Christmas Tree Recycling

Recycle your Christmas Tree at the Champlain Park Baseball Diamond, anytime in January!!

It’s now time to collect trees in our neighbourhood at the park, as I am reminded by the appearance of the now traditional Kìchì Sìbì Winter Trail / Facebook post:

Now accepting Xmas trees. Drop off at Remic Rapids parking lot ONLY. Please remove all tinsel and other foreign objects. (But don’t rush it! Enjoy your tree as long as you can.)

The ones dropped off at the park will get used, though we’ll divert some for decorations for the Winter Carnival and rink windbreaks.

Island Park Drive Walking Tour – September 21

Heritage Ottawa recently posted about a walking tour of Island Park Drive history that may be of interest to Champlain Park residents. Visit https://shop.heritageottawa.org/en/2025-walking-tour-season to sign up, and for details about time and place.

A heritage asset of the National Capital Commission opened in 1923, Island Park Drive was designed to extend the Capital parkway system, which continues to preserve the original design intentions as well as many of the original homes along its entire length. As one of Ottawa’s most prestigious historical neighbourhoods, Island Park Drive has been home to many prominent Canadians who contributed significantly to the economic and cultural development of Ottawa. Residents have included legendary jeweller Jack Snow, printing tycoon Rolla Law Crain, W.H. Taylor Arkley, “the tailor,” and Daniel and Lucy Rochester, and Dr. Stafford Kirkpatrick, a Queen’s University metallurgical genius.

The guide is Jennifer Hornby Gillespie, a long-time resident, long-time board director and Past-President of the Island Park Community Association, who worked for 30 years in the technology sector.

Tunney’s Pasture Draft Plan of Subdivision

The next step in bringing the Tunney’s Pasture Master Plan from vision to reality is now underway. The Draft Plan of Subdivision (DPS) application for the site has been submitted to the City of Ottawa and documents are available for the public’s review and input on the City’s DevApps site.

The Draft Plan of Subdivision is an important step in bringing to life our vision for transforming Tunney’s Pasture from a single-use employment centre into a vibrant transit-oriented and sustainable mixed-use community that is integrated with surrounding neighbourhood.

It shows things like:

Where roads, parks, and pathways will go.
How the land will be divided into blocks or lots for future housing, offices, community amenities, or public spaces.
How services like water, sewer, and electricity will be laid out.

The DPS sets the groundwork before any detailed building designs are made. Once the plan of subdivision is approved, future development can move forward in a way that is consistent with the overall Master Plan, helping us deliver much-needed housing to the community!

Share Your Thoughts

Councillor Jeff Leiper will be hosting a public meeting on September 22 between 6:30 – 8:30 pm to hear feedback and answer questions from residents.

6:30 to 7:30 pm – Residents can drop-in and view project boards
7:30 to 8:30 pm – Residents can partake in a Town Hall question and answer period

Location: Wellington Room
Hintonburg Community Centre
1064 Wellington St. W, Ottawa, ON K1Y 2Y3

Stay Involved

We encourage you to review the application summary and reports and use the button on the page to send your feedback to the City by Friday, October 3rd.

Update from Neighbours for Tunney’s

Neighbours for Tunney’s has another newsletter update on the Tunney’s Pasture redevelopment plan. Quoting from it, the first three results from their recent survey are:

Prioritize green space and parks – Since a majority of respondents emphasized the need for parks and recreational areas, planners should ensure ample green space is integrated into the design, with features like playgrounds, walking paths, natural areas and seating areas (Ottawa’s Official plans outline targets).
Facilitate grocery store development – The strong demand for grocery stores suggests engaging with grocery retailers early to establish convenient access to fresh food and everyday essentials.
Invest in recreation and sports facilities – Including a multi-use recreation center, swimming pool, skating rink, and/or sports field would address a major community desire for accessible sport, fitness and leisure options (Ottawa’s official Recreation plan includes targets).

The newsletter has the rest of the top ten, a link to more detailed survey results, and ideas on what to do next.

Ottawa Centre All Candidates Debate – April 15

Via Robert B…

A candidates’ debate will be held April 15 featuring the prime candidates contesting the federal seat of Ottawa Centre. The event is being organized by a quartet of community associations (Glebe, Centretown, Old Ottawa East and Old Ottawa South).

Residents of Champlain Park are invited to attend, watch on cable TV, stream on YouTube and to submit their questions for candidates. Details are in the poster attached, which you may wish to circulate in your community.

[Admin stuff – Funding, Contact info, etc.]

FederalAllCandidatesDebatePoster250415.pdf

See Elections Canada https://www.elections.ca/ to find out more about voting procedures and the Monday April 28th 2025 federal election.

Update from Neighbours for Tunney’s

Neighbours for Tunney’s has another update on the Tunney’s Pasture redevelopment plan, on their web site and at https://mailchi.mp/aab80f5a2413/tunneys-pasture-redevelopment-news-december-12746102 Less office space, and more housing in the plan, and a survey for you.

NCC Bike Days revised hours along Kichi Zībī Mīkan

The National Capital Commission has announced the NCC Weekend Bike Days for 2025. The Champlain Park Traffic Safety Committee is pleased to say that the bike days along the Kichi Zībī Mīkan will be on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays from 8:00 to noon, As per the announcement below, the bike days start on May 10th this year and continue to October 13.

https://ncc-ccn.gc.ca/news/plan-your-summer-staycation-ncc-weekend-bikedays-begin

We hope that by the bikedays ending at noon as opposed to 5:00 pm, we will avoid the congestion problems we have seen over the past couple of years. The Traffic Safety Committee will monitor the situation and report any issues to the NCC, the City or Police as we deem necessary.

As always, traffic safety is the concern of all of us, so if you see something the police need to be aware of, please use the following link to submit a report to the Ottawa Police Service, in the Traffic Complaint category. https://www.ottawapolice.ca/en/reports-and-requests/file-a-report.aspx

Champlain Park Traffic Safety Committee

Christmas Tree Recycling

Recycle your Christmas Tree at the Champlain Park Baseball Diamond, anytime in January!!

It’s now time to collect trees in our neighbourhood at the park, as I am reminded by the appearance of the now traditional Kichi Sibi Winter Trail Facebook post:

Give your old Christmas tree a ‘second life’ by donating it to the Kichi Sibi Winter Trail. Trees will be used to create wind breaks and safety barriers/cordons at various locations along the Winter Trail at Remic Rapids. Trees can be brought to the North East corner of the Champlain Park baseball diamond or to Remic Rapids anytime in January, 2025. The Winter Trail team will then make sure they get to where they are needed. Some may show up around the rink too!

Thank you from the Kichi Sibi Winter Trail Team, and happy skiing!

Time-Line of Traffic Problems

From Heather…

Island Park Drive and surrounding communities have for many years been expected to accommodate large volumes of commuter traffic, which pollutes our neighbourhoods and endangers our kids. The RCMP cannot keep up with the volume of cut-through traffic making illegal turns onto IPD. Vehicles are backed up to the Scott/Northwestern intersection. From Clearview, some turn and speed south looking for other exits to IPD.

In 1996 and again in 2014, local governments and communities suggested solutions. Several were implemented, but nothing was done to fix the main problem, that two parkways are being used as commuter routes.

In September 2024, the NCC invited local communities to discuss proposed new parkways guidelines.

The CPCA submitted the attached comments to the NCC, c.c. councillor Jeff Leiper.
Continue reading “Time-Line of Traffic Problems” →

Traffic Overflow in the Neighbourhood

Excess traffic is annoying people in the neighbourhood, leading some to take action (there are a couple of rather hot posts in the Champlain Park Facebook Group, where rather than blocking the cars, submitting a request for service to the police was suggested). Our city councillor Jeff Leiper has written about it, here’s his text from https://kitchissippiward.ca/2024/10/07/cut-through-bridge-traffic-woes/

Cut-through bridge traffic woes

October 7, 2024

Good evening, Kitchissippi.

Residents of Westboro Beach and Champlain Park who live on streets like Clearview and Lanark have been writing to me tonight to let me know they’ve had another bad weekend. Cut-through traffic trying to reach the bridge, especially starting in mid-afternoon, has been rough this summer, backing up for blocks, most recently on Clearview and yesterday for a period as far as Northwestern. Residents have a hard time getting in or out of their driveways, traffic is idling and they’re fed up.
Continue reading “Traffic Overflow in the Neighbourhood” →