Retail, Arts & Theatre Precinct

Streetscape Infrastructure Programme

Rideau Street, Colonel By Drive, Waller and Laurier Avenues bound the precinct. As it is located on former railway lands, no historic or traditional street grid is present on the majority of the area. The Rideau and Congress Centres occupy almost their entire sites. Within this location, the majority of internal streets are used only for servicing and access to parking. Both Nicholas and Colonel By Drive require the introduction of traffic calming measures and pedestrian improvements, as identified below.

A targeted road reconstruction programme to normalize the street pattern is required for the Nicholas/Laurier/Mackenzie/ Waller/Rideau urban grid area. Although these road networks are located in the heart of a very urban area, they presently operate in a suburban fashion. Repairing the urban grid in this location will make available new development sites - particularly in the areas west of Waller and south of Laurier Avenue - as well as improve circulation, enhance linkages between neighbourhoods and place priority on pedestrians, cyclists and transit users over interprovincial trucks.

Parks and Open Space Strategy

The fully built-out nature of the precinct limits opportunities for the introduction of new parks or open spaces. The interior of the precinct offers very little meaningful open space beyond the very beautiful historic square of the University at Laurier and Cumberland in the adjacent University Precinct and the private roof garden on the Rideau Centre. The existing road layout absorbs much of the available land and creates an environment that is incompatible with recreational park spaces. Large areas of underutilized land are locked in by the inefficient road system, creating a significant amount of residual land. Once the road system is reconfigured, the City will be able to free areas of open space and bring them back in to use as valid green spaces. These lands also offer new development opportunities.

As a more immediate solution, the City should introduce more clear, at grade pedestrian links across Colonel By Drive to allow for greater access to the Canal and its related pedestrian and cycle networks. A more permeable and pedestrian-friendly Colonel By Drive may also encourage the Rideau Centre and Congress Centre to open their front doors to the banks of the Canal and create a more animated western edge for the precinct. This would also improve visual connections to the Canal from the Rideau and Congress Centre complex. This should be part of the terms of reference for the proposed expansion to the Rideau Centre and Congress Centre.

Built Form Guidelines

The Rideau and Congress Centres need to restore their relationship with adjacent streets. This would include opening larger sections of these facilities to the street and reversing the internal orientation of uses. The east façade of the Rideau Centre must respect the historic value of existing adjacent buildings, such as Arts Court.

Once the road network has been reconfigured, the Rideau Street frontage and blocks immediately to the south represent a good location for quite dense, urban street-related buildings. The interface between Arts Court, the University's historic core and the Sandy Hill neighbourhood will also benefit from the road reconfiguration. Buildings located here will help create the transition from the dense urban areas along Rideau Street to the lower density Sandy Hill and University areas. Infill projects in this precinct will need to be responsive to the area's Heritage Conservation District designation.

This precinct is a very important future resource for the downtown as the centre of tourism, arts and education. Reurbanization of lands that have been unlocked by transportation infrastructure modifications are key to a successful future. To achieve these goals, the following targeted precinct strategies are suggested:

21. Rideau Centre Façade Improvement Programme

A programme of façade improvements, with the city as a key partner, should be introduced around the entire perimeter of the Rideau Centre complex. Particular attention should be given to the Rideau Street and Colonel By Drive façades as well as to the eastern facade abutting the heritage resources of Arts Court.

Where possible, retail units along Rideau Street should be encouraged to open onto the street. This would create a more attractive and animated exterior that would help to better integrate the suburban-style shopping centre with its more urban neighbours. All proposed Rideau Centre expansion opportunities should support dual aspect retail units at ground level. Colonel By Drive should become a very desirable address for commercial and leisure uses opening directly onto the Canal.

22. Rideau Street West Beautification

A significant amount of public realm improvements have already occurred along Rideau Street. Nevertheless, as one of Ottawa's most well-known streets there remains a need to improve the pedestrian experience along Rideau, particularly between Sussex Drive and Nicholas Street. It will be challenging to improve the quality of this street until the volume of city buses along this route can be reduced or re-routed. To help achieve this in the longer term, Rideau Street should be considered as a potential Light Rail Transit route.

In the meantime, a more vigorous maintenance programme should be introduced and new hardy street trees, landscaping and lighting be re-introduced to make the area more attractive and improve perceptions of safety.

To improve the visual impression along Rideau Street, one of the pedestrian bridges linking the Rideau Centre with the Hudson's Bay Company should be removed. Alternatively, they should be re-designed into remarkable and inspiring set pieces for the Rideau Centre. This effort should be closely connected to the City's programme of public art.

23. Colonel By Redesign

Colonel By Drive is under-utilized during non-peak hours, while during peak hours it primarily functions as a feeder route for Nicholas Street and the 417. This function is inappropriate for one of Ottawa's most beautiful Canal-side routes and an important parkway connection to Confederation Boulevard.

The expanded section between Rideau Street and the Mackenzie King Bridge creates a significant barrier between the Canal and the Rideau Centre/Congress Centre Precinct. The width of the Drive and limited pedestrian network impedes any direct visual or physical contact with the Canal. The City should redesign this section to create a more natural continuation of the Drive from Rideau Street to Mackenzie King Bridge. The plans for the future reuse of the Government Conference Centre, as well, the redesign of the Confederation Boulevard node, at the intersection of Sussex, Rideau and Colonel By Drive, must be carefully considered in any reconfiguration.

At present there is a very limited pedestrian network along Colonel By Drive. The narrowing of Colonel By would allow for the widening of sidewalks, the introduction of new street furniture and the planting of street trees and other landscaping. Additional stairways and ramps to the Canal walk area should be introduced. The resulting 'Canal-Side' street would make an excellent location for commercial uses along its eastern edge.

The western edge would benefit from mirroring the urban park style and character proposed for the Central Canal Area Precinct, as discussed in Section 6. Reflecting this character along the route would effectively expand the Confederation Park area across the Canal to the main entrances of both the Rideau Centre and Congress Centre.

24. Heritage Asset Protection & Street Theming

This precinct supports a number of historically important buildings, including the Youth Hostel, Arts Court, the University core, the Registry Building and numerous other heritage buildings fronting onto Rideau Street. To better position these urban assets for a more secure future, the Strategy recommends that:

• the City identify priority heritage buildings and direct focused attention, incentives and spending towards a maintenance plan to ensure that these buildings do not fall into disrepair. The City should ensure that other less high-profile heritage buildings and structures in this location are included in the City's Heritage Reference List and that these properties are not removed from the area.
• to support the existing heritage offerings and reinforce the role of this precinct as an emerging cultural destination, the City should introduce a programme of heritage theming to Nicholas and Daly Streets. These two streets form the heart of the Arts & Theatre area and it is important that they are reinvigorated, inviting and safe. These streets are a suitable location for inspiring public art installations.