By Allen Teramura, Ottawa Citizen, January 17, 2017
We have heard a lot about the success of the new Halifax Library, and its unique architecture certainly contributes to this. But another factor in its success is something more basic: its location on Spring Garden Road. It is surrounded by shopping, businesses, a university and a residential neighbourhood. Realtors have a cliché for this.
The proposed location for the new Ottawa Public Library main branch has none of these properties. At the end of Wellington, west of Bronson, it is separated from downtown proper by an escarpment and busy arterial roads and is many blocks from where people naturally congregate today.
http://ottawacitizen.com/opinion/columnists/teramura-why-not-skate-or-paddle-to-a-new-central-library