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Riverfront Placemaking on the Ottawa River

The Sir John A MacDonald Ottawa River Winter Trail

Proponents

David Adams of the Westboro Beach Community Association378 Selby Ave. Ottawa Ontario, K2A 0A1

Tel. 613 761 1980Email: trails@nakkertok.ca

Proposal: Sir John A MacDonald Ottawa River Winter Trail

A. Project Viability

Opportunity:

There is an opportunity to groom a multi-use winter trail along the Sir John A MacDonald river pathway. The trail will promote active living and provide access to the Ottawa River shoreline, welcoming a diversity of users, whether they are walking, on skis, snowshoes or a snow bike. The salt-free trail will respect environmental sensitivities unique to the river shoreline. Proposed Route:

The trail will connect the Canadian War Museum with parklands along the Sir John A MacDonald river pathway to Westboro Beach, animating spaces that until now have been little used in winter. Transit stations border the trail at LeBreton Flats, Bayview/O-train and Dominion Stations, with parking at Westboro Beach, Champlain Park and the Canadian War Museum, providing ready access for visitors from around the National Capital. The hub of the winter trail will be the Kitchisippi Lookout Parking lot, where grooming equipment will be stored.

Two tracks will be set: one for snowshoers, walkers and bikers, the other for skiers, supporting both classic and skate style techniques. The walking track will follow the existing pathway. Serpentine loops will add distance to the ski track at the Selby Plains and Remic Rapids greenspaces and at open lands adjacent to the War Museum and Champlain Bridge, for an expected distance of 16 kilometres (see Illustration 1), with the possibility of eventual expansion westward to Britannia Beach.

Amenities along the trail include the Westboro Beach sliding hill, the John Ceprano rock sculptures and heated spaces at the Champlain park field house and the café at the War Museum (which is to be equipped with ski racks).

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Proposal: Sir John A MacDonald Ottawa River Winter Trail

B. Operations

Host Organizations:

The Phase 1 (2016) host organization will be the Westboro Beach Community Association (WBCA). This not-for-profit community organization has a long, healthy history of partnerships with the NCC, including common projects such as beach initiatives, historical plaques, green space protection and pathway promotion.

For Phase 2 and 3 (2017-2018), to better support the acquisition of grooming equipment, it is proposed to transfer responsibility for hosting to another not-for-profit organization. The proposed partner, XC Ski Fast, promotes the thrill, excitement and speed of cross-country skiing by providing instruction with all required equipment to grade 6, 7 and 8 students within the National Capital Region. In principle, the XC Ski Fast organization is prepared to acquire equipment for the purposes of grooming the proposed trail, which will support its programming. Formal confirmation of its willingness to partner in the current proposal is now being sought.

Project Coordinator:

David Adams is a Trails and Facilities Manager at Nakkertok Ski Club. It is Canada’s largest ski club, with 1300 members, and is located in Cantley Quebec. David is also a former elite cross country ski racer and having raced all over Canada and Europe, has seen many ski operations. For three years, David has been responsible for grooming Nakkertok’s 100 kilometres of trail, and contributing to the maintenance of over a million dollars of grooming equipment, and this experience has given him the necessary expertise to successfully deploy and maintain the proposed winter trail.

Infrastructure Requirements:

This proposal requires minimal infrastructure to be feasible, and will minimally impact the sensitive shoreline environment. No snow clearing or salting are needed. There will be a ski rack installed outside the back doors (café) of the War Museum. In Phase 2, it is proposed that the NCC will move a steel container into the parking lot at Kitchissippi Lookout for secure storage of the grooming equipment during the winter season.

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Proposal: Sir John A MacDonald Ottawa River Winter Trail

C. Core Operations, Schedule of Deployment and Milestones:

Phase 1: Proof of Concept (2016)

Description: Because of the time of year, the state of the weather and unique nature of this project, Phase 1 will be a ‘proof of concept’. Under the direction and management of the WBCA, David will arrange to use Nakkertok’s equipment on a cost-recovery basis to groom the proposed route at peak times of the winter. Such grooming sessions will be considered “events”, and will be advertised as such to invite the public, sporting and community groups and sporting goods stores to discover the trail. The number of events will depend on availability of equipment and the funds available. At least two to three events are envisioned, with the hope that one will be during Winterlude. Additional grooming sessions will be arranged as equipment availability, funds and weather permit.

Route: Westboro Beach to War Museum

Cost: $600 per grooming session

Sources of Funding: We propose to fund Phase 1 through contributions from the NCC with event sponsorship from local retail stores. The WBCA will be responsible for receiving contributions and sponsorship funding and paying Nakkertok Ski Club to cover the cost of grooming. To stimulate sponsorship, retail stores will be encouraged to use events to promote their business, for example by planning ski and snowshoe demo days to coincide with each event, as permitted within NCC sponsorship policies. The effort for Phase 1 will be volunteer driven.

Phase 2:  Transition from an event-based to a regular grooming service (2017)

Description: It is expected the proof of concept will attract significant interest in the proposed trail, and that users will be expecting more. Heavy boot traffic, changing weather and high winds along the shoreline are all factors that can quickly destroy a winter trail. In Phase 2, the goal is to maintain the tracks on a more frequent basis, allowing the trail to be a reliable route for active commuting, as well as recreational use, throughout the winter. This more intensive Project Details - Sir John A MacDonald Ottawa River Winter Trail Page 4 of 8

Proposal: Sir John A MacDonald Ottawa River Winter Trail

management will require investing in a snowmobile for grooming; however, the program would continue to borrow Nakkertok’s grooming attachment (see Illustration 2). This loan would be free of charge. We propose that NCC provide a steel container for secure storage of the grooming equipment at the Westboro Beach hub.

Route: Westboro Beach to War Museum

Budget: $20,000 plus $2500 for Operating Expenses (fuel/oil/maintenance)

Sources of Funding: Funding for the capital investment and operating expenses would combine contributions from the NCC, Trillium grants, sponsorship by local retailers, individual citizens and crowd funding. XC Ski Fast will be responsible for receiving contributions and sponsorship funding, sourcing and maintaining the snowmobile, and negotiating loan of the groomer from Nakkertok. The effort for Phase 2 will be volunteer driven.

Phase 3: Fully Equipped and Professionally Managed Service (Season of 2018)

Description: With the snowmobile purchased the previous year, the program will continue to invest in equipment by buying its own groomer so that a higher quality of trails can be more easily maintained. It is also proposed to expand the trail network westward to Britannia Park. Having established expectations for the service, in Phase 3 the service would transition to professional management, with a blend of paid and volunteer grooming staff, so as to maintain engagement with the community, without overburdening volunteers. Upon completion of this phase, the Sir John A MacDonald winter trail will be added to the list of Ottawa’s main winter attractions, like the Rideau Canal Skateway.    Route: Britannia Park to the Canadian War Museum via Westboro Beach. The combination of east and west routes will total approximately 30 kilometres of ski trail.

Cost: $10,000 for grooming attachment, $5,000 in Operating Expenses and Manager’s hourly wage of $15-$20 per hour. A core team of volunteer groomers would be used.

Sources of Funding: Funding for the capital investment, operating expenses (fuel/oil/maintenance) and salaries/wages would combine contributions from the NCC, Trillium grants, sponsorship by local Project Details - Sir John A MacDonald Ottawa River Winter Trail Page 5 of 8

Proposal: Sir John A MacDonald Ottawa River Winter Trail

retailers, individual citizens and crowd funding. XC Ski Fast will be responsible for receiving contributions and sponsorship funding, sourcing and maintaining the grooming attachment. The effort for Phase 3 will be partially paid through hourly wages for management, and partially volunteer driven.

D. Supporters:

The following interested parties were introduced to the project and are prepared to write a letter of endorsement:

- Cross Country Canada (national governing body of Cross Country Skiing in Canada)

- Cross Country Ontario (provincial governing body of Cross Country Skiing in Ontario)

- National Capital Division - Cross Country (local governing body of Cross Country Skiing)

- Nakkertok Ski Club- Kanata Nordic Ski Club- Jeff Leiper, Councillor, Kitchissippi Ward - Yasir Naqvi, MPP, Ottawa Centre- Citizens for Safe Cycling- Stephen Quick, Director General, Canadian War Museum and VP,

Canadian Museum of History- Karl Saidla, Ph.D. Candidate, University of Ottawa, Department of

Human Kinetics (Ph.D. Thesis: Explaining Active Transportation Success in Cities with Winter. Helsinki and Ottawa: A Comparative Political Analysis.)

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Proposal: Sir John A MacDonald Ottawa River Winter Trail

E. Risks and risk mitigation strategies

Risk Likelihood Impact MitigationFailure to secure funding

Low to moderate

High Seek funding from a variety of sources, including the following: - contributions from NCC- sponsorship from local retailers (in accordance with NCC sponsorship policies)- individual donors, crowdfunding- other granting organizations (e.g., Ontario Trillium Foundation)

Failure to secure not-for-profit partner for equipment acquisition (XC ski fast)

Low to moderate

High Phase 1 provides time to pursue and establish a partnership with another winter-sport-based foundation.

Unfavourable weather

Moderate to high

Moderate to high

To the extent possible, during Phase 1, events will be timed to coincide with favourable weather events;In Phases 2 and 3, acquisition of equipment will improve the ability to respond to weather changes.

Interests of certain stakeholders do not align with the proposal

Liaison with stakeholder groups including Citizens for Safe Cycling (regarding influence on spring thaw of cycling routes) and community associations (parking issues, use of Champlain park field house) to resolve concerns.

Personal injury (bystander or volunteer)

Low High Groom at non-peak times; equip snowmobile with strobe and sound signals; training and certification of volunteer groomers and staff; insurance through City of Ottawa.

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Proposal: Sir John A MacDonald Ottawa River Winter Trail

Illustration 1: The Proposed Eastern Route. The blue line depicts the ski trail while the walkers and snow bike route will simply follow along the bike path.

Illustration 2: Snowmobile and groomer attachment: the equipment to be used for grooming.

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