MoveIn Status
Praying for a team.

Firsthand
It’s not difficult to imagine running into an old friend here in Bayshore West. That’s just what happened to someone visiting the patch − they met an old high-school friend, a Somalian in his twenties. He spoke about how pleasant it is here in Bayshore during the day, but how it’s more dangerous at night.  A quick look around reveals colourful and intricate rugs slung over the backs of some of the backyard fences for dusting or drying. Signs of children are all over the place − from a red and yellow Fisher Price push-car abandoned in one of the courtyards, to the pile of bicycles just a few feet away from it.

Concerning Bayshore, the Ottawa Citizen says “People are often leaving Bayshore. It’s primarily a rental community, a high-density home to about 5,000 people, roughly half of them newcomers to Canada, many of those making their first stop in their new country. Bayshore’s residents have significantly higher unemployment and lower incomes than the city average. They also speak less English and French as a mother tongue − you’re more likely to hear Arabic, Chinese, Somali and Urdu.”¹

The Landscape
The Bayshore West patch has a kind of L-shape to it, as it is bounded on the northwest by Carling Avenue, on the Southwest by Holly Acres Road, on the south by the Queensway, and on virtually all other sides by Woodridge Crescent. As with much of Bayshore, this patch consists primarily of row townhouses and only a couple of larger apartment buildings in the southern portion.

Bayshore is a large community in Ottawa’s far west end, right near the shores of the Ottawa River. The larger Bayshore neighbourhood extends from Carling Avenue in the north to Richmond Drive and the Queensway (Highway 417) in the south, and from Holly Acres Road in the west to Ridgevalley Road in the east. Bayshore is home to one of Ottawa’s largest malls, Bayshore Shopping Centre, and one of Ottawa’s largest theatres, the Famous Players Coliseum. In and around the neighbourhood are many Catholic and public schools, as well as numerous churches, community and recreation centres set up to serve those who live in it. A couple of other parks are just outside the Bayshore area such as Judge Park and Andrew Haydon Park, providing beautiful greenspace and excellent recreation opportunities. This is a working class neighbourhood, home to a wide diversity of cultures including Arab, Caribbean, Somali, Sudanese, East Indian, Afghani, and many more. Despite consisting primarily of two streets, Bayshore Drive and Woodridge Crescent, Bayshore has a remarkably high population, due in large part to its very high-density housing.²

The People
In the larger Bayshore community of which this patch is a part:³

• The population in 2006 numbered 7,535
• The population density is 6,244 people per square kilometre compared with Ottawa’s 198 people/km² average
• A full 50% of those older than 15 are legally married
• Two-thirds (68%) of the families in the area are led by a married couple
• Apartment buildings comprise 61% of the total dwellings, with row housing comprising 32%
• A clear majority (81%) of the housing in the area is rented, as opposed to owned
• The mother tongues of 59% of those who live here are something other than English or French, and 40% of the population speak neither official language at home, hinting at a large immigrant population
• These hints are confirmed, as fully 52% of the population is identified as immigrant and 40% of those have arrived since 2001, many of whom are not yet Canadian citizens.
• Of those over the age of 15 who are employed, 35% take public transit to their jobs
• About 56% of the population are visible minorities, with just over a quarter of them being South Asian and other major groups including Arab, black, and Chinese

The History
Bayshore was originally conceived as “Canada’s first country-club style rental community.” Styled after a development originally observed near Houston, Texas it launched as a part of the former city of Nepean in 1963 as a high class 2,400-unit rental development and had such amenities as tennis courts, swimming pools, and a clubhouse for tenants. Named after Sir Evan Nepean, the city itself was established in 1792 on the Rideau River, incorporated as a city in 1978, and amalgamated into the city of Ottawa in 2001. The area continues to be called Nepean, and Bayshore remains a key community within it despite being a hotbed for crime − numerous criminal incidents have occurred even since the start of this year (2009).⁴

The Challenge
Home to many who have adopted Canada as their home, Bayshore West needs to hear about the chance to be adopted into the Family of God. Will you tell them? Would you be willing to move in?

Sources
¹www.ottawacitizen.com
²www.ottawaliving.ca and rapdict.org
³All statistics in the section taken from the Census tract profile for 0138.00 (CT), Ottawa-Gatineau (CMA) and Ontario
⁴en.wikipedia.org and www.ottawacitizen.com