Re: How the city cheaped out on Lansdowne’s ‘Water Plaza’, July 28.
I enjoyed David Reevely’s column about the Lansdowne Park water plaza and other shortcomings.
I have tried really hard to like Lansdowne. Restaurants like Joey and Local Public Eatery have good food, but the music is too loud for normal conversation, even out on the patios. The new cinema has opened, although there is no water fountain on the premises.
The trees along the main entrance have been cut down because the underground water system didn’t work properly. Now there are just stumps.
I was amused when the city installed yellow lines and metal poles to distinguish the sidewalks from the road. Pedestrians know where to walk.
Drivers aren’t used to European-style plazas. A fountain in front of the Aberdeen Pavilion might have helped to slow down the cars going too quickly around the corner.
What concerns me most about Lansdowne is the total contempt of city officials like Alain Gonthier, the city’s acting general manager of infrastructure. When asked about temporary shade at the playground for children, Gonthier said people could go inside the Aberdeen Pavilion, which isn’t close to the playground. Could the city not provide temporary structures for children to provide shade until something more permanent is created?
I have just returned from Spain, where water fountains, flower baskets, benches and shade trees are found everywhere in parks and on busy streets.
I know Lansdowne needs time to develop. However, what does an urban village mean to Gonthier?
Good infrastructure, if I am correct, is to benefit the people in a community.
Sandy Stone, Ottawa
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