Buttoning up with Ottawa’s Transit Map of the Future

By Spacing Ottawa

If you were at the launch of Spacing’s first ever national issue at the NAC this summer you’ll know that Spacing contributor Adam Bentley has created buttons based on his iconic Ottawa Transit Map of the Future — they were selling like hotcakes at the door and suddenly were appearing on shirts and lapels all over the venue.

But if you missed the launch, that’s OK – Adam has made them available via Paypal for the low price of only $2.85 each – including tax and shipping.

The 1.5 inch buttons come in two versions – Glebe (as seen above) and Lincoln Fields.

Edmonton: It Does Not Suck!

I remember one of the first things I noticed when I moved to Edmonton this past fall was a local interpretation written on a bench of the Van Morrison quote that said “Edmonton. Don’t like it? Get the fuck out”. That comment encapsulated the initial conversations I had with Edmontonians of various political and cultural stripes about urban planning in the city.  Edmonton is what it is. Edmonton is not meant to look good or sound exciting. Its purpose is to provide the basic necessities for the individual to prosper—at least financially. However as I learned more about my new home city, I realized Edmonton is a breeding ground for progressive ideas about ecologically sustainable living. As a new resident and urban planner, I would like to share with you my initial observations and suggestions about Edmonton’s land use patterns, built form, and transportation infrastructure. These observations are not based on much background research. I apologize in advance if I pass judgment without knowing the context.

As much as I’m impressed that Edmonton is a world leader in waste management, sadly, this efficient use of resources does not extend to land. Even though the City is about to proceed with its seemingly-radical redevelopment of the City Centre airport, relative to other Canadian cities I’ve visited, most of Edmonton’s lots are BIG and WIDE and very SPREAD OUT! The front and back yards are HUGE! City politicians approve new subdivisions light years away from downtown! I hope that as progressive planning practices become more common here, Edmonton’s lots will become narrower and shallower, and front-yard setbacks will be all but eliminated. The reductions in private green space would be replaced with high quality public parks and gathering spaces. I also hope that legislation similar to Ontario’s Places to Grow Act is implemented in Alberta to stop Edmonton’s sprawl no further than Anthony Henday Drive (though expensive gasoline may do to urban sprawl what a government might not be able to do).

While Edmonton’s built form seems to be generally limited to stucco bungalows and low-rise apartments, I see potential for new infill projects along back lanes. These humble corridors form a complete, alternative street network right in the city and will be the new frontier of residential and commercial intensification. I can imagine hundreds of thousands of people living in laneway housing and apartments as demand increases for small-scale living in urban areas and former streetcar suburbs. Other types of housing I’d like to see more of in Edmonton are row and semi-detached housing in both urban and suburban areas. As much as Edmonton’s roads are incredibly wide (lots of space to add bike and bus lanes), I also like the fact that all your streets are lined with a row of trees and a sidewalk on both sides forming a shaded canopy in the summer and letting through what little light exists in winter.

I am not impressed with Edmontonians’ insane addiction to their cars but am very impressed with the City’s commitment to correct this problem. I noticed the contra-flow bike lanes and plans for creating an accessible LRT network with low-floor boarding and frequent stops. I hope to see a bike-sharing network, a car-sharing network, and separated urban bike routes within a few years from now because active transportation (public transit, by bike, on foot, in a wheelchair) is an essential, efficient, and affordable transport philosophy for the 21^st Century. I also hope to see the vast parking lots of the nightmare that is South Edmonton Common replaced with pedestrian-oriented, dense residential development. Finally, why is there a massive interchange in the middle of the fantastic river valley (next to the Muttart Conservatory)? That thing should go too!

From my initial observations, Edmonton has made some very bad planning mistakes but also some good decisions too. The city seems to be in the early stages of embracing the ecologically sustainable, resource-efficient lifestyle becoming popular worldwide that helps residents prosper with limited personal resources. Based on Toronto’s experience, this trend will accelerate as the suburbs are vacated by both young and old people fleeing the high cost of driving and home maintenance costs in favour of the city centre. I think that bench should read “Edmonton: Good things are coming. Stay the fuck here!”

Adam Bentley is an urban planner who recently moved to Edmonton to work for the provincial government. He will be contributing regular guest columns on planning public and private space in the Alberta Capital Region. You can find more of his work at adambentley.com.
http://thecharrette.ca/2012/01/17/edmonton-it-does-not-suck/

The Urban Gondola: perfect fit for a capital horizon

By Adam Bentley

Could it be the best way…

…to connect these dots?

The Ottawa River is an urban feature that has united and yet also divided local inhabitants. For centuries, people have exploited both the space between and within its shores for politics, commerce, and leisure. The National Capital Commission has launched nationwide public consultations this autumn for Horizon 2067, its plan to guide development in the National Capital Region up to Canada’s 200th anniversary. Residents of Ottawa must take an active role in the planning process for their city by, amongst other things, developing proposals to bridge the space between the Ottawa River’s shores with a long-term planning solution that uses low-impact, human-focused technologies. One such proposal is a gondola crossing the Ottawa River. The gondola would be a striking addition to our skyline akin to the London Eye, permanently linking Ottawa and Gatineau for pedestrians and cyclists, and providing tourists and residents alike with new views of Parliament Hill, the urban region, the Gatineau Hills, and the Ottawa River.

An urban gondola is a great way to transport people across physically difficult landforms while, unlike bridges, having a minimal impact on the land between each end. If Ottawa opened an urban gondola, it would join a growing number of cities using this and similar modes such as aerial tramways and funifors to allow people to travel to different urban communities without an automobile. Cities with such modes include Portland, Oregon; Medellin, Colombia; Caracas, Venezuela; and New York City. The Cities of London and Vancouver are planning to build such gondolas in the near future. Gondolas and aerial tramway systems in Portland, Medellin, and New York City transport tens of thousands of people each day and are integrated into the local public transit networks.

Our capital region gondola would cross the Ottawa River to allow people to travel easily by foot or bike between Ottawa and Gatineau’s respective downtowns and experience great views of the urban and surrounding landscapes along the way. The south terminal would be located at the National Capital Commission’s long-proposed lookout directly north of Bank and Wellington Streets, also known as the Bank Street Axis. The north terminal would be located at the future Canada Science and Technology Museum on the current Kruger Products site on Gatineau’s rue Laurier, where it could be associated with the museum’s technology-focused subject matter. Each terminal’s close proximity to recreational pathways and major mass transit corridors would make it easy for the gondola’s passengers to access regional walking, cycling, and public transit networks.

If Ottawa is to improve its residents’ quality of life, it must develop plans that are resilient against coming planetary changes such as climate change and the post-oil economy by adapting to a low-consumption, human-oriented, and holistic way of thinking about urban planning and design. This gondola is a good example of such planning that offers an affordable mode of transportation between Ottawa and Gatineau and should be discussed during the National Capital Commission’s national public consultations for Horizon 2067. It is imperative that residents of Ottawa continue to collectively design and build new spaces and landmarks that improve our ability to engage with our country and one another.

The Spacing Roadshow in Ottawa: Building a City, Building a Capital
By Adam Bentley
August 9 2011

Four in five Canadians today live in urban or suburban communities, so to find out what this means for the average homeowner, BMO SmartSteps for Homeowners has partnered with Spacing Magazine as they head on a cross-country road trip to celebrate what city-living is like in Canada today. They’ll be sending us updates along the way (We’ve already heard from Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Edmonton, Calgary, Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal), and now they’re in our nation’s capital, Ottawa.

Ottawa was never meant to be a national capital. When Queen Victoria chose Ottawa as the capital of the Province of Canada in the late 1850’s, the town was a dirty, polluted centre of lumber processing known for brawls between Irish and French immigrants, dirt roads filled with livestock, open sewers, and wooden housing that often burned down. Ottawa was precisely selected for its difficulty to access by invading armies due to its remote location and undesirable physical qualities befitting a capital city.

The first residential areas included Uppertown (the area now containing the Central Business District) for Ottawa’s moneyed citizenry, and Lowertown, a cholera-infested slum for new immigrants. Housing in both areas consisted of a mix of 2- and 3-level free-standing and semi-detached homes with Victorian architectural influences from Toronto, and row housing influenced by those of Montreal. Building methods and materials included wooden frames and roughly cut stones.

New streetcar suburbs such as The Glebe, Old Ottawa South, Sandy Hill, and New Edinburgh were built to accommodate new Federal Government civil servants. While the lots were wider than in Lowertown, that neighbourhood’s architecture influenced residential styles in new communities. Working class families settled in wood-frame handyman homes built over shoveled out cellars in Mechanicsville and Hintonburg. These two neighbourhoods are now sites for some of the most innovative infill efforts in the entire city.

Today, Ottawa’s architectural heritage can be best described as a never-ending perceived conflict between the belief of what should be built in a city consisting of hundreds of thousands of unique and diverse residents and what should be built in the national capital of a G8 country. Within an area of just a few square blocks, a person may find buildings including a mix of Victorian, Gothic Revival, Neo-Classical, Federal, Second Empire, Queen Anne, Arts and Crafts, Islamic, Modern, and Post-Modern influences.

It may be an unfinished capital city, but it has become one that reflects Canada’s many influences.

By Adam Bentley, urban planner and contributor with Spacing Ottawa

SPACING OTTAWA
Dreaming in colour: The story behind Ottawa’s world-class transit map

BY ADAM BENTLEY
May 9 2011

ADDED FOR THIS RE-POST: IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN PURCHASING A CUSTOM BUTTON OF THE MAP, PLEASE SEND ME AN E-MAIL.

Editor’s note: At Spacing Ottawa we were captivated by Adam Bentley’s vision of an Ottawa “transit map from the future”  from our very first time of viewing.  At the time, it seemed that the startling image just arrived in the blogosphere out of thin air, but in this post Adam shares the story of how it was that the diagram came to be propagated so quickly and so widely.

Whether you develop a plan to improve public space or a recipe for a new ice cream flavour, a good idea can spread like wildfire if it is presented properly –and you don’t need a degree in communications to do so. Several months ago, I developed a long-term vision for mass transit in Ottawa. Self-described “transit nerds” referred to this map as a “dream transit plan” or “fantasy transit map”. However, upon releasing the map online, a captive audience of urban and transit enthusiasts took the plan very seriously and provided useful feedback and compliments. After tweaking the proposal, I quickly found that this idea had received such a positive reception that discussion spread online through SkyscraperPage.com and TransitOttawa.ca. There was even an account by someone who claimed to have seen the map posted to a transit stop (I was never able to personally confirm this claim). I later asked several respondents what features of the map they thought inspired such a positive response. Their replies mainly included a clear message evident from the map’s content, the map’s ability to be easily understood by a variety of people, and my decision to present the map online, as opposed to community groups or as a letter to the media.

I designed the map to present a solution to the problem of long travel times on public transit between Ottawa and Gatineau’s multiple hubs of activity. The proposal called for continuous long-term investment in a complete and interconnected network of light rail, light metro, bus rapid transit, and regional rail to provide users with multiple simple connections (something Jane Jacobs would approve) to activity and residential centres throughout the National Capital Region. The plan would fit into the current Transportation Master Plan and revive some ideas from the City’s previous ‘Chiarelli-era’ rapid transit plan and the seemingly forgotten 2007 Mayor’s Taskforce on Transportation. Online and real world responses to the plan’s proposals included enthusiastic praise for its call for visionary and long-term thinking, and that it should immediately be included in current plans for Ottawa’s future rapid transit network. Respondents agreed that the proposal presented the idea that through simple and easy connections, users could reach every notable destination or hub in the city.

Respondents also praised the proposal’s use of colours, lines and fonts to present the idea of an interconnected network in a comprehendible manner. The map’s use of contrasting shades between the background and foreground and various bright primary and secondary colours between the routes were its main formal strengths. Using contrasting colours and shades in a map helps people with vision problems and those who just want to quickly glance at the map more easily see the different elements. I also received praise for representing route capacity with lines of varying thickness. Using wider lines to represent higher-capacity routes (or narrower lines for lower-capacity routes) brings peoples’ attention to primary routes, helping them form a mental map of the locations of the origin, route, and destination of their trip. Visual cues such as rivers and freeways were added as points of reference. The final example of this map’s good form was its use of a sans-serif font, which minimizes unnecessary lines on the map and helps people with vision problems distinguish between individual letters and words.

With forums, social media, podcasts, and blogs, there has likely never been a better era in the history of humanity to share ideas and collaborate on projects with other people around the world. Respondents liked the fact that I developed the map in Google Draw, a free online drawing program that allowed me to share the document with others, thus facilitating collaboration with friends and colleagues. The map was then uploaded to an online urban issues forum, quickly giving me free access to advice from an established network of local and international transit and urban issues enthusiasts and professionals. Using the Internet to disseminate this proposal was a much cheaper and easier option than meeting with individual community groups or seeking the approval of the gatekeepers at the Ottawa Citizen who select submissions for its Letters section. The success of this strategy was evident from the fact that a few weeks later I found the proposal had spread to other online forums and blogs.

A well-thought out idea must have an equally well-planned method of presentation. My mass transit proposal map attempted to combine the best of past and present proposals into one coherent and visionary plan for rapid transit in the National Capital Region. The map was drawn so as to be accessible to a wide variety of transit enthusiasts, urban issues aficionados, and anyone interested in improving the quality of life for the region’s residents and visitors. Its method of dissemination took advantage of fast and cheap access to feedback through online forums, which also raised awareness of the proposal itself. While I am no communications expert, I believe that the mere fact that my proposal can be found on Spacing Ottawa, our city’s premiere urban issues blog, is evidence that this map is a good example of how to successfully present a solution to an urban issue in our current era.

ADAM BENTLEY
Urban and Regional Planner

adambentley@hotmail.com
Phone: 613-406-4453

My diverse experiences have taught me to pay close attention to people’s perceptions of and reactions to their surroundings. I intend to combine skills gained from all my experiences to develop new and creative solutions to planning problems.

EDUCATION
Master of Urban and Regional Planning (Queen’s University, 2010)
Bachelor of Arts (Honours): Film & Media / Political Studies (Queen’s University, 2008)
Ontario Secondary School Diploma: French Immersion (Nepean High School, 2004)

TRANSFERABLE SKILLS
Planning
•   Land Use / Real Estate
•   Community Design
•   Social / Housing
•   Transportation
•   Accessibility
•   Public Participation
•   Ecological Monitoring
•   GIS / Mapping
•   Advocacy / Ethics
•   Development Review

Other
•   French: Oral, Reading, Written
•   Communication
•   Teamwork
•   Research
•   Film Production
•   Valid Driver’s License
•   Digital & Print Publishing
•   Federal, Provincial & City  Security Clearance

WORK EXPERIENCE
Dharma Developments: Development Planner (2011)
Ontario Realty Corporation: Planning Intern (2010)
Government of Canada: Department of National Defence, Realty Policy and Plans: Capital Investment Plan (Infrastructure) Intern (2009)
Queen’s University, Department of Film & Media: Course Facilitator (2008 – 2010)
Audio-Visual Preservation Trust of Canada: Research and Communications Assistant (2008)
Opinion Search: Market Study Interviewer (2006)

VOLUNTEER ACTIVITIES
City of Ottawa: Planning & Growth Management: Planning Process Assistant (2011)
Queen’s Model Parliament: Delegate, Minister, Senator (2006 – 2008)
Science ’44 Student Housing Co-operative: Monthly Newsletter Editor (2006 – 2007)
Focus Film Festival: Participant (2005 – 2008)
Kingston Canadian Film Festival: Publicity and Events Volunteer (2005 – 2010)
Queen’s University: Municipal Issues Committee, Student Property Assessment Team (2005 – 2007)

AWARDS AND PUBLICATIONS
Publication: “Dreaming in Colour: The story behind Ottawa’s World-Class Transit Map” Spacing Ottawa (May 9 2011)
Publication: “Too Small for a Park, too Awkward to Sell? There’s a Community Design Plan for that.” Spacing Ottawa (Jan. 11 2011)
2008-2009 Queen’s Graduate Award (Queen’s University, School of Graduate Studies & Research)

CURRENT MEMBERSHIP
Canadian Institute of Planners/ Ontario Professional Planners Institute (Student)
SAW Video, Ottawa

CONFERENCE ATTENDANCE
Canadian Institute of Planners: Montreal, PQ (2010)
Invisible Cities: Urban Biodiversity: Toronto, ON (2010)
Canadian Association of Planning Students (CAPS) (presented group project): Guelph, ON (2010)
Strength in Services Summit: Toronto, ON (2009)
Canadian Association of Planning Students: Montreal, PQ (2009)

COMPUTER SOFTWARE EXPERIENCE
•     ArcGIS
•     Final Cut Pro
•     Google Docs
•     Google SketchUp
•     MAP
•     Microsoft Office

RECENT WORK
Film: Call of the City (2011) – In Post Production
Jenn, age 18, lives with her disabled father in rural Ontario. When she is accepted to a prestigious art college in Toronto, she must decide whether to pursue her passion for photography in the big city or fulfill her obligation stay home to care for her father.

Vision: Ottawa-Gatineau Rapid Transit Plan (2010)
Implementing a regional rapid transit network requires sustained, long-term, and visionary planning and development policies. I prepared a visually engaging regional rapid transit plan for the National Capital Region that would quickly and easily transport people to and from every major activity hub. When published on May 9th 2011, an article about the plan became the widest circulated edition of Spacing Ottawa to date.

Master’s Report: Transit-Oriented Development in Smith’s Falls, Ontario (2010)
While VIA Rail moves its Smith’s Falls station from the town’s centre to its periphery, Ottawa proposes commuter rail between the two urban centres. From detailed site visits, policy analysis, and interviews, this report (which can be viewed online) concluded that the central location is better for encouraging transit-oriented development and makes transit-friendly recommendations for the vicinities of both stations.

Group Project: Residential Intensification in Kingston’s Near-University Neighbourhoods (2009)
Many houses around Queen’s University have been converted into controversial high-capacity rentals for students. With support from case studies, interviews, and an interactive workshop, this report for the City of Kingston and presented at the 2010 Canadian Association of Planning Students conference defined the best types and locations for proper residential intensification near Queens’ urban campuses.

Plan: South Fairfield Heights Community Plan (2009)
Surplus open space from a new section of Transitway is the catalyst for finding new strategies to attract people to neglected public space in this leafy Ottawa neighbourhood. Various stakeholders were consulted in preparation of this plan for a city councillor, which was published January 11 2011 in Spacing Ottawa.