Confederation Park, pathways, and the NCC

A fun post on the ELgiN StreEt iRREguLars blog , about how pesky pedestrians are walking the shortest route from A to B, instead of following the pathway the NCC would like them to take. A sample: **

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...But here, some well-papered plannerly type thought long and hard, then drew a long, carefully arced sidewalk from the entrance just across the street from city hall, to the stairs that take you up to the Mackenzie King Bridge. Then them pesky pedestrians ignored this pretty sidewalk and walked on the grass, bee-lining straight from entrance to stairs, because they could see their destination, and the un-curved distance was shorter. Imagine that.

What the NCC’s control freaks did next, rather than admit its planners are less than demigods, was plant a buncha unsightly shrubs across either end of this straight line, to try to passively force people back onto the sidewalk. Didn’t work. Bipeds continued to wear a long, straight path through the shrubs, across the grass. Imagine that. Read more…

** Related: ** Ottawa Nature & Gardens Guide