News

Meanwhile Airport Parkway Widening Underway with $18,000,000 Roundabout for next 2 years at Airport Parkwa and Walkley.

Widening (Phase 1) – Brookfield Road to Hunt Club Road

Construction Notice – October 2026 click to link

The key point is that the new southbound Airport Parkway off-ramp is expected to shift traffic from local residential streets to Walkley Road, which is better suited to carry it.

More specifically:

1. Approximately 120 vehicles per peak hour that currently cut through Riverside Park via the Flannery/Springland route are expected to use the new off-ramp instead. This represents about a 35% reduction in traffic on that route and may be the source of the previously referenced “40% reduction.”
2. Those vehicles, along with some additional diverted traffic, would increase traffic on Walkley Road by approximately 300 eastbound and 150 westbound vehicles per peak hour under the worst-case scenario (factoring in future growth and an unwidened 2-lane Airport Parkway).

3. The figures below help depict this. These were presented to the community as part of the December 2022 townhall meeting and January 2024 public information session.

And then at December 9 Community Meeting to reveal of the Walkley Road design.

Hypothetical: If no impact

• of more roads on cut through

• or Public Transit

• or Active Transportation

• or CM zoning 

• or BCH at Confederation Heights

• or IZero Waste Circular Economy

we go to Airport Parkway PHASE 2

The Brookfield Community Hub (BCH) can become more than a collection of individual programs. Together with the Riverside Park Community Association (RPCA), our schools, students, service organizations, governments and residents, it can help connect food security, job-ready skills, health and aging, neighbour-to-neighbour support, zero waste, nature and responsible community growth.

Sometimes a large community idea begins with something very small.

For us, it began with a let-us hypothetical on lettuce and now it is aligning and qualifying for several national priorities be they affordable communities, utility infrastructures or social programs. 

When Erin began harvesting our first hydroponic crop, pulling one beautiful head of lettuce after another from the growing system, the quantity was almost overwhelming.

We knew what the system was designed to produce. Seeing the harvest in front of us was entirely different.

And then, within about an hour, it was gone—picked up and heading into the community.

In just 28 days, young lettuce plants had become fresh, crisp and succulent food ready to be enjoyed.

Our first hydroponic growing cycle demonstrated something tangible: fresh food can be produced locally, year-round, close to the people who will eat it.

With capacity for approximately 600 heads per growing cycle, the farm also gives us an opportunity to explore something larger—a year-round model connecting food production, education, community distribution and potentially entrepreneurship.

Improvements to the farm automation, including separating pumping and lighting functions, have improved operational safety and created a better environment for learning.

But perhaps what we can grow alongside the lettuce is even more important.

Students can gain practical experience in environmental science, technology, engineering, automation, food production, nutrition, business and the arts. Student Council activities and other programs could provide opportunities to turn the farm into an applied Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM) classroom.

Young people can participate in the entire cycle:

Seed → growing → technology → harvesting → food preparation → distribution → waste recovery → back to growing.

That is how a hydroponic farm becomes more than equipment.

It becomes a living classroom and a pathway to job-ready skills.

Living Classroom for Zero Waste

We now have engaged an opportunity to bring many of these ideas together through education and direct community engagement.

RPCA is participating in a project involving CAFES and Carleton University’s SOCI/ANTH 2180: Foundations in Community Engagement, coordinated through Erica Shardlow of CAFES and Carleton instructor Dr. Cihan Erdal.

The initiative brings 40–60 university students together with Ottawa community associations to work on neighbourhood waste-reduction projects.

The students won’t simply study Riverside Park from a classroom.

They will meet residents and community representatives, participate in a neighbourhood walking tour and help develop practical community-engagement projects. Those projects could include infographics, videos, social-media materials, webpages, community conversations and small events.

That makes Riverside Park itself part of the classroom.

• And the hydroponic farm gives us a tangible place to begin.
• What happens to a head of lettuce from seed to table?
• How much waste does that journey produce?
• Can packaging be eliminated?
• Can unused food be recovered?
• Can students help design a better system?
• And can what we learn at the farm eventually help us think differently about waste throughout Riverside Park?

Previous participating community associations valued both the communication materials students produced and the fresh perspectives young people brought to community issues.

That makes this more than a university assignment.

It becomes another form of intergenerational community building.

A major OSEAN multi-community event in the new Local, Zero Waste Circular economy is coming to Riverside Park’s Ernie Calcutt Park.

Total fun for the whole family

Volunteer with us! Check it out make it a great fall day experience.

759 Mooney’s Bay Pl, Ottawa, ON K1V 8N2

Meetup place; walk, bike, drive to 770 Brookfield Rd, Ottawa, ON K1V 2V4

A Riverside Park first in building a local, circular community.

For your information and contact emails PDF file Link

Meeting Notes

Draft Agenda

• Land Acknowledgement
• Draft Minutes and Agenda Move to Approve
• Finance, Report Link, Motions and Nominations
• Community Update – Trustee Candidates (Graphic), Outdoor Rinks, OSEAN
• MP (FCA Case 5) and Councillors Update
• Open forum
• Adjournment

Reference: President’s Report

Changes are coming to our neighbourhood as we transition from a quiet bedroom community into a dynamic, thriving hub. Join your neighbours online for the Riverside Park Community Association’s Annual Membership Meeting on October 7th at 7:00 PM via Zoom to make your voice count and drive positive community action!

Shape the Future of Riverside Park: Join Our Board!

As a Riverside Park resident—whether you own or rent—you might wonder what the future holds for our neighbourhood. Is this still the best place to live, work, and raise a family? More importantly, what brought you to Riverside Park, and what keeps you here?

Our community is standing at a major crossroads. We are transforming from a quiet “bedroom community” into a dynamic urban hub. Significant changes are happening at every level of government, directly impacting our daily lives:

• Municipal & Provincial Shifts: New commercial land permissions are bringing business and economic growth closer to home, alongside sweeping provincial updates to health and education programs.
• Federal Strategies: As part of Ottawa Centre—the single most densely populated federal district in the National Capital Region—our area is a focal point for major federal strategies, including Build Canada Homes (BCH), localized Food Hubs, and Technology initiatives.

Even as Canada’s overall population growth decelerates, our immediate neighbourhood is densifying and evolving. Navigating this change successfully depends entirely on how effectively we leverage our collective community power and voice.

We Need Your Voice: 3 Board Positions Open

To ensure every corner of our community is heard, each of our five distinct neighbourhoods (of roughly 2,000 residents each) holds 2 seats on the RPCA Board. We currently have 3 open seats waiting for passionate residents like you.

• The Commitment: Just 1 hour a month for general board duties.
• The Impact: This micro-commitment serves as the launching pad from which you can chair major, impactful community initiatives that matter to you.
• Low Administrative Burden: Don’t worry about paperwork. Most of our administrative tasks are fully automated using a modern suite of media technologies, leaving you free to focus on leadership and vision.

Don’t just watch the future happen around you—help drive it.

email us at info@riversidepark.ca