Why should such a small local issue hit the front page?

I was surprised to see that an article about the permanent closure to through traffic on Clemow Avenue in the Glebe (City plan makes two homes impossible to reach – or does it? Robert Sibley, Ottawa Citizen, Aug. 25, 2010) should appear on the front page of the paper. The article discusses a motion that will be presented to City Council today by Councillor Clive Doucet to have city staff “initiate a formal, permanent street closure” of Clemow Avenue where it intersects with Central Park between O’Connor and Bank Streets.


The road has been closed on a “temporary” basis for nearly 40 years and most residents fully support the proposal. Two residents claim that access to their properties will be affected by the change and they say that there has been no public consultation. But public consultation is what Councillor Doucet’s motion is all about. No changes will be made without a public consultation.

Caroline Vanneste indicates that the Glebe Community Association has been looking into this issue for a while and has reported on it in the Glebe Report. They requested that Clemow be permanently closed but did not define the specific area to be greened. Residents were found to be generally in favour of the closure (as noted in the article) but have not agreed on the specific area.

City staff wanted a Council motion regarding the closure before starting the consultation process with the neighborhood. Unfortunately, the map attached to the motion makes it look like the area has already been decided and there won't be consultation on it. This is not the case at all. Vanneste says she will be trying to get this explanation out to affected residents, but will not be contacting the Ottawa Citizen. The GCA is not mentioned in the article – it appears to be a misunderstanding between residents and the City.

The fact that this issue appears on the front page of the paper and that at least one of the complainers, Ian Burney, is the son of ex-senior diplomat and Principal Secretary of Mulroney's office, Derek Burney, suggests that the article which is critical of Doucet is a deliberate attempt to discredit Doucet's current campaign for the mayoralty. It is unfortunate that the press finds it necessary to interfere in the political process rather than to report news in a clear, unambiguous and respectful manner.