New Ottawa Civic Hospital [930 Carling Ave + 520 Preston St] | U/C

[lrt's friend]

Originally Posted by HighwayStar

This seems to make a whole lot of sense.


Except that Central Park is full of people and things to do... baseball diamonds, soccer fields, lakes, trails, etc, etc, etc. Other than biking, walking, running, or roller blading through the CEF, there is nothing for the average person to stop and do there.

When my kids were smaller and into Soccer, I had to drive from Westboro to Barrhaven, Orleans, or some other far flung corner of the city a couple of times a week. I kept wondering why they couldn't carve out just a little corner of the CEF and put in a couple of centrally located Soccer Fields... would be a much more practical use of space.

I do get the history and know nothing is going to happen in the short term.. but I do see value in at least having these conversations..

I am not totally against redevelopment but it should be with compatible purposes. I don't see sports fields as being compatible with the history and purpose of the site. I do see a National Botanical Gardens being a suitable re-use especially in parts that are underutilized such as close to Hartwell Locks. Of course, we saw what happened with the last attempt and those people who suggested that a Botanical Gardens are equivalent to Disney Land don't do credit to this city. As an aside, Botanical Gardens are great tourist attractions, which would again be suitable for a national facility such as the CEF.