Written by Michelle Ramsay-Borg; photos by Greta Grip

Waller Mall, which runs between Rideau and George east of Dalhousie, was yarn-bombed on February 10th by Lowertown resident Greta Grip. The art installation, which is supported by the City of Ottawa, is meant to be up until the end of March. Greta recounts that while she was putting up the yarn sleeves, a man asked if he could take one tonight if he's cold. Greta, who is as warm and welcoming as her work, said yes. By the way, wasn't the sky an impossible blue today? 

The Lowertown Community Association depends on volunteers to accomplish its goals. 

We have a great contingent of volunteers who contribute from a few hours per month to about a day a week to help out in a variety of roles and capacities, but we need more. If you would like to volunteer for any of the positions listed below, complete the short contact form on the Volunteer page or send an email to [email protected]. Please mention which position or committee interests you most.

1. We need a coordinator and members for two new committees: Social Committee (8-10 volunteers) and Guerrilla Gardeners (5-10 volunteers).
2. The Planning and Heritage committees want more members. 
   
3. A large percentage of the population of Lowertown live in condos and apartments. We would like to have a liaison in each building to facilitate communications with its residents. 
4. The Communications team is growing and needs: a photographer; a website administrator; and a bilingual person who would like to post links and comments on our Facebook page. 
5. The Echo community newspaper needs a second person to sell advertising for the bi-monthly editions, and volunteers to deliver the paper door-to-door (each delivery route covers two or three blocks).

Written by Liz Bernstein

This week Lowertown community members invited Councillor Mathieu Fleury to join us on a winter walkability audit. Led by John Woodhouse, we gathered on William Street and noted issues with the construction barricades up for the LRT station and delivery trucks when parked in front of the Highlander which prohibited pedestrian access. It would be easy to move the patio to accommodate all. 

We then went through the Market. Some of the great ice sculptures placed on the sidewalk could be better placed in a parking spot. On Clarence/Parent we noted one blocking the sidewalk coupled with a truck for work on the building that made it impassable. Some of the snow that was cleared was actually piled in the crosswalk on Clarence. We also noted some large A-frame signs on William and Clarence, blocking passage. 

We then went on Guigues Street to King Edward Avenue and up York Street. Besides these issues, we noted sidewalk snow clearing seemed better than last year during our walk in January 2014. 

What do you think about snow clearing for pedestrians this year?

Written by Nancy Miller Chenier; photo by Michelle Ramsay-Borg

York Street gets its name from that “Grand Old Duke of York” referenced in the familiar children’s nursery rhyme. When Colonel By founded Bytown and laid out the street plan for Lowertown, Prince Frederick, second son of King George III and Queen Charlotte, was the Duke of York and Albany. Although this duke died in 1827, the title lives on in Prince Andrew, the second son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip.

In Colonel By’s early plan, York Street was 120 feet wide and was the only thoroughfare other than Rideau to extend to King Street (now King Edward Avenue). In the 1840s, York Street was the dividing line for Lowertown’s two political wards. In 1850, money was allocated to build a plank sidewalk on the south side and to macadamize the roadway with a layer of stone compacted by a dust and water mixture. Around 1909, York Street was opened for traffic from King Street to Chapel Street.

Thanks to the support of both longstanding and new advertisers, our community newspaper has taken two leaps forward this month.

For the first time, the February-March 2015 edition of The Lowertown Echo - L'Écho de la Basse-Ville includes four colour pages. Another first: it's being delivered by Canada Post. This allows us to reach all the residential addresses in Lowertown, including apartments and condos – a total of 7,100 homes. As usual, some copies will be available at select locations around Lowertown. You can also view it online.

The Echo is not a profit-generating paper so it offers some of the best advertising space for your money. Check our rate sheet or contact [email protected].

Written by Michelle Ramsay-Borg