I have begun to take an inventory of the area in and around the catchment of the Convent Glen Orleans Wood Community Association. I want to explore the inequal distribution of services and stores and shops that are a large part of making nice places to live. Since I live in Convent Glen North, that’s where I’ll be focusing (see map below).
My ‘methodology’ for this test is described in more detail here: The Village Test: Auditing the Place Deficiency in Convent Glen North, and this page also has links to my full analysis so far.
As we go through each category, I’ll be awarding points on a scale from 0 to 5 based on the number and quality of the amenities in that category nearby (within a 10-15 minute walk). A true village will have multiple places in nearly all categories within that distance, so let’s see how we do in Convent Glen North.
Note: This will be repetitive if I do an article for each type of amenity, so we’re grouping.
Today, we’re covering Gas and Corner/Convenience Stores, Restaurants and Grocery Stores, Pharmacies and Medical/Dental offices, plus Hardware Stores.
In this grouping of seemingly unrelated services and amenities, you’ll find some groupings. Basically all of these categories have regular needs and are less likely to be ‘luxuries’. Having multiple nearby options for all of the categories listed would be very nice to have, but having at least one of each in Convent Glen North is really essential if we’re going to cut down on car trips outside the neighbourhood.
Let’s do a quick category by category visual inspection here before we get to ratings.
Here’s the Situation in Convent Glen North
Overall Score(s)
Grocery Stores: I give them a 1/5, because at least Metro is north of the 174.
Medical/Dental/Pharmacy: I’m only giving this category a 1.5/5, for more options just outside the ideal walking range.
Gas Stations/Corner Stores: 0.5/5, these basically aren’t a thing.
Restaurants: In the end, I give restaurant placements and quantity a 2/5 rating. More options with seating would be excellent.
Hardware Stores: I would like to give hardware stores a negative rating, because it’s as if they’re repelled by CG North, but I’ll settle for 0/5.
My Urbanist Take
Traffic, traffic, and more traffic. This is the call of the critic of small-scale residential-commercial development. Some people believe that if you allow businesses to set up a storefront, no matter how big, you’re just asking for long lines and traffic, plus oh so much noise.
I think part of this is that most residents of Ottawa have only really ever dealt with big box stores, with a giant parking lot and a massive footprint. A store or restaurant I would propose in a residential neighbourhood would look and run nothing like that. I picture a small, community owned and operated business, with room for a reasonable number of patrons and a smaller selection than you might find on Innes or Tenth Line. This sort of scale is a lot better way to build community, and to be able to actually see people from your community when you go out, instead of only when you’ve specifically scheduled a time to meet up.
Local shops like this are an easy way to start making our suburbs feel more like a real village where you can actually get things done on foot. We could really use more of them around here.
What Does Convent Glen North Look Like So Far?
As you can see, there are a couple of dentists, and one restaurant (with no seating) in CG North. Then on the periphery (walkable if you live close), there are more restaurants (still no seating), a pharmacy, grocery store, and a gas station. A quick way to get to St Joseph (like buses doing a regular, frequent loop, would unlock a whole bunch more things that are convenient to access without driving.
Do you have small-scale stores embedded in the fabric of your community? Can you walk there, and do you see local friends and neighbours? We’d love to hear from you in the forum (comments below) or on Facebook/Instagram/Bluesky about your experience. Also, come to our next Urbanism Club meeting, over lunch on Tuesday:
The Eastern Ottawa Urbanism Club meets regularly. Learn more:
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