Highbury Woods Pedestrian Paths

Did you know that there should be a network of trails through Highbury Woods, the small woodlot between Via Verona, Highbury Park, and Longfields?

The Promise

Back in 2008, the City of Ottawa was planning further development of the Longfields subdivision. Room had been allocated for the yet-to-be built Highbury Park Drive, but otherwise the plans for the city owned land between North Harrow Park in the south, Longfields Drive to the east, and the Transitway to the west and north was still being worked out.

In a report to the Planning and Environment Committee in June of 2008, a plan for the subdivision was put forward:

Stage 3, located north of future Highbury Drive and Stage 4, will be a pocket of more conventional singles, semis and street townhouses with the main objective being to provide buildings that are designed to a high standard of environmental sustainability. The buildings are to be oriented around a series of roads accessing the area’s primary feature being the Highbury woodlot which in turn is intended to be preserved and made accessible via an internal pedestrian pathway system yet to be designed. This neighbourhood abuts the transitway recreational corridor proposed to the west; to this end, three pedestrian links are provided to enable the residents of this neighbourhood to access this recreational corridor running north south at this location.

That plan was approved by the Planning and Environment Committee in June, and by Ottawa City Council in July, 2008.

The roads and houses were built. The recreational corridor along the transitway has been a huge success.

However, one major part of the plan has not been implemented: Highbury Woods, the woodlot which was preserved from development, has not been “made accessible via an internal pedestrian pathway system”. In its current form, it is certainly not the area’s “primary feature”. But it could be, and it should be.

Other Parks

To the east, residents of Barrhaven enjoy walking on the paths and little bridges in Kennedy-Craig Forest. They take their dogs on walks through Watters Woods. Their kids play on a climbing structure under the canopy in Gospel Oak Park.

To the south, we enjoy the shade of the trees on walks along the multiuse pathway leading to the skatepark. Mancini Park has a lovely wooded trail. Even the short walk between Hornchurch Lane and Berrigan is improved by the trees along Andy Moffitt Trail.

To the west, Burnett Park and Havencrest Woods Park combine play structures for the kids with leafy walking trails.

Other residents of Barrhaven are able to enjoy the trails running through these small wooded areas. The City preserved the woodlot in our neighbourhood for exactly the same purpose.

The Plan

The Highbury Woodlot should be made accessible to residents of our community with a network of internal pedestrian pathways, as was proposed many years ago.

These pathways should be concentrated along the north end and centre of the woodlot, in order to preserve the privacy of our neighbours living along Highbury Park Drive, who’s properties back onto the woodlot.

Ideally, a small playground could also be added at the north-west or north-east end of the woodlot, along Via Amalfi Ave.

The upcoming development at 641 Longfields Dr, the vacant lot at the corner of Longfields Dr and Via Verona Ave, might be our last chance to advocate for this improvement to Highbury Woods.

Spread The Word

Ask your neighbours if they know that Highbury Woods was supposed to have pedestrian paths.

Take a few minutes to email Councillor Lo and let him know this is something you’d like to see. He can be reached at Wilson.Lo@ottawa.ca.

Raise this issue when the city asks for comments on the planned development at 641 Longfields Dr.

Let’s get what we were promised so many years ago, and make our neighbourhood even better!