The Ottawa Hospital Master Plan

It is not too late to do the right thing and change the plan for the location of the Ottawa Hospital. It would be a travesty to build it at Dow's Lake, so close to the Arboretum. Ottawa needs more green space, not less; more and more research is showing the benefits to citizens. There are other locations that are still central and are closer to public transit, such as Tunney's Pasture and LeBreton Flats. Please, please reconsider this decision.

Tunney’s is the best site all around. Leave the Farm alone.

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Disappointed to see this plan includes a four story parking garage that would require destruction of the Queen Juliana Park. The plan to plant new rooftop trees isn't good enough - new trees won't have the same ecological benefits as older ones, not to mention we should be preserving AND planting trees to improve tree canopy, air quality, and cooling in the city.

There should not be a parking complex above or below ground. All our planning needs to foreground climate action and fast. We can't be encouraging driving with more car space. Instead we should be making this site as transit accessible as possible. Make it incredibly easy and fast for staff and visitors to get to the campus by bus so they do not need to drive. These routes could even be made fare free.

It seems transit access would have been much easier to provide at the original Tunney's site; now it is "not guaranteed" in planning documents. The Tunney's site would also save about 500 trees from being felled to build this campus at the Experimental Farm site... Just an overall lack of vision and concern for climate action, community spaces, and equitable transportation

Destroying the green space would be a tragedy.

Based on the magnitude of this project I’m assuming there will be a follow-up public consultation to the one held in June. Can you please confirm the timing for that event. Is there a record of the concerns that were brought forward along with how they are being considered and addressed?

With so many brownfield sites available and in light of many government and businesses opening up usable space due to a shift in work-from-home accommodations this location seems the wrong choice. Protect green space, reduce heat island effects and follow your own site analysis data posted here:
https://ehq-production-canada.s3.ca-central-1.amazonaws.com/fde2c5fb28901f9ae1dfb0fcad0b20ecab76b94c/original/1622053525/b9164f421de511387c9db76a9061b63e_toh_site_analysis_en.pdf?X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Credential=AKIAIBJCUKKD4ZO4WUUA%2F20210910%2Fca-central-1%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Date=20210910T083321Z&X-Amz-Expires=300&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&X-Amz-Signature=231528130d87ef54f7aa53bcf94d175298c64307770e7c05f9571c3fef92e0b6

The negatives highly outweigh the benefits, oh except cost! It’s always cheaper to dig up some trees and fields vs doing the work. I truly hope the municipal and provincial governments will listen to its residents and go back to the original plan of tunneys pasture.

Given that the location for this development has already been set adjacent to Dow’s Lake, a popular recreation destination for Ottawa residents and tourists, the Central Experimental Farm, the Arboretum, as well as the Rideau Canal UNESCO world heritage site, the developers of the site have a huge responsibility to uphold the character of the area, enhance the public realm, and to maintain connectivity for active transportation already existing on site. From what I can see, the cycling and walking connections are interrupted and this will create obstacles for public acceptance. The 2500 spot parkade is in a prime location, at the start of a scenic drive, not exactly a gateway structure to set the tone for a drive through the farm. It’s difficult to imagine the structure and see how integrated it will be with the landscape and how an elevated park will be used and maintained year-round. Will there be outdoor spaces for patients and visitors to the facility to help in their recovery? This would be one of the advantages for siting the facility in such a beautiful location.

I am definitely in agreement with most of the people/writers that the above ground parking building is not acceptable. I really do NOT agree with the present location of the new Civic, having always thought it should be located in Tunney's where there is a great deal more room to expand should more area be required as time goes by. The Experimental Farm is a special spot and one that is unique to Canada. It should be preserved at all costs. Traffic is already at a premium in the residential area around the proposed site and will only be worse as more and more high-rises are built, as they are presently proposed. Sherwood Drive used to be a quiet residential street and is rapidly becoming a speedway for autos in transition to get either to the Queensway or to Carling or Sommerset via side streets off Sherwood. There has to be a better solution!

Given very extensive and legitimate concerns about the suitability of the current site, and the profound and long-lasting consequences of this decision, is there any unequivocal reason not to reconsider the Tunney's Pasture location? Who has responsibility and authority to put the current plans on hold and initiate such a review?

The EIS conducted does not fully count all of the trees that might be lost should the hospital construction be allowed to proceed. Will the City conduct a full audit and recount of trees by an independent third party?

Have full geological studies been done of both the Tunney's Pasture and the experimental farm sites considered for the hospital relocation? I understand that the Central Experimental Farm has experienced tremors and is situated on a seismic fault.

I am amazing with the space the new hospital takes; this is a luxury in an established city and seems unnecessary. The Civic is already difficult to access - narrow busy road off the highway, limited transit options, etc. Why is it being moved a few kms down the road to an even worse spot to access?
I am also curious about emergency management planning. Most the city's hospitals are located downtown and could be inaccessible during a major event (think the shooting near the parliament buildings several years ago, that shut down access to the hospitals), a tornado that knocks out the area, etc. Has emergency management been accessed or urban sprawl been considered? Has traffic flow patterns been examined (including transit)? Has the effect of loosing green space and climate change been studied? Has the effect on the Central Experimental Farm's ability to do research been studied? It feels like a much more robust location study needs to take place before building the hospital. I am all for a world class hospital, but its location and sprawl needs to be considered.

It is nothing short of a travesty to select the Central Experimental Farm for the location of the new Civic Campus hospital. The Farm has been a gem for Ottawa, a testament to green space and research, and a wonderful zone for walking and biking within the nation's capital. Plunking a huge hospital in this area is completely absurd, particularly given the increased attention the climate and environment are now finally receiving.
But apart from the destruction of green space is access. As a frequent patient I am frustrated by the need to drive or be driven as the hospital is not on the new transitway. Parking is often full, and when a space can be found, is expensive. While hospitals may benefit, indeed depend on these revenues, I am a patient that would use the new O-Train to reach a hospital and not need a car.
Why has the site been chosen that continues to make access to those without a car, or the means to park a car, difficult. Why was the Tunney's Pasture site, already denuded of trees and an open palate for a hospital AND on the new transitway, taken off the list.
This makes absolutely no sense. It's not too late to make a better decision.
To continue with the plan on the Experimental Farm is simply irresponsible for the environment, the citizens of Ottawa, and in particular, patients.

The plan seems to be 180d off - the parking needs to be into the hillside, and hidden. The hospital needs to be integrated with the LRT. Riverside campus works well with the transit way, but would excel with an LRT that includes further accessibility components.

If there is no integration of LRT and hospital, and the parking is what is at that corner, than it needs to be underground period. There needs to be accessible paths (inside, either above or at or below grade) from LRT to hospital with moving sidewalks. I don't mind walking, but this is a hospital.

Has an environmental assessment of the site been completed? In this time of severe climate change it seems like an essential consideration.

I think the original recommendation for the Tunney's location made more sense than the proposed Carling location. It would appear that the Carling location was chosen to indulge the idea of a convenient move by the hospital staff. Tunney's with its existing transit infrastructure would facilitate the transit users and adequate parking can be provided for those who drive. I discourage the sprawl in the building layout in the pictures. Why the sprawl? You expect sick patients to walk extended distances between buildings? Build them closer together and surround them with green space but keep point-to-point distances within the buildings short. I personally do not like the idea of what I see as unneccesary destruction of green space.

First off, the idea of placing Ottawa’s major hospital on a hilly site serviced by Carling and Prince of Wales Drive is totally absurd. The sight across from the current hospital is flat and would allow the heart institute to remain in its current location. Charitable contributors won’t be too pleased when they find the heart institute eventually moved to,the new hospital. Prince of Wales is already overloaded. Disaster if the hospital is built in the proposed location. And perhaps Tunneys is even better than across from the current hospital.
I understand that the traffic plan anticipates traffic will be reduced significantly because of the LRT. What is the traffic reduction estimate and the basis for this estimate?
Most patients coming to a hospital ar usually driven there. This will not change
Most professional staff work varied hours and will drive. If you think otherwise show me the evidence.
Visitors as they will be coming from all over the region will mostly drive. Some will use alternative means. What is the current status and what is the alternative you will be planning for?

The Queen Juliana Park immediately across Carling from Champagne Avenue is the only stretch of green space easily accessible to this neighbourhood on foot. It offers intuitive and easy access to the Arboretum and includes a large grassy field, big enough to receive the most liberal designation for dog walking in City parks (short of an enclosed, fully fenced dog-park) i.e.that dogs may be off-leash provided that they are under their owner's control. It is well used by neighbourhood dog owners and the number of dogs has increased since the pandemic even faster than the rate of densification. There is no parking at other larger parks further west such as Fairmont Park (where dogs are not permitted off leash) or Reid Park both of which are a short drive away, should one have a car and care to pack the pooch up for a ride before the daily romp.In the winter, children sled in the park and families cross-country ski on their way to the Arboretum for some easily accessible cross-country ski
What plans are there to provide an easily accessible substitute facility in the immediate vicinity to fulfill these essential functions for urban parents, families and pet owners?

Room to grow?
One need only look at the long history of our current Civic Hospital to appreciate just how much such a world-class hospital facility grows over time. To where, exactly, will the new Ottawa Hospital expand in the future? By further incursion into the Central Experimental Farm? A move across Prince of Wales Drive into the Dominion Arboretum? Or across Preston Street into Commissioners’ Park? Maybe a new Dows Lake Pavilion? The fact is there is no room to grow in the proposed location without the loss of more accessible green space, historic sites and/or tourist attractions . What are the plans in that regard?