By Mark Suttcliffe, Ottawa Citizen, April 1, 2015
Everyone seems to think the essential debate about the future of Sparks Street
is whether or not to reintroduce cars to the pedestrian mall. But the persistent
problems and the potential solutions have more to do with the buildings on
either side of the street than the traffic on it. Adding cars, either during
off-peak hours or throughout the day, wouldn’t change some of the fundamental
challenges faced by the street, but it probably wouldn’t hurt. The only reason
people resist the idea is because they’re convinced a pedestrian mall can work
in Ottawa, even though Sparks has been struggling for a long time. Some people
claim more research is required, but we’ve run a live test for a few decades now
and the results have been pretty consistent. via
Sutcliffe: Ask the right questions about Sparks Street | Ottawa Citizen.