What the Proposed Development at 500 Famille-Côté Needs

I did an analysis of the development applications for 265 Centrum, and I thought it would be good to do a similar exercise for 500 Famille-Côté. Both developments are towers but cater to different populations. 265 Centrum looks like it may for people who are single or couples without kids (I don’t have a breakdown of the unit types so I am basing myself off other similar developments). 500 Famille-Côté is for seniors. 265 Centrum is designed for people without cars, while 500 Famille-Côté is for people who may not be able to drive or may not be able to drive safely in the near future. For both developments, access to amenities without a car is key to the development’s success, but, despite their proximity, the context is very different.

500 Famille-Côté is located just north of the Place D’Orléans Park and Ride. While I would not call the Park and Ride in its current configuration comfortable for a walk, very little work would be required to improve access to the station and to Place D’Orléans. There are sidewalks to facilitate the walk from Famille-Côté. However, the crossings to access the station should be improved to enable a population that would have a higher rate of mobility issues. Two raised crossings and trees along Famille-Côté would go a long way towards making it more walkable. Then they can access the mall via the pedestrian bridge, which includes an elevator. The mall provides access to a number of amenities. Unfortunately, access to anything beyond the mall is going to be problematic, since St-Joseph and Place d’Orléans Drive are made to facilitate the flow of cars and not for the safety and comfort of people outside of cars. Unfortunately, that means that most people living at 500 Famille-Côté will not be able to comfortably access many amenities that are close to where they live such as the medical facilities to the east and west of the mall, and anything that is on St-Joseph. 

Transit access to many amenities such at the medical centre on St-Joseph can be done easily from the Park and Ride by various routes such as the 31 which has 30 minute frequencies. Transit access would be greatly improved with the walkability improvements suggested above. 

Based on my experience around Résidence St-Louis, another amenity that residents will not have easy access to that seems to be valued by seniors is the Ottawa River Pathway. From Famille-Côté, the pathway can be accessed by Champlain. The intersection of Champlain and Jeanne D’Arc is not built with the safety of pedestrians in mind and features a known hazardous feature in the right turning lane to get from Jeanne D’Arc to Champlain going south. The intersection is also really wide and crossing times are not set-up for slower pedestrians. Champlain is currently not set up to accommodate the population of the new development. There are also pathways that can be used, but accessing those pathways requires crossing Jeanne D’Arc. Those pathways are also in really bad condition and may not be accessible by wheelchair users or may pose a trip hazard.

Access to a grocery store could also be difficult for seniors without a car. The direct route to the closest grocery store, the Convent Glen Metro, again involves crossing Jeanne D’Arc. Then there is a significant portion of the trip that is in parking lots that are unpleasant, in bad condition and exposes pedestrians to traffic. The 138 would provide easy access to the Metro on Jeanne D’Arc, but involves crossing Jeanne D’Arc and only goes by every hour, which makes trip planning more complicated.

Many of the seniors who will reside in 500 Famille-Côté will be trapped inside the development. Most of them will likely be able to access the mall. However, a minority will be willing to brave Jeanne D’Arc, Place D’Orléans Drive, St-Joseph, and/or Champlain to fully benefit from the amenities within walking distance from the development. While the issues are not as pronounced as those for 265 Centrum, the population tends to be more affected by those issues.

Our community association has endorsed the Orléans Corridor Secondary Plan study and this development along with 265 Centrum are aligned with what is proposed in the study. These new developments around our community makes building the active transportation network very important, since those developments are built for populations that don’t drive. Our community association will keep pressuring the city to get the active transportation built along with the proposed developments. We will also work to include missing links in the active transportation network such as bike lanes on Champlain.