Neighbours of future Ottawa Hospital Civic Campus don't want to trade park for parkade
The City of Ottawa hosted an information meeting on Zoom Tuesday night to review the master plan for the new Ottawa Hospital Civic Campus on Carling Avenue. More than 200 participants joined in with many expressing concerns about what they say is a change in the master plan.
According to neighbours, Queen Juliana Park, which borders Carling Avenue and Prince of Wales Drive, was to be the site of an underground parking garage for the hospital, while maintaining open greenspace for the community. The official plan, which is headed to the city's planning committee, has replaced a proposed underground parking garage with a four-storey, above-ground parking garage with space on the rooftop for public amenities like a lawn, trees and pathways.
Shaun Hopkins, who represents the residents of two large condo buildings and a group of townhomes across from the park, says Ottawa Hospital CEO Cameron Love stated back in 2018 that the Ministry of Health was willing to work with the hospital to build underground parking.
“What we are going to be looking at is a 2500-car, four-storey, above-ground garage approximately the size of the parkade at the Ottawa International Airport,” Hopkins said. “We love the Ottawa Hospital, they are true heroes who work there, we welcome them in this community and we are really excited about a brand new advanced hospital in the community, we are just hoping that they have listened to our concerns about preserving this important site.”
Coun. Jeff Leiper, whose Kitchissippi ward borders the new hospital site and who sits on the planning committee, says he hopes the Ottawa Hospital finds a way to address the community's concerns.
“I don’t know if, in this consultation process, we will be successful in convincing the hospital, convincing the province of spending the very significant funds to bury it, but I hope they are listening and listening hard. This is a once in a generation opportunity to build a great new hospital campus,” Leiper said. “What I’m hearing from residents and what I feel myself is that some of the details need considerable work before I’ll be in a position to support them.”
The plan now goes to the city’s planning committee and council for approval this summer. If approved construction on the $2.8 billion project is set to begin in 2024 and is scheduled to be completed in 2028.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
CRA no longer requiring 'bare trust' reporting in 2023 tax return
The Canada Revenue Agency announced Thursday it will not require 'bare trust' reporting from Canadians that it introduced for the 2024 tax season, just four days before the April 2 deadline.
NEW More unauthorized products for skin, sexual enhancement, recalled: Here are the recalls of this week
Health Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency recalled various items this week, including torches, beef biltong and unauthorized products related to skin care and sexual enhancement.
Where is the worst place for allergy sufferers in Canada?
The spring allergy season has started early in many parts of Canada, with high levels of pollen in some cities already. Experts weigh in on which areas have it worse so far this season.
Do these exercises for core strength if you can't stomach doing planks
Planks are one of the most effective exercises for strengthening your midsection, as they target all of your major core muscles: the transverse abdominis, rectus abdominis, external obliques and internal obliques. Yet despite the popularity of various 10-minute plank challenges, planking is actually one of the most dreaded core exercises, according to many fitness experts.
Polar ice is melting and changing Earth's rotation. It's messing with time itself
One day in the next couple of years, everyone in the world will lose a second of their time. Exactly when that will happen is being influenced by humans, according to a new study, as melting polar ice alters the Earth’s rotation and changes time itself.
Grandparent scam: London, Ont., senior beats fraudsters not once, but twice
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
Sunshine list: These were the Ontario public sector's highest earners in 2023
Ontario released its annual sunshine list Thursday afternoon, noting that the largest year-over-year increases were in hospitals, municipalities, and post-secondary sectors.
NEW 'Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire': A crowd pleaser that turns it up to 11
Hot on the heels of last year's 'Godzilla Minus One' comes 'Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire,' the first ever Academy Award winner in the giant reptile's decades-long film career.
Deaths of 4 people on Sask. farm confirmed as murder-suicide
The deaths of four people on a farm near the Saskatchewan village of Neudorf have been confirmed a murder-suicide.