The city plans to (partially) give the ByWard Market back to pedestrians.
Boiled down to its essence, the city’s ByWard Market Public Realm Plan Recommendations Report is this: Pedestrians first.
The 89-page report, which took two years to produce, landed in October 2020 when the world was six months into the COVID-19 pandemic. The demands of public health were the first test of the plan’s goals of increasing the ByWard market’s resiliency to adapt to “changing circumstances and better serve the people of Ottawa, and soon, new visitors.”
It envisions a ByWard Market with pedestrian friendly streets, grand, tree-lined boulevards on York and George streets that invite visitors to linger, an improved food market at its heart and everywhere, extensive tree planting to create a green, welcoming space.
A new two- to four-storey “destination building” would replace the parking garage on Clarence Street, across York Street from the ByWard Market building.
The study identifies 15 “design frameworks”, among them enhancing the market’s “key public spaces” and “character areas”, improved lighting and way finding, improved cycling and vehicle circulation networks, more public art, a “retail/patio” zone, improved power and water access and strategies to help marketing and the market’s “heritage interpretation.” It even identifies areas for priority snow clearing during the winter.
Some of the elements are already in place, such as the pedestrian walkway on William Street, but the ultimate plan will take years, decades even, to complete.
In the meantime, here’s what you need to know about it.
Key public spaces
Evening Update
The study identifies six “key public spaces”, with the most important being York Street between Sussex and Dalhousie which it identifies as a “highly flexible, programmable space.” The second is George Street, with its special emphasis on a “youth area,” followed by William Street, currently the site of the all-season artificial skating rink. The “beloved” National Capital Commission (NCC) courtyards are also key public spaces as are two “gateways”: the intersection of Rideau and Sussex and further east, the area where Sussex Street meets St. Patrick and Murray streets. The latter links to the NCC’s new Kiweki Point (formerly Nepean Point) near the National Gallery.
York Street and George Street Flex Plazas
Big changes are in store for York and George streets under the plan. Currently a wide, uninviting road with a central boulevard flanked by angled parking, York Street would become a “grand promenade linking upper and lower town” with decorative paving and lined with trees. Two way traffic would be maintained, with parallel parking on each side, but most of the boulevard would be reserved for pedestrians and events, similar to the outdoor market space at Lansdowne Park.
George Street, the study notes, is currently a busy, “chaotic” mix of pedestrian and cars with much of the space taken up by parking. The Bay retailer has its loading docks on George Street, something the study says is an “inappropriate” use and recommends in the future that deliveries use smaller trucks or only be done at night.
George Street would get a similar treatment to York Street, with a “super canopy” of trees and a broader pedestrian area with improved seating, flower planters, better lighting and public art.
ByWard Market Square and William Street
The heart of the market, the ByWard Market Square drew an average of 16,000 visitors on the weekend before the pandemic. The study calls for bollards to separate cars and pedestrian along ByWard Market Square, decorative paving, catenary lights strung overhead across the streets, moveable seating and tents for vendors that can be secured at night.
Destination Building
This would replace the city parking garage at 70 Clarence St. on the block bounded by Clarence, William, York and the ByWard Market Square. The building, between two and four storeys high, would blend into the existing heritage architecture in the area and have a transparent facade “to showcase the use and activity within.” The main entrance would face York Street, making it a public space to pair with and complement the ByWard Market Building itself.
The building would provide better public washrooms, secure bicycle parking, retail and patio space that would spill out on all sides. The report also suggested the city consider underground parking spaces.
Timeline and priorities
The study lays out the priorities for the different elements of the rejuvenation and a timeline that, for some pieces, extends more than a decade into the future.
The York Street Flex Plaza, between Sussex Street and ByWard Market Square, is its highest priority. The flex plaza is centrally located and would have a large and immediate impact on the area and is one that “can generate excitement and momentum for the future.”
The York Street Market Plaza, the ByWard Market Square and the new destination building are all considered high priority, while improvements to George Street and Clarence Street and considered medium priorities.
The short term projects identified include exploring ways of funding the development, basic improvements to the ByWard Market building and launching the William Street pedestrian pilot project. Medium term projects of three to 10 years include the York Street plaza work, the market destination building and infrastructure and lighting improvements. Long term projects, those 11 years or more away, include capital improvements around the market such as on Murray Street, St. Patrick Street, Dalhousie Street and a Sussex-St. Patrick “gateway” in conjunction with the NCC.
