Hi there, I’m Tobi Nussbaum, the CEO of the National Capital Commission, and in
today’s episode of Capital Stories, we’re going to explore shorelines and
waterways.
For years, the NCC has been working to turn the Capital towards its incredible
waterways to give residents and visitors great recreation and fun destination
experiences.
And through projects big and small over the last number of years, we’ve been
doing exactly that, by activating our shoreline infrastructure and creating
great new public spaces, such as here, [at] the NCC River House, as well as the new
Westboro Beach Pavilion, more than a dozen bistros and terraces, brand new
Dow’s Lake dock this year, Kìwekì Point opened earlier this year, and Summer
Zone and many other activities to really bring people to the water, not to
mention the swinging chairs on the Rideau Canal.
So, what we’re really aiming to do is restore the shoreline infrastructure,
improve it, enhance it, and improve long-term public access.
So, in this episode, we’re going to unravel how these on-the-ground
transformations are reconnecting people with the water’s edge, fostering urban
life in our Capital Region, and setting a blueprint for future shoreline
animation.
And, so, to help me navigate this conversation, I’m joined by Nathalie Roy-Patenaude,
our Director of Real Estate Management.
Hey, Nathalie.
Hi, Tobi.
Thanks.
Thanks for joining us in this episode of Capital Stories.
And yeah, we’re at probably what was one of the most important big projects for
the NCC in terms of what I have been talking about in terms of activating the
shoreline.
And we opened in August of 2023.
I’m curious: How has this been different from what you imagined when we were in
the planning stage and now two years later, the differences between what you
thought it was going to be and what it is?
Yeah, it’s good.
I mean, part of it has been giving access to bringing people to the water and
water to the people, recognizing that not everybody has access to a back yard.
People live in apartments and condominiums, some with or without balconies, but
they don’t necessarily have a back yard that they can enjoy.
So, by animating the waterways and the parks, we’re creating that opportunity
for people to come and enjoy our beautiful lands in the city.
And today, that includes the River House.
But we also have NCC bistros, cafes, patios.
There’s opportunities for the public to rent recreational equipment like paddle
boards, kayaks, pedal boats and so on.
And of course, the opportunity to swim, like here at River House, at Dow’s Lake,
Lake Leamy, Lac Philippe, to name a few within the portfolio.
So, what’s really been outstanding is the interest and the use of our sites by
the public.
Since May alone, or in the last two months, with the opening of Dow’s Lake, the
dock and the Westboro site, we’ve already welcomed over 100,000 visitors.
And last year, the River House received or welcomed 80,000 visitors to the site.
So, it’s an overwhelming response by… the demand by the public.
So it’s phenomenal.
Yeah, and you raise an important point, which is we didn’t start from nowhere,
we started from a place where the NCC had public beaches.
You mentioned a few in Gatineau Park, at Lac Leamy, our work with the City of
Ottawa at Westboro Beach.
But I guess it’s a combination of building on that legacy of beaches and adding
more, probably slightly more urban spots.
And the concept of being in a river and having a swim dock in the river was
unique, I believe, in Canada.
And so that was a first.
And did it sort of pan out the way you thought it would?
Or again, two years later, are you surprised by its success?
Or did you think, no, this is going to be a home run?
Oh, definitely,
this is a home run.
This is… a lot of people are coming from all corners of the city and they feel
like they’re in a cottage.
They feel like they’re in a rural setting.
They feel like they’re on vacation or in a resort.
So, we’re really creating opportunities for adventure and access to places that
most people wouldn’t otherwise be able to access.
Yeah.
So one of the things that surprised me when I imagined River House and then now
watching it, is that we’re really attracting people from throughout the Capital
and I think visitors to the Capital as well.
And I don’t know that I expected that.
And it’s very heartwarming to see people who are new to Canada, who have been
here for a short time, who quickly found it and are taking advantage of it.
And I think you raise an important point about—it’s a beautiful spot.
And if you don't have a cottage, you don’t have a backyard, you don’t have
access to these sites, to be able to offer that to people for free has been
something that I think for me was a bit of a surprise.
I knew it would be popular.
I knew it would be a great spot to hang out.
But I don’t know that I quite understood that from an equity perspective, it
would be so important in terms of that public access.
Were there surprises for you between planning and execution?
Absolutely.
I mean, when you see the site, we really see the diversity of the population
that the site brings and not just this site, but all of our sites.
People from different backgrounds, different cultures, ages.
We’ve seen from infants of a year old to 100 years old.
And so, it’s really an opportunity for everyone to come and enjoy the site.
And as you mentioned, it is free and it is fully accessible.
So people with limited mobility, people with strollers, or so on, can really come
and enjoy the site,
and the accessibility starts from the parking lot all the way down to the swim
area.
That’s amazing.
So in terms of numbers, do you see there being a cap on the demand,
or do you think there is a “build it and they will come” aspect to our shoreline
activation in general and swimming in particular?
Definitely a “build it they will come.”
We launched 10 new nodes last year, where we have a total of 30 different nodes
across the region in total.
And everybody, every site, brings a unique feature and a unique flair to it.
And people are curious and they want to try them out.
And I think the big part is that a lot of our sites are also connected to our
pathways and parkways.
So they’re very accessible.
And yeah, people are site hopping and they’re looking for the next thing and
and next experience.
And so, we’re creating experiences and destinations for people to look at.
Fantastic.
Yeah, I’m always interested to see sort of the feedback we’re getting, whether
it’s through surveys and or on websites like Reddit and feedback that we’re
getting in terms of our contact centre.
And there seems to be an overwhelming sense that this is what people want.
And I’ve often wondered, I have this line that I sometimes use, which is,
wouldn’t it be great for the Capital in the summer… for swimming in the Capital
in the summer… to be what skating in the Capital in the winter is?
And I do think that we have the opportunity to really create leadership across
the country and hopefully around the world to say, this is how urban areas can
really turn towards their water.
And you know, we talk about the climate crisis more in the form of challenges, which
there are many and we’re working on those,
but in some ways, what’s interesting about swimming is it’s an opportunity.
It’s saying if we’re going to have longer and hotter summers, to give people a
chance to cool down, to be outside in a safe way, to be able to jump in with
their kids or with their friends is actually kind of responding.
It’s a form of climate adaptation.
So I think that’s exciting, too.
Do you see there being other opportunities, other things that you think we as
an organization should pursue?
Well, I think that with the intensification of housing and the conversation of
housing that is on the table, I mean, we’re going to see increased density in
the core and… which means that more people will be looking for parks and
shorelines and places to go to.
So I think that that conversation is going to continue to evolve.
And we have a real opportunity to continue to cater to that demand.
And we’re working on a couple of other sites.
Lady Grey Drive is one of them, where we’re exploring the feasibility and
different animation options.
East Wharf is another, where there’s a recreational platform that we can offer.
So, we’re not out of options just yet,
I think there’s more to come.
Yeah.
And I think it’s important to acknowledge something when it comes to these
various projects.
And I’m very quick to talk about the fact that we’re learning from other
cities.
And certainly, when we were talking about some of these projects early on, we
were pulling out pictures and books and ideas that other… many capital cities
across the world, particularly in Europe, have gone down this path.
And I think what I like is we’ve taken some of the best examples and used
those.
And I think you’re right.
I think there are more opportunities to do that.
And similarly, it’s been heartwarming to see other cities in Canada now talk
about the NCC River House.
I’ve seen a few different references to cities
looking at how they can put swim docks in their natural waterways.
And they’re talking about the NCC River House as an example.
So, to me, that’s the kind of national leadership that we talk about.
And I’m certainly proud that we as a team are able to offer that to other
jurisdictions.
And a lot of people don’t realize…
I was having conversations with peers and people in the industry not too long
ago.
And everybody thinks that everything is expensive or is a big project.
Not everything is a big project.
You talked about big and small.
Some can be docks.
Some can be a full river house.
But one of the things that I say that when I talk to people in the industry is
Canada is a country of land and parks and waters.
And so, everybody in the community has a park or a river or something.
They don’t… might not have as many as we do, but everybody’s got a little
something that maybe they can look to bring to their community.
And, you know, so I think there is just… I think we're setting the baseline for
ideas and for people to be the innovator and the leader with shorelines.
Now, there aren’t any people behind us right now, and that’s because there is a
distant thunderstorm coming our way.
But normally on a warm afternoon in the summer, this place would be packed.
And, you know, we’ve talked a lot about the place.
But I think it’s important to mention, too, that we've increased the options
for people to get here.
So I know we’ve got a water taxi.
Yep.
I think we’ve partnered with the hop-on, hop-off bus.
Correct.
And I’m always amazed to see the number of bike racks when I arrive at
River House.
I don’t know if we’ve counted, but we must have dozens and dozens.
We’re over 100.
We’ve stopped counting.
Yeah.
So that’s something that’s really interesting.
I mean, all of our sites include bike racks.
We put the planning for bike racks, but, you know, even now, we’ve promoted
alternative transportation to the community.
We’ve opened some sites last year.
We didn’t even promote “come by bike or pathways,”
and you go there at any given time and the bike racks are full.
And so people are understanding our vision.
They’re understanding the alternative transportation.
But yes, water taxi is a great way.
It is a universally accessible means of transportation.
The double decker tour that does the city hop-on, hop-off tours have added
River House as one of their stops.
So, yeah, a lot of people want to partner with us and, you know, understand
that, you know, we want to provide or promote alternative transportation.
And public transit is also an option, but it’s a little bit more distant.
Yeah.
And I think that’s important as we build out these urban waterfront sites—
there isn’t always going to be parking available.
This doesn’t have great public transit access, which is why we’ve talked about
some of the other means.
But, yeah, I think that is a reality.
And as we get a growing population in the Capital and more visitors coming, I
think encouraging active transportation when we have public transit access,
great.
When we don’t, what are these alternatives, like water taxis?
So I think that’s important and probably going to be more and more of our
future, too.
Yeah.
And the water taxi also provides a scenic route here, right?
It leaves from the Bytown locks.
You’re going by the Rideau Falls.
You've got the escarpment of Rockcliffe.
So it’s a beautiful 30-minute ride to come here for about fifteen dollars, twelve dollars—fifteen dollars to come
here.
And so, you also get the scenic ride as you’re coming to,
and then you can take the hop-on, hop-off bus on the way back.
You can bike back… like there’s different ways that you can make it one way and
return another way, which is also appealing to the site.
Yeah, fantastic.
Is there anything else that you would want to mention in terms of NCC and
shoreline activation that I haven't asked you about?
Well, I’m born and raised in Ottawa, and so I’ve seen Ottawa, you know,
throughout my life.
And to see what we’ve done in such a short period of time and how we’ve
transformed the shoreline and the waterways is a big sense of pride.
And to be able, as a public, or as a citizen of Ottawa, but being part of the NCC
team that’s contributing to this, is also really amazing.
Okay, well, thank you very much, Nathalie, for joining us for this episode of
Capital Stories.
Thanks to you and your team for all the work you do.
And thank you to our listeners and viewers for joining us for this episode.
I think at this point, the rain might be coming.
So we’re going to get out of the rain and we’ll see you the next time.