Sutcliffe guarantees extra festivals, sights to convey individuals downtown

Mayoral candidate Mark Sutcliffe stated, if elected, he’ll give attention to convey life again to town’s downtown, releasing a plank of his platform he hopes will tackle long-standing points and makes it a serious vacation spot as soon as extra. 

“Ottawa is going through vital challenges within the core, with fewer staff, residents, and guests coming downtown,” Sutcliffe stated in a Monday press launch.

“With out a plan to draw extra individuals, the way forward for our downtown is in danger.”

In accordance with the candidate, he’d revitalize the downtown by working with varied organizations and ranges of presidency to create a brand new museum or cultural centre, enhance the variety of festivals and join the LRT to Gatineau. 

For key items of Sutcliffe’s plan, like a brand new main attraction, he is seeking to work with the federal authorities. He additionally sees the parliamentary precinct being redeveloped right into a “grand nationwide gathering place.”

To get extra individuals residing downtown, he desires to encourage the conversion of unused workplace area into market and inexpensive housing with the assistance of $30 million in federal spending.

His marketing campaign stated that determine is predicated on a federal election promise from the Liberals that $600 million can be made accessible to transform business areas to housing, calculating the $30 million based mostly on Ottawa’s inhabitants.

Tackle ‘issues of safety’ in ByWard Market

Sutcliffe stated a plan is required to turnaround the ByWard Market “in order that it regains its standing as one of many metropolis’s most tasty locations.”

He sees that taking place via bringing extra reside music, artwork and festivals into the neighbourhood, in addition to by growing walkways, car-free zones and public seating to encourage individuals to remain downtown longer.

Extra additionally must be carried out to help weak residents within the neighbourhood, in line with his launch. 

Sutcliffe stated he’d create a activity pressure inside 30 days of taking workplace to take a look at the way to enhance the response to psychological sickness and substance abuse problems. This may work at the side of a brand new ByWard Market neighbourhood workforce that might work to deal with crime. 

“We will not proceed to disregard the protection points which might be acutely felt on this neighbourhood,” the discharge reads. 

Catherine McKenney’s marketing campaign stated the pandemic has created points for downtown Ottawa that want addressing.

The candidate is a member of a activity pressure — which incorporates an MP and native enterprise and neighborhood leaders — engaged on “progressive and bold concepts” for downtown, a marketing campaign spokesperson stated.

If elected, they suggest transferring towards a “mixed-use mannequin” that features housing, business and retail, arts and tradition and neighborhood providers by working with the federal authorities and different native stakeholders.

Full communities

Brandon Bay, one other candidate for mayor, additionally desires to faucet into the unused workplace area downtown and helps extra municipally-owned housing.

“I do not know that it must be a authorities service perpetually, nevertheless it does appear to work higher that approach and that inexpensive housing is simply usually not worthwhile,” he stated.

We have to prioritize getting individuals again into the downtown.– Brandon Bay, candidate for mayor

Bay stated one focus of his marketing campaign is creating full communities all through town — locations the place the whole lot somebody would possibly want is inside a 15-minute stroll.

To do this within the downtown core, he stated the inhabitants wants to extend to the place it could possibly help companies and providers with out the assistance of commuters and vacationers.

He stated an enormous a part of that’s getting inexpensive housing into the world, as town declared a homelessness emergency and noticed it worsen in the course of the pandemic.

“We have to prioritize getting individuals again into the downtown and we have to prioritize constructing a downtown in a approach that, you realize, helps these individuals very nicely.”