A Strategy to Recognize And Protect the Public Waterfront Recreational Access Function of Selected Road Allowances on the Ottawa and Rideau Rivers

Executive Summary

BACKGROUND

Public access to the shorelines of the Ottawa and Rideau rivers is an important contributor to the quality of life for City of Ottawa residents. This has been recognized in the City’s Official Plan where it states “The City will ensure that the shoreline of the Ottawa River, Rideau River and Canal, and other shorelines remain accessible…” and recommends that “the City, will use such measures as public acquisition, conservation easements or other appropriate means to secure public access to the shorelines”. Shoreline property is a finite resource and the opportunities to acquire it for public uses are limited. This strategy presents an opportunity to recognize and protect sixty existing public access opportunities on the Ottawa and Rideau Rivers .

In 2005 the Ottawa and Rideau Rivers Waterfront Recreation Access Study inventoried three hundred and twenty-six (326) publicly accessible waterfront properties on the Ottawa and Rideau Rivers. These include federal (NCC and Parks Canada), provincial (Provincial Parks and Conservation Areas) and municipal properties (parks and road allowances) as well as boating clubs, marinas, private beaches and campgrounds. One hundred and ninety-two (192) of these properties are road allowances or rights-of-way (from 2 metres to 20 metres wide) providing either existing or potential public access to the rivers. Through the application of defined criteria it was established that there are sixty (60) of these allowances that offer significant (existing or potential) public access opportunities. Forty of the allowances are on the Ottawa River with the vast majority located in West Carleton and Rural Kanata. The remaining twenty properties are on the Rideau River with the majority situated in Rideau Ward (see the attached map for the general location of the selected allowances).

The road allowances generally provide informal access for recreational activities such as fishing, canoeing and swimming and offer a minimum of amenities. At the present time the allowances are classified as roads and their public access function is not formally recognized. Over time, it has been shown that many of these properties acquire functions that are incompatible with public use including: use as private laneways or parking areas for adjacent residences, the storage of materials or, other forms of encroachment. Historically many of the allowances have been closed and sold to adjacent property owners resulting in the permanent loss of public access to the shoreline.

DISCUSSION

As a means of both recognizing and protecting the recreational function of a selected number of allowances City of Ottawa Parks and Recreation is proposing to convert the existing road allowance designation of these properties to an “Open Space” zoning. This is a two-step process with specific legal requirements including public notification and City of Ottawa Council approval. Parks and Recreation is also recommending that a Waterfront Access Point sub-zoning be established to define permitted uses, setbacks and other measures to support the public access function. Once this process is concluded it is proposed that the properties would be designated and managed as public waterfront access points with a level of service to be determined in partnership with the community where they are located. For most of the sites the intention will be to provide basic public access with limited or no amenities.

Parks and Recreation recognizes that full implementation of the proposed strategy is a long term objective thus, is proposing a phased approach to its application. The first priority would be the conversion and zoning of twenty-three road allowances for which there is an established public access function and where public consultation showed that there is general support for the re-zoning within the community.

A longer term objective would be the conversion and zoning of the remaining thirty-seven (37) allowances of which the majority have an established public access function but where either public consultation showed that consensus on how best to recognize this function still needs to be achieved in the community or the resolution of planning issues such as encroachments is required.

If you have any questions or wish to provide written comments please contact:

Kevin Jones

Planner, Parks and Recreation Branch

100 Constellation Crescent, 8^th Floor West, Ottawa, ON K2G 6J8

tel.: (613) 580-2424, ext. 24339

fax: (613) 580-9612

e-mail: Kevin.Jones@ottawa.ca