North Gower

Church Street

Prior to the resurfacing of Church Street, many residents in the North Gower area likely noticed a traffic calming pilot project this year and last. This pilot project involves placing signs in the middle of the road aimed at curbing speeding. The City of Ottawa has placed these in twelve locations across the city and have been evaluating their effectiveness. So far, they seem to be working based on results of speed surveys, conducted last year. The speed survey results showed a reduction in average speed of 8km/h, from 52km/h to 44km/h. Speed limit compliance was 2% before and 40% after the signs were put in place. As this is a pilot project, any feedback is helpful, whether positive or negative. Feedback can be provided to me at [email protected].

Maple Forest Estates

At this point, the only future residential development slated for the North Gower area is in the Maple Forest Estates. This plan of subdivision was originally submitted in 2008 and received Draft Plan approval on July 15, 2011. This subdivision, phases 4 and 5 of Maple Forest Estates, will create a connection between their existing subdivision and the homes nearby the Alfred Taylor Recreation Centre. Furthermore, the allocated parkland from this development will be tacked onto the recreational lands that currently exist near the ball diamonds, enlarging the footprint around the Rec Centre.

Road & Sidewalk Renewal

As part of Ottawa on the Move, Church Street was resurfaced in 2014, from McCordick Road to the furthest east entrance to Lenida Street. As part of this project, considerable effort was put into finding a way to increase pedestrian safety between Farmstead Ridge and the Lenida Street intersection. Unfortunately, space was the issue and we couldn’t widen the surface any more than a couple inches.  We’ll continue to look at what options we have to improve the situation.  Other Ottawa on the Move projects in the area have included the hard surfacing of McCordick Road, from Century Road to Roger Stevens and the resurfacing of Donnelly Drive.  In sidewalk related news, the portion between Fourth Line Road and the seniors residence along Roger Stevens Drive will be resurfaced in 2015.

Updated August 2014