PETITION AGAINST GOULBOURN STREET NAME CHANGE
City Council received a petition today from 43 residents on Goulbourn Street, asking the city to either keep the street name the same or re-name it “Old Goulbourn Way”.
Goulbourn is one of five Stittsville streets slated to be renamed because it’s too similar to another street in the City. There’s also a “Goulburn” street in Sandy Hill. Both are named Sir Henry Goulburn, Undersecretary of State in the British Government who signed the Ghent Treaty. Stittsville is formerly part of Goulbourn Township, now amalgamated into the City of Ottawa.
A shortlist of new names for Goulbourn Street presented last June include Boxty Way (for a traditional Irish pancake dish) and Kitizi Way, an Algonquin word for “notable person or elder”. After backlash from residents over the new names, the city re-opened the suggestion process and a new shortlist is expected soon.
I asked Councillor Qadri by email to comment on the petition, and whether or not it would have any impact on the naming process. His response: “The petition was received by council as it was presented on the agenda.”
For readers keeping score, this is the second street to send a petition to City Hall. The first was Long Meadow Way, back in March.
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COUNCIL APPROVES GYMNASIUM NAME
Also at City Hall today, councillors gave official approval to rename the gym at the Goulbourn Recreation Centre. It will now be known as the “Erica Wiebe Gym” in honour of the Stittsville athlete who won gold in wrestling in Rio. A date for a renaming ceremony will be announced soon.
Speaking of Wiebe, she recently donated her biometric training gear to the Canada Science and Technology Museum. Wiebe harnessed the technology embedded in the clothing to measure her progress and improve her results.
“The connection between one of the most ancient of sports with this leading-edge technology is a story of innovation and perseverance, which will inspire athletes, scientists and museum visitors alike. Biometric clothing gives athletes measured insights into their training using sensors built into the bodies of their athletic wear. The clothing reflects a broader movement towards the importance of wearable technology in the lives of Canadians,” wrote the museum in a press release.
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FLEA MARKET RETIREMENT HOME UPDATE
The retirement home being built on Hazeldean Road at the site of the old flea market now has a name: Hazeldean Gardens. The owners are inviting the public to an official launch and barbecue on Saturday, September 24 at 11:00am on the site at 6130 Hazeldean Road.
According to the facility’s web site: “Hazeldean Gardens is not part of a large chain. It is a locally-owned family business developed and operated by Wit Lewandowski, his wife Terry, his cousin Vicki Jackson and her husband Murray, and the Jackson’s son, Allan. Over the past 15 years they have successfully built and operated two other retirement residences – Rideau Gardens in Ottawa, and Quinte Gardens in Belleville, Ontario.”
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CABELA’S OPENS SEPTEMBER 22
The big box hunting and fishing store has its grand opening on Thursday, September 22 at 9:00am . Technically it’s in Kanata North, across the street from Tanger Outlets. Even if you have no interest in shopping at the store, you might want to take note because of the traffic it’s likely to generate that weekend. Over 3,200 have RSVP’d so far to a Facebook invite for the opening. (Remember what happened when Tanger first opened in 2014?)
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BRADLEY-CRAIG FARM MAKES LIST OF PLANNING FAILURES
Councillor Tobi Nussbaum has ruffled some feathers at City Hall with a presentation he made called “Fixing the Five “i’s” of Planning Failure” at an urban planning conference earlier this summer. It’s a good read (albeit disheartening) for anyone interested in city planning issues. One of the case studies he presented was City Council’s decision to allow the demolition and relocation of the Bradley-Craig Barn, despite its heritage status. You’ll find the slides here, all the way down on page 57.
There’s no word yet on when the barn might be relocated. Richcraft, the owner, has a two-year window to move of the barn to Saunders Farm, which ends in January 2018. I asked Councillor Shad Qadri about the status of the project earlier this month at a Stittsville Village Association meeting, and he said that so far no plans or updates have been received by the City.