Lowertown
View over Lowertown from the west
Location of Lowertown in Ottawa
Coordinates: 45°26′00″N 75°41′30″W / 45.433333, -75.69167
Country	Canada
Province	Ontario
City	Ottawa
Government
- MPs	Mauril Bélanger
- MPPs	Madeleine Meilleur
- Councillors	Georges Bédard
Elevation	60 m (200 ft)
Population (2006)
- Total	11,377
	Canada 2006 Census
Time zone	Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)

Lowertown (French: Basse-Ville) is a district in the central area of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada to the east of downtown. French ( français,) is a Romance language spoken around the world by 118 million people as a native language and by about 180 to 260 million people Ottawa (ˈɒtəwə or sometimes /ˈɒtəwɑː/ is the Capital of Canada and the country's fourth largest municipality. Ontario (ɒnˈtɛrioʊ is a province located in the central part of Canada, the largest by population and second largest after Quebec Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page It is bounded roughly by Rideau Street to the south, Sussex Drive and Ottawa River to the north, the Rideau Canal to the west, and the Rideau River to the east. Sussex Drive is a major street in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It runs roughly parallel to the Ottawa River. This is about the river in Canada For other uses see Ottawa River (disambiguation. The Rideau Canal, also known as the Rideau Waterway, connects the city of Ottawa Ontario, Canada on the Ottawa River to the city of Kingston The Rideau River is a Canadian River which flows north from Upper Rideau Lake and empties into the Ottawa River at Rideau Falls It includes the commercial Byward Market area in the south-western part, and is predominantly residential in the north and east. ByWard Market (sometimes called By Ward Market, Byward Market or simply The Market, Marché By in French) is a district in downtown

It was historically French Canadian and Irish (as opposed to English and Scottish Upper Town, a term no longer in use) and its total population today is roughly 11,377 people (2006 census). The Irish people ( Irish: Muintir na hÉireann, na hÉireannaigh, na Gaeil) are a Western European Ethnic group who originate The English people (from the adjective in Englisc) are a Nation and Ethnic group native to England who predominantly speak English The Scots people ( Scots Gaelic: Albannaich) are a Nation and an Ethnic group indigenous to Scotland. [1]

Ethnic Diversity

According to the City of Ottawa website, there are roughly 4180 native English-speakers in Lowertown, 3530 Francophones, and 2235 with other mother tongues. The City of Ottawa ( French: Ville d'Ottawa) is the corporate entity of municipal government in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. French ( français,) is a Romance language spoken around the world by 118 million people as a native language and by about 180 to 260 million people A first language (also mother tongue, native language, arterial language, or L1) is the language a human being learns from birth Lower Town is home to a wide variety of immigrants and visible minorities, of which there are 2495 of the latter.

Lowertown's diverse population makes it one of the city's more interesting neighbourhoods. Its main stretch along Rideau Street is very bustling and includes many African, Asian, South Asian, Caribbean, and Lebanese businesses, a large grocery store, the Rideau Branch of the Ottawa Public Library, and an Orthodox Jewish synagogue. The Caribbean (ˌkærəˡbiən kæ'rəbiən Cariben|Caraïben or Caraïben; Caraïbe or more commonly Antilles; Caribe is a Region consisting Lebanon (ˈlɛbənɒn Arabic: ar لبنان Lubnān) officially the Republic of Lebanon or Lebanese Republic (ar الجمهورية اللبنانية The Ottawa Public Library (OPL is the Library system of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Orthodox Judaism is the formulation of Judaism that adheres to a relatively strict interpretation and application of the laws and ethics first canonized A synagogue (from Greek: grc συναγωγή transliterated synagogē, "assembly" he בית כנסת beit knesset, "house of

Post-War Urban Upheaval

As part of the Greber Plan for Ottawa, new parkways, roads and bridges were constructed in the post-war period as a plan for renewal and improvement of Ottawa. The Greber Plan, or General Report on the Plan for the National Capital (1946–1950, was an urban plan developed in 1950 by Jacques Gréber for the Federal District This period saw major upheaval in the area as dozens of city blocks and hundreds of homes were systematically demolished to make way for expanded roads and new development. However, while the redevelopment was done in Lower Town, neighbouring areas opposed the plans, leaving the current incomplete solution to traffic through the area, heavy truck traffic, and poor urban streetscape for Lowertown residents to cope with.

King Edward Avenue

Today, King Edward Avenue is a six lane main road running north-south through the centre of the neighbourhood. It is connected on its north to the MacDonald Cartier Bridge, a main connection with Gatineau, Quebec, which leads to heavy traffic travelling to and from Gatineau through the area. The traffic exits Lower Town either to the east along St. Patrick or to the south along Rideau and Nicholas to the 417 highway, as south of Rideau, King Edward is a four-lane (and further south, two-lane) road through the Sandy Hill residential neighbourhood with no heavy truck traffic allowed.

Since the street is so large and so busy, it exists as a major barrier between the east and west halves of Lowertown. Since it is the main truck route between Ottawa and Gatineau, this means that there are large numbers of tractor trailers travelling through the core of Ottawa daily, along with tens of thousands of commuters in cars. It is one of the highest accident sites in Ottawa.

The road from the bridge was intended to connect to a new Vanier Parkway to the north of the neighbourhood, across Green Island and Maple Island. This connector was never built because of political opposition, and instead St. Patrick Street east of King Edward was built into a major four-lane thoroughfare cutting through the neighbourhood. The end of the connector from the bridge instead connects to King Edward at a sharp turn where the connector would have continued directly to the east.

King Edward was itself rebuilt into a six-lane major thoroughfare from Sussex Drive to Rideau Street, and the plan was to continue the six-lane through Sandy Hill to connect to the Queensway (417) highway. This also was never built.

Rideau Street

Rideau Street has had its share of poor development and misguided solutions also. Prior to the shopping malls and suburbanization of today, Rideau Street west of King Edward was a primary shopping area of Ottawa. While to the north, the Byward Market area has continued to thrive, Rideau Street is struggling, with vacant areas, and has become the centre of the homeless population of Ottawa. To the south, the Rideau Centre development provided a shopping mall atmosphere, and retailers moved inside. Rideau Centre ( Centre Rideau in French) is a three-level Shopping centre on Rideau Street in downtown Ottawa, Ontario As part of the development, Rideau Street was turned into a major bus interchange, with enclosed bus shelters on the sidewalks at first. However, these were removed.

See also

• List of Ottawa neighbourhoods
• Rideau Street

External links

• Bytown.net article 'Evolution of an Ottawa Neighbourhood'

• Lowertown Community Association

• King Edward Avenue Task Force