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Letter to the Editor of the Ottawa Citizen

To the Editor,

Despite never consulting with the "residents closest to the park", the Mayor thinks he knows what we want and how to address our concerns (We can finally fix Lansdowne, November 8th).

The Glebe Community Association HAS consulted with residents. We're not asking for "a 37-acre park", and our concerns cannot be addressed "through improved traffic and transit management".

Our major objection is the same as that of thousands of other irate citizens across the city. City Council has been told repeatedly that the citizens of Ottawa do not want public land handed off to a developer through a sole source agreement. This is an unprecedented, highly unethical, and possibly illegal proposal, but the Mayor has conveniently chosen not to address this in his glowing endorsement of the proposed plan.

Residents of the Glebe do not object to development at Lansdowne Park. In fact, we welcome it. Everyone would like to see Lansdowne Park revitalized. We are open to many of the great ideas that have been proposed over the years. Some of us even like football! But we, and the rest of Ottawa, have never been given a chance to truly consider all the different possibilities, because a Council-supported international design competition was cancelled without debate. Instead, the City has spent far more time and money working with one developer on one idea. And the public has only been consulted on that one idea. So really, Mr. Mayor, how could you possibly know what we think? You've never asked.

Caroline Vanneste
President, Glebe Community Association