New Ottawa businesses head into holidays with cheer
By Allison McNeely and Micki Cowan A number of Ottawa boutique owners heading into their first Christmas season say they’re feeling optimistic about sales despite the opening of retail giants such as H&M and Target. “I’m pretty dialed into how people shop,” said Mandy Gosewich, owner of Stunning, a new fashion accessories store in ByWard Market. “At the end of the day what it all boils down to is assortment, what you bring into your store, and service.” Gosewich, a fourth generation ByWard market business owner, opened her accessories shop in May of this year. She said her shop has something for everyone, from $12 earring studs to statement necklaces selling for hundreds of dollars. Jill Wilkinson, assistant manager at Baby EnRoute, a baby store in Westboro, shares Gosewich’s commitment to excellent service and product selection. Wilkinson said the store offers a variety of European brands that are “not available at Target.” Sales have increased since the store opened in July, with many parents coming in looking for chariots, the all-terrain vehicle strollers that are robust enough for winter snow and aren’t available in-store elsewhere in Ottawa. BMO Financial Group released its holiday spending outlook in November and predicted Canadians will spend an average of $1,810 this year — up 12 per cent from $1,610 in 2012. Darren Clare, retail specialist at Avison Young, said Ottawa is a reliable place to open up shop. “Ottawa traditionally has a very strong retail market, especially with the government. There’s stability there,” Clare said. “The consumers get out there and they spend their money with confidence.” Clare said geographic location and store size have an impact on whether or not stores are in competition. He said big stores in malls are not competition for smaller boutiques downtown. “H&M being thousands of square feet and a mom-and-pop, somebody in the Glebe with 1,200 square feet, I’d be shocked if there was any impact,” Clare said. “Target’s competition is obviously Walmart.” However, it is getting more expensive to rent retail space in Ottawa’s upscale neighbourhoods. The Glebe currently rents for $50 to $55 per square foot, plus operating costs, due to the construction condos and the new CFL stadium, which drives up land prices in the area, Clare said Gosewich acknowledges that in an entrepreneur’s first year of business, it’s essential to do the work. “I’ll be here seven days per week until Dec. 24,” Gosewich said. She relies heavily on foot traffic through the Market and word-of-mouth, including social media, to get people into her shop. Knifewear, a shop in the Glebe selling high-end Japanese kitchen knives, has relied on the chef community...
Winter cycling route expansion expected in 2015
By Allison McNeely and Sarah Trick Ottawa cyclists will have to wait until at least 2015 before they see more pathways and bike lanes cleared in the winter. City council voted unanimously Tuesday to pass the 2013 cycling plan, part of the city’s transportation master plan for the next five years. The plan proposes to nearly double the amount of winter-maintained cycling lanes from 21 kilometres to 40 kilometres. The cost of expanding the winter cycling network is $200,000 per year for maintenance, according to the plan. ‘Winter is a key to get more people cycling and the easier we make it to get people on their bikes in the winter, the better.’ – Michael Napiorkowski But the current council isn’t committing any funding. Instead they are leaving funding up to the 2014-2018 council term and have not set aside any funding in the 2014 budget for the cost. Rideau-Vanier Coun. Mathieu Fleury introduced the motion to push funding to the next council term at the Nov. 15 transportation committee meeting. The motion also included a recommendation for more public consultation on the network. Fleury said the details of winter maintenance need to be worked out before the plan can be put in place, such as coordinating snow plows for the road, bike lane and sidewalk. “It takes more than saying ‘Let’s plow this, let’s fund it.’ Before we do it and fail at it, we need to come up with a plan,” Fleury said. “We got into a tough spot last year where the lane was plowed and then the road plow would come and plow onto the cycling lane.” Consultation will include speaking with cycling groups around town to finalize which routes should be plowed, Fleury said. The plan currently suggests expanding the winter cycling infrastructure to Beechwood and Lees Avenues leading into downtown, along the O-Train line from Carling Avenue to Scott Street and other connection points to the existing winter network. The routes have not been finalized. Cycle route information courtesy of the City of Ottawa. Michael Napiorkowski, co-founder of the Ottawa Bicycle Lane Project, is disappointed winter maintenance won’t be expanded sooner but said the more segregated bike lanes there are, the more options winter cyclists will have, since the lanes are automatically cleared. “We’re pushing to have a network of protected lanes and from our perspective if we had more protected lanes then this would automatically be part of the package for snow removal, like the Laurier bike lane,” Napiorkowski said. “You’re establishing it as a real piece of infrastructure. You can’t just leave them in the winter.” Snow buildup at the edge of...