BYWARD MARKET: Once vibrant, all but two farmers have vacated. How do we get them back?

The idea is that a single organization can better plan and oversee improvements than can different bodies with different mandates. You know, the too-many-cooks theory of broth-making.

The seven delegations who spoke at Tuesday’s meeting, including those from such groups as Ottawa Tourism, the Ottawa Board of Trade, the Ottawa-Gatineau Hotel Association and the Ottawa Coalition of BIAs, were largely supportive of the plan. One of them, Brian Lahey of The Properties Group real estate investment and management firm, even spoke of the need to get the farmers back.

It’s difficult to say whether the farmers are the canaries in the coal mine or the other way around, but they’ve been leaving the ByWard Market for years. According to informal audits done by architect, urban planner and friend of the ByWard Market Barry Padolsky, there were 250 “agrifood” stalls occupied by food, plant and flower vendors in the summer months in 2006. But by 2012, only half of those stalls were occupied by such vendors.

Gerry says that the political will to get farmers back in the ByWard Market doesn’t exist, and hasn’t for years. He recalls his father, who was president of the ByWard Market Stallholders Association telling him of an Ottawa mayor — Gerry won’t say who — who told farmers that he didn’t care where the produce came from, just so long as it was cheap for Ottawa residents.

The increased pedestrianization of the ByWard area also won’t help farmers, whose customers don’t want to have to lug flats of flowers or a bushel of potatoes three blocks to a parking garage. Leiper admitted that he didn’t know what needs to be done. I similarly don’t know, but I suspect there are some farmers in the area who might.

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