even though approximately $4 million in parking revenue is generated annually at the current Civic Hospital.) When questioned about the type of parking envisaged for this space, and if it was to be multi-storey, the city responded that a parking strategy may be asked for in the future. (The hospital did not respond.) 
• There is much concern voiced over the fact that the public is asked to cite its concerns with respect to zoning now, when so much information is missing. Currently, there is no Traffic Study, Environmental Impact Study, Heritage Study, Site Plan, transportation plan or parking strategy. The city reassured attendees that all studies will be completed before the site plan application is approved, and that there would be a holding provision in place until that point, but,-this does not preclude a decision from being made on zoning. (Note: According to a letter from the Dow's Lake Residents' Association to Federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault, an Environmental Impact Study was never conducted---"Necessary Action-An Independent Environmental Impact Assessment must be undertaken ."Part of the content of the letter is on my November 1, 2024 blog entry.