Is the Byward Market a farmer’s market with a drinking problem, or a bar district with a vegetable problem? The City of Ottawa thinks that these two aspects of the Market can coexist, but they’ll need a little help.
On June 26th, Ottawa’s City Council approved a plan to revitalize the Byward Market by helping the area reconcile the competing halves of its identity: as a farmer’s market serving Ottawa residents and as a tourist-attracting bar and restaurant district. The plan addresses concerns that the Market’s successful nightlife is undermining its ability to connect Ottawa eaters with local produce.
A recent press release from the city contends that “There are examples of districts all over the world where fresh local food markets co-exist with vibrant dining and entertainment businesses in the same locations.” What’s less clear is what a city can do to bring such a district into existence.
To answer this question, the city commissioned a report from the Project for Public Spaces (PPS), a New York-based nonprofit whose mission is to “[help] citizens transform their public spaces into vital places that highlight local assets, spur rejuvenation and serve common needs”. PPS consulted with business owners, vendors, and residents to assess the state of the Byward Market and what they hope to see the area become.
What they found was that the success of bars, restaurants, and chain stores such as EQ3 drive up rent, forcing out grocers and butchers. They also found that the difficulty of finding parking in the Market drives away the people most likely to spend larger sums of money in the area. In general, they argue that decisive intervention is needed to keep farmers and other vendors from being driven out by bars and restaurants.
The report had recommendations for both the organizational and physical structure of the Market.
PPS recommended that the Market, which is currently regulated by the City of Ottawa’s Markets Management group, incorporate as a non-profit with a mandate to preserve the area as a fresh food market. With a greater degree of autonomy and a clear emphasis on supporting vendors, this organization would be able to act decisively to preserve the area as a market. The City of Montreal has had success with a similar model, 11 of the city’s busy and successful markets being run by the non-profit Corporation de Gestion des Marchés Publiques de Montréal. This reorganization is expected to cost $50,000.
PPS’s recommendations for the physical infrastructure of the Market included adding a visitor information kiosk, improving bike access, and adding more public seating. While they recognize the need for additional parking to draw visitors from outside the downtown, they also point out that the parking area on York Street was the traditional location of the fresh food market, and could once again become a lively market area if another solution for parking could be found. The report recommended that the City put $30,000 towards a streetscape-improvement plan to help attract tourists and residents to the area.
The report also decries the Market’s lack of public gathering places, but also criticizes the area for harbouring “‘vacuums’ of activity where homeless and other people can simply hang out and control the space, discouraging other uses”. The distinction between “gathering” and “simply hanging out” is a fine one, but the cultural clash it indicates is not. With its condo towers that overlook homeless shelters, it is unsurprising that the gentrifying Market area is facing an identity crisis.
The question is, will the City be able to find a solution that speaks to all the purposes this area serves?
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