City and NCC open storefront offering information on Sparks Street renewal

Residents and visitors looking for information on Canada’s oldest pedestrian street need search no longer.

The city of Ottawa and the National Capital Commission announced Wednesday that they have opened a storefront information centre for those who are interested in what the two organizations have planned for Sparks Street.

The storefront is located at 79 Sparks St. and features concept images, blueprints and design goals for the entire stretch of the street from Lebreton Flats to Elgin Street.

The space won’t be open at all times but the city has set out a drop-in time for people to come if they have any questions or if they’re just interested in seeing what’s in store for the mall.

The consultation times are as follows:

• Wednesday, July 18 from noon to 3 p.m.
• Thursday, July 19 from 9 a.m. to noon
• Saturday, July 21 from noon to 3 p.m.
• Thursday, July 26 from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Mayor Jim Watson was on hand for the announcement, as was Coun. Catherine McKenney and CEO of the NCC, Mark Kristmanson. Watson says that though this process has taken a long time, he has a good feeling about this project, thanks to all the help the city is receiving from several levels of government and his own enthusiasm in this project.

“There’s a lot of goodwill at the political and public servant levels to actually make it work,” Watson said. “I’ve said I’ve become obsessed with making this project work. We wanted to go back to the time when it (the street) was to bustling and so exciting that it was a real destination.”

For the immediate future, the city says that over the summer, new public spaces, what they call SparksScape spots, will be built along the pedestrian mall. These will provide spaces for the public to lounge, read and enjoy the space. Several of these spots already exist on the street and include tables to sit and eat as well as hammocks to lay in. Bollards were also recently added to the mall to prevent cars from accessing the pedestrian area.