There aren't very many times in anyone's academic life that they will have the opportunity to make sweeping changes to the make-up of their campus. How often have you had the opportunity to say where there should be more gardens, if a street should be lined with trees or not, or even where cars should and shouldn't be allowed to go? On March 10 and 11th, the campus community at the University of Ottawa will have that chance! Facilities Service at the University is on the verge of completing the latest iteration of the campus master plan. For those of you that aren't familiar with what that means, a master plan is a planning document that indicates what development the University would like to undertake in the near future. Urban Strategies Inc , a design firm operating in Toronto, has helped create a new development strategy for uOttawa. This plan was created in consultation with many groups and individuals from around the campus community. They are currently in ...

The University of Ottawa recently announced that construction is beginning on the Tabaret / Grand Allée project. Essentially, the whole project is an extension of the Grand Allée (or the Grand Alley in English but no one really calls it that). There are a lot of good things about the project and a few sad things about it too. A recent article in the uOttawa Gazette spoke about the "makeover" of the space and some of the features. But I feel that more should be done to explain some of the details about the project. In fact, the project is more of a restoration than a makeover. So here is our contribution to what is happening in front of Tabaret. As it stands right now, the Grand Allée extends from the FSS tower all the way to Laurier. This new segment would include the other side of the street betweet Tabaret and Academic Hall, essentially bringing the space in front of Tabaret to the same standards as the rest of the Grand Allée. And it kind of needed it, I mean ...