Bridlewood, Ottawa

Bridlewood is a neighbourhood in the west end of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Bridlewood was part of the City of Kanata until 2001, when that city amalgamated with the City of Ottawa.

Location

Bridlewood is located east of Eagleson Road, south and west of the National Capital Commission Greenbelt, and north of Hope Side Road. This community is located in the southwest part of the former city of Kanata and is 12 KM from the boundary of pre-amalgamation Ottawa proper.

History

Bridlewood began to develop as a residential area in the 1960s. Previous to that, the land was used for agricultural purposes. William Teron spurred development with his purchase of agricultural land in order to creat a model community that subsequently evolved into Kanata [http://www.ottawaliving.ca/community.php?community_id=122] .

Most of the land that became Bridlewood was originally part of the Deevey farm. There is still a small piece of farmland in the centre of the community, where the farmhouse and barn still stand.

In the early 1970s, Ontario Hydro installed a hydro line corridor through what would become the community, and in 1989 the voltage of the hydro lines was increased from 230 to 500kV. The Bridlewood Residents Hydro Line Committee (now defunct) opposed this change, citing concerns for children's health when exposed to electromagnetic radiation. The BRHLC struggle received national media attention, including by CTV's "W5" and CBC's "The Journal" [http://www.feb.se/Bridlewood/HISTORY.HTM] .

The current population is over 17,000 residents [http://www.urbandale.com/bw.html] .

Community

The Bridlewood Community Association (BCA) serves not only Bridlewood but the adjacent community of Emerald Meadows. The BCA deals with various community matters including sports, outdoor hockey rinks, garage sales, safety and security, business networking, and developer and zoning activity [http://www.bridlewood.ca] .

Bridlewood is served by local councillor Peggy Feltmate as it is part of the Kanata South riding.

Sports

Sports participation is significant in Bridlewood. The BCA estimates participance of over 800 children for the 2007 soccer program. Bridlewood is a community participant in the True Sport program [http://www.truesportpur.ca] , which is a Canadian program espousing goals of ensuring positive and meaningful experiences for sport participants.

Schools

There are six elementary schools in this area:

Primary Schools

*W.O. Mitchell Elementary School
*Bridlewood Community Elementary School
*Roch Carrier Elementary School

Catholic Schools

*St. James Catholic School
*St. Anne Catholic School
*Elizabeth Bruyere Catholic School

External links

* [http://www.bridlewood.ca/ Bridlewood Community Association] , accessed 12 November 2006