So to counter the querulousness of yesterday's post, I'll identify some of the things about Ottawa that really impress me. First, there's all the green space. It struck me again this afternoon as I drove down Greenbank how much area is devoted to forest and farmland. I mean, I'm at Strandherd & Greenbank, and there's the Chapman Mills Marketplace (box stores beyond belief), and then a few minutes later I hit Greenbank & Fallowfield, and there's Ag Canada's Animal Research Centre off to the left and the glorious greenbelt stretching right up to West Hunt Club.
Public transit is also topnotch. A quick aside: one of the cleverest billboard ads I've ever seen encapsulated images of two red and white OC Transpo buses along with the caption "take two daily to relieve congestion." Portions of the main routes are designated transitways, meaning no traffic except buses, so that bus drivers can hurtle down them at 80 km/hr only to brake to a screeching halt. I remember my first few rides during morning rush hour, loving the unfamiliarity of the station names, testing them out on my tongue--but silently, in my head: Lincoln Fields, Carlingwood, Holland Cross, Westboro, Tunney's Pasture, Lebreton. The city had just established Fallowfield Station in Barrhaven shortly before we left in 2002. They've now extended the bike paths along Woodroffe, too. If I ever find my bike helmet--and I despair that I actually will, since the number of likely boxes in which I'll find it are slowly shrinking--I'd like to test the new trail.
Although I could go on, we're getting company tomorrow, and I have a lot of cleaning and organizing to do before they arrive, so I'll cut it short. A third thing I appreciate about Ottawa is its population's commitment to going green. Recycling is a big deal here. That trip of mine through the greenbelt today, for example, was to deliver some styrofoam sheeting to the UPS store for reuse as packing material. I'm trying to reform my (borderline) pack rat ways, but I don't like to throw things out if I know someone else can make use of them. Now if only I could find someone who might have use for a few non-blue box recyclables. Styrofoam trays or plastic strawberry cartons, anyone?
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