NOTEBOOK: LRT open houses, pedestrian safety upgrades, more

LRT OPEN HOUSES
Watch for a open house events in June and November for updates on plans to extend light rail transit west past Moodie Drive towards Kanata and Stittsville.  Kanata North Councillor Marianne Wilkinson shared the news in a newsletter update: “An evaluation of alternative corridors and selection of a preferred corridor and station locations will be discussed… on the technically preferred plan, which will go to Transportation Committee and Council for approval in March 2018.  Construction of this section cannot occur until after the LRT reaches Moodie in 2023 and a funding source is obtained.”

WALK THIS WAY
Three pedestrian infrastructure projects of note:

1) A new pedestrian crossover is coming to West Ridge Drive at the intersection of Birchland and Franklin Cathcart.  It’ll go nicely with the new splash pad planned for Deer Run Park this summer.

2) Once the snow melts, city crews will be painting zebra markings on the south and west crosswalks at the Huntmar-Maple Grove intersection.  Councillor Qadri says the volume of pedestrians combined with the volume of “potentially conflicting movements of vehicles in the path of pedestrians” warrants the additional markings.

3) City crews will be repairing the sidewalks near Canadian Tire Centre including Palladium Drive, Cyclone Taylor Boulevard and Frank Finnigan Way.

SYRIAN ARRIVES FROM BEIRUT
The Kanata Stittsville  Refugee Sponsorship Group, led by Rev. Grant Dillenbeck from Stittsville United Church, welcomed another refugee to the community on Thursday night:

“I have wonderful news. Rouba Kaba arrived in Ottawa last night about 9:15 pm after an eight hour delay in Cairo. She was extremely tired, but thrilled to see her sister, brother-in-law and niece at the bottom of the escalator… Rouba is from Homs, Syria and had been living in Beirut, Lebanon. We had submitted her sponsorship application about one year ago. She has several family members here in Ottawa who will offer her a lot of support. She had previously worked as an airline ticket agent, so her English is quite good, which will help her greatly. Rouba is the second person from Syria whom we have sponsored, and we have also submitted an application for another family and are awaiting news about when they might arrive.”

“BRADLEY COMMONS” APPLICATION RE-ACTIVATED
The owners of 590 Hazeldean Road have reactivated their zoning application, first submitted to the City in 2014: “Application for rezoning from Agricultural Zone (AG) to various zones to premit [sic] a plan of subdivision that includes detached and townhouse dwellings, commercial buildings, school, parks & open space> Lands woll [sic] be rezoned to Residential Third Density Zone (R3), Arterial Mainstret [sic] (AM), Parks and Open Space Zone (O1), and Institutional Zone.”

This is the strip of land that (for now) includes the Bradley-Craig Farm, running north-south from Hazeldean Road to the Trans Canada Trail.  Richcraft Homes and Urbandale Construction are marketing the development as Bradley Commons, “the new connection between Kanata and Stittsville”.

You can read more about the plan here…

ANOTHER BIA IN KANATA NORTH
Councillor Marianne Wilkinson reports that the Kanata Central Business Improvement Area held its inaugural meeting on Tuesday. The group will represent businesses in Kanata Centrum, Signature Ridge, Kanata Commons and the surrounding commercial area.  Special events and activities are in the works for later this year.  They’re on Facebook here…

SIGNS OF SPRING
Lois N’ Frima’s re-opened this weekend after their winter break. They’re on Stittsville Main Street at the back of the Ultramar plaza.

WE (HEART) PUNS

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