Urban planning

Tim doesn't just plan parking, he was also a freelance cartoonist.

So… will anyone actually buy a unit without a parking space?

April 25, 2017 Hansonthebike 0

Reading Time: 2 minutesOver the last year or so Karen and I talked on and off about how we want to live when we are reaching our 70’s. Do we still want to live in the inner suburbs in a house with a garden and be car dependent at times? Do we want to move into a condo closer to LRT and use shared bike and car systems? When you are not adding much to your income anymore at that age, a car is probably the worst to own with its cost of at least $7000 annually. Does everyone need parking? We’d probably [Read more…]

The New Halifax Central Library

June 21, 2016 Hansonthebike 1

Reading Time: 5 minutesOttawa is working towards a new main library. The Halifax library is a nice example of what Ottawa should strive for. Taking advantage of location and sight lines.

Riocan artist impression

Ottawa Input for Minimum Parking Standards

December 17, 2015 Hansonthebike 0

Reading Time: 2 minutesIn a previous post, I wrote about the eventual redevelopment of the South Keys mall. This week, there was a first meeting on the redevelopment of another mall, Westgate, which is much older than South Keys. I once had to pick up medication at Westgate around midnight. It is quite a desolate place. A woman jumped out of a car, kicking the car and swearing to the others in the car, then jumped into the car and they all drove away again. While all is still very conceptual, as councillor Jeff Leiper writes on his blog, this is the time to [Read more…]

South Keys, Ottawa: the End of the Parking Lot?

May 7, 2015 Hansonthebike 3

Reading Time: 5 minutes  In my previous blog, I wrote about ‘Retrofitting Suburbia’, a 2009 book by Ellen Dunham – Jones and June Williamson. They describe how older suburban malls from around 50 years ago, when the car was still seen as the solution to many perceived problems, rather than the cause of many problems, can be successfully retrofitted into new town centres, including housing, entertainment, work spaces etc. 3000 parking spots A number of US mall owners have been rethinking the traditional model of the mall as we know it. They are interested in intensification; this naturally leaves less surface space for [Read more…]