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But Kristmanson said he didn’t want to “jump to that conclusion. I’d hate to make commuters worry that we’re somehow going to make their lives more difficult in the short term by changing anything.

“Maybe some day car use will change. Maybe traffic patterns can be looked at,” he said. “But the initial phase is really to study this renewed vision for shorelines and rivers for the long term.”

Prior to the public consultation session in May, Kristmanson said he thought of the Sir John A. Macdonald Parkway and the lands along it as “a pretty grim piece of highway.”

But after brainstorming ideas for a linear park with participants, “I came away totally convinced that it could be beautiful. It could be wonderful.”

Among other things, members of the public suggested more boat launches for kayaks and canoes, small piers with concessions, washrooms and bicycle pumps, he said. “There is a vision developing from a whole series of inputs.”

The NCC has also held public sessions about improving access to other parts of the river, including one Tuesday night focused on the north shore in Gatineau.

If the shoreline initiatives proceed, along with Windmill Developments’ proposed development on Chaudière Island, “you’re looking at a transformed core of the city,” Kristmanson said.

The NCC chief executive stressed that developing the linear park will take many years. “There’s no funding assigned for this yet.”

The NCC is developing a new master plan for the capital, which will include a chapter on shorelines and rivers. Once it is finished in the next year or two, the plan “will guide future decisions and development,” Kristmanson said.

dbutler@ottawacitizen.com

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