Anyone paying attention to city politics knows that mayoral candidate Clive Doucet is opposed to the redevelopment plan at Lansdowne Park.
On Thursday, in releasing his parks and recreation platform called A City that Plays:
Community First, he made it clear that he would cancel the project, regardless of a potential penalty.
“If the people of Ottawa chose me, they are choosing a different way of dealing with Lansdowne Park,” said Doucet.
The city would hold a design competition for a new plan for the park, with the cost being capped at $45 million, he said. The stadium would be built in a different location.
Lansdowne would become the great central community park that sustains all the others.
There would also be many more parks, he said. The city would start purchasing land around Ottawa to turn into city parks. Money to buy that land would come from savings from building fewer roads.
The platform is actually about being more frugal with tax dollars, he said.
“We will spend money differently and make Ottawa different,” he said.
A City that Plays complements The Local Advantage, Doucet’s plan for small businesses and farmers, and A City that Moves, his plan for light rail.
Doucet will hold an open house to discuss his platform on Saturday at the Hintonburg Community Centre.
