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Pop-up campgrounds on 10 city properties in 2017 would include a ban on campfires and alcohol.
And forget about music after 11 p.m.
In some cases, campers would haul their shower caddies to the neighbouring arena to clean off in dressing rooms normally reserved for minor hockey players and beer leaguers.
These will be the joys of urban camping if city council approves Ottawa 2017’s pitch to use arenas, recreation centres and even a museum for overflow accommodations during Canada’s 150th birthday weekend. If approved by council, campers can pay the city and live at the properties between June 29 and July 4.
Alta Vista Coun. Jean Cloutier, one of the honorary Ottawa 2017 co-chairs, said he was immediately concerned about noise when he was approached about the camping idea. He’s sponsoring the proposal at council, which will need to sign off on temporary land-use regulations to allow camping and extended parking at the city properties.
“These places were selected with the idea that they are a good distance from residential neighbourhoods,” Cloutier said in an interview. “We’ll make sure information about noise levels is distributed.”
The rules might be stricter than most provincial and private campgrounds. It might be Ottawa’s biggest party in years, but campers can’t pop a cork at their sites. Cloutier said alcohol won’t be allowed at individual sites — that includes inside tents and recreational vehicles. He expects there will be round-the-clock security at the campgrounds.
People who prefer “glamping” should know RVs won’t have anywhere to hook into city utilities.
Campers will need to rely on Transpo to get downtown, the epicentre of the party. All campgrounds, except the Cumberland Village Heritage Museum, are served by bus routes.
The city isn’t looking to make money off the urban camping sites. The fees would cover logistics and services needed to run the campgrounds. Planning will likely require consultation with several city departments, including public works, parks and recreation, protective services, public health and OC Transpo.
Early bird rates before Feb. 28 are $75 per night for a tent site and up to $175 for RVs, after which prices increase to $100 per night for tent sites and up to $210 for RVs. Early bird reservations would open Jan. 16.
Cloutier said the campgrounds will help tourists find a place to stay when available hotel rooms become scarce.
It’s not clear how many of the city’s hotels are already filled for Canada Day 2017, since the local organization that lobbies for the industry doesn’t keep track of future reservations.
Steve Ball, president of the Ottawa Gatineau Hotel Association, said he only knows anecdotally that hotels are being booked up for the Canada Day 2017 celebrations, but he noted that’s to be expected for any Canada Day in the capital.
Some hotels outside of the core have availability. Others have waiting lists and some have terms of accommodation, such as three-night minimums, Ball said.
Ball, who’s the co-chair of the Ottawa 2017 board of directors, believes members of the hotel association won’t mind the city creating 10 campgrounds, effectively competing for accommodations.
“I applaud the city’s efforts to be creative,” Ball said.
The city has experience running a camping operation. In 1967 the former municipalities of Ottawa and Nepean leased land on Corkstown Road from the National Capital Commission to run a campground. The amalgamated city inherited the operations and in 2012 council decided to stop running an equestrian park and campground on the land. The Wesley Clover Foundation took over operations.
The closest campground to downtown in 2017 would be at Tom Brown Arena, about three kilometres from Parliament Hill. Central Ottawa isn’t completely new to urban camping since there used to be an NCC campground on LeBreton Flats.
Council will be asked to support the camping plan Nov. 9 before the rezoning applications go through the regular approval process.
Mayor Jim Watson, the other co-chair of the Ottawa 2017 board of directors, called the urban camping “a novel idea.”
“We are going to have a challenge with the accommodation sector because there are going to be so many big events that the hotels will fill up,” Watson said. “We need to offer some alternatives. We really only have one hostel in the city, so if we can offer camping opportunities for people throughout the city and they can bring their RV or camping equipment and it’s a safe and secure spot, then I think that’s a great idea.”
jwilling@postmedia.com
twitter.com/JonathanWilling
查看原文...
And forget about music after 11 p.m.
In some cases, campers would haul their shower caddies to the neighbouring arena to clean off in dressing rooms normally reserved for minor hockey players and beer leaguers.
These will be the joys of urban camping if city council approves Ottawa 2017’s pitch to use arenas, recreation centres and even a museum for overflow accommodations during Canada’s 150th birthday weekend. If approved by council, campers can pay the city and live at the properties between June 29 and July 4.
Alta Vista Coun. Jean Cloutier, one of the honorary Ottawa 2017 co-chairs, said he was immediately concerned about noise when he was approached about the camping idea. He’s sponsoring the proposal at council, which will need to sign off on temporary land-use regulations to allow camping and extended parking at the city properties.
“These places were selected with the idea that they are a good distance from residential neighbourhoods,” Cloutier said in an interview. “We’ll make sure information about noise levels is distributed.”
People who prefer “glamping” should know RVs won’t have anywhere to hook into city utilities.
Campers will need to rely on Transpo to get downtown, the epicentre of the party. All campgrounds, except the Cumberland Village Heritage Museum, are served by bus routes.
The city isn’t looking to make money off the urban camping sites. The fees would cover logistics and services needed to run the campgrounds. Planning will likely require consultation with several city departments, including public works, parks and recreation, protective services, public health and OC Transpo.
Early bird rates before Feb. 28 are $75 per night for a tent site and up to $175 for RVs, after which prices increase to $100 per night for tent sites and up to $210 for RVs. Early bird reservations would open Jan. 16.
Cloutier said the campgrounds will help tourists find a place to stay when available hotel rooms become scarce.
It’s not clear how many of the city’s hotels are already filled for Canada Day 2017, since the local organization that lobbies for the industry doesn’t keep track of future reservations.
Steve Ball, president of the Ottawa Gatineau Hotel Association, said he only knows anecdotally that hotels are being booked up for the Canada Day 2017 celebrations, but he noted that’s to be expected for any Canada Day in the capital.
Some hotels outside of the core have availability. Others have waiting lists and some have terms of accommodation, such as three-night minimums, Ball said.
Ball, who’s the co-chair of the Ottawa 2017 board of directors, believes members of the hotel association won’t mind the city creating 10 campgrounds, effectively competing for accommodations.
“I applaud the city’s efforts to be creative,” Ball said.
The city has experience running a camping operation. In 1967 the former municipalities of Ottawa and Nepean leased land on Corkstown Road from the National Capital Commission to run a campground. The amalgamated city inherited the operations and in 2012 council decided to stop running an equestrian park and campground on the land. The Wesley Clover Foundation took over operations.
The closest campground to downtown in 2017 would be at Tom Brown Arena, about three kilometres from Parliament Hill. Central Ottawa isn’t completely new to urban camping since there used to be an NCC campground on LeBreton Flats.
Council will be asked to support the camping plan Nov. 9 before the rezoning applications go through the regular approval process.
Mayor Jim Watson, the other co-chair of the Ottawa 2017 board of directors, called the urban camping “a novel idea.”
“We are going to have a challenge with the accommodation sector because there are going to be so many big events that the hotels will fill up,” Watson said. “We need to offer some alternatives. We really only have one hostel in the city, so if we can offer camping opportunities for people throughout the city and they can bring their RV or camping equipment and it’s a safe and secure spot, then I think that’s a great idea.”
jwilling@postmedia.com
twitter.com/JonathanWilling
查看原文...
