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Olsen stresses people-first engagement, implementation and alignment for Ottawa downtown plan
Summary
Olsen’s team told the commission its approach centers on in-person design charrettes, layered engagement and aligning policies, programs and funding to produce an implementable downtown master plan; local team members emphasized boots-on-the-ground outreach and partnerships with schools and events.
Abby Newsham, Olsen’s project manager, told the commission that downtown planning should be grounded in community voices and implementation. "Downtown is really fundamentally about people," Newsham said, and described a menu of engagement tactics — design charrettes, interactive mapping and in-person outreach tied to existing events.
Olsen introduced a local team that includes landscape architects, planners and transportation specialists and said they prioritize building a lasting road map that ties projects to funding and implementation steps. Team members described techniques such as pop-up engagement events, student involvement and demonstration projects (temporary lane reductions or parklets) to help residents experience changes before they are made permanent. Commissioners asked about lane reductions and storefront activation; Olsen noted the importance of demonstrations, phased projects and close coordination with business owners and the city.
