The City of Ottawa wants to breathe new life into its ByWard Market neighbourhood.

On December 1, the city’s finance and economic development committee approved a revitalization strategy for the ByWard Market. The plan calls for a number of improvements to the historic neighbourhood, including larger pedestrian promenades on the north sides of York, George and Clarence streets, developing a pedestrian spine along William Street that would link Clarence Street and the Rideau Station light rail stop, developing a new destination building and civic square at Clarence Street, and introducing green space throughout the area.

The plan also calls for a national design competition to be held for the space at the intersection of Rideau Street, Colonel By Drive and Sussex Drive—one of the main entrances into the neighbourhood. The strategy calls for the intersection to become a better-designed space with greater mobility for pedestrians and cyclists.

Before that competition, which will be launched in conjunction with the National Capital Commission, can begin, the city also intends to launch a detailed traffic study to understand mobility patterns, and the extent to which the newly arrived light rail station has implemented behaviours.

That study is expected to cost $400,000, and will be initiated in 2021. Recommendations will be presented to Transportation Committee for approval.

The total cost for all the initiatives described in the plan was estimated at just over $129 million, and the city expects to realize that funding through contributions from senior levels of government, public-private partnerships, and borrowing against assets where it makes sense to do so.

“As a neighbourhood, ByWard Market is currently struggling with a set of inter-related pressures and challenges but remains a remarkable place for Ottawa,” the staff report says. “ByWard Market will benefit from having a Public Realm Plan to provide a common vision for its public spaces, a roadmap to guide its physical transformation over time and a framework to help coordinate reinvestment among multiple partners to ensure it remains a place befitting to define Ottawa’s image. To invest in ByWard Market is to invest in Ottawa.”

The ByWard Market public realm plan was developed by the City of Ottawa in partnership with local businesses, the ByWard Market Business Improvement Area, public consultations, online surveys as well as comments from local residents over the past two years.

The market will celebrate is bicentennial in 2026—a date that some stakeholders have suggested ought to be the target completion date for initiatives proposed in the public realm plan.

Mayor Jim Watson agreed in principle that the anniversary was a good target to work toward, and called for the public space to become more than just restaurants, bars and shops.

The public realm plan will be put before Ottawa City Council on December 9.