Alta Vista, Ottawa

Alta Vista
—  Neighbourhood  —
Coordinates: 45°23′20″N 75°39′00″W
Country	Canada
Province	Ontario
City	Ottawa
Government
• MPs	David McGuinty
• MPPs	Dalton McGuinty
• Councillors	Peter Hume
Elevation	90 m (295 ft)
Population (2006)
• Total	23,456
	Canada 2006 Census
Time zone	Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)

Alta Vista is a neighbourhood in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Its boundaries can be broadly described as: Smyth Road in the north, St. Laurent Boulevard in the east, Walkley Road and Heron Road in the south, and Bank Street and Riverside Drive in the west. However, the name is ambiguous, as there are several sub-neighbourhoods in this area, (see list below), as well as a core Alta Vista area, (which could be defined as south of Pleasant Park Road, north of Heron Road, and west of the eastern greenspace corridor), centered around Alta Vista Drive.

Alta Vista Drive is a major street running through the neighbourhood, and shares its name. Both are named for their relative height, as the neighbourhood is generally higher than most of the city. Alta Vista is a highly residential neighbourhood with a strong community, several schools, churches, and community centres. It also has a vast amount of greenspace and parks, much of which is part of the Alta Vista Transportation Corridor Environmental Assessment [1].

The OC Transpo Transitway also runs through Alta Vista, with two stations in the neighbourhood itself (Pleasant Park and Riverside) as well as two just outside (Billings Bridge and Smyth), serving as a vital transit link to the rest of the city.

The General Campus of the Ottawa Hospital, and The Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario are located just on the north side of Smyth Road, in Riverview, while the Riverside Campus of the Ottawa Hospital is located at Smyth and Riverside Drive. There are two shopping malls in and around Alta Vista: the Billings Bridge Plaza Shopping Centre at Bank Street and Riverside and the Elmvale Shopping Centre at St. Laurent and Smyth.

Alta Vista had a population of about 23,456 as of the Canada 2006 Census.

Sub neighbourhoods

The Alta Vista area encompasses many smaller neighbourhoods:

• Applewood Acres
• Billings
• Canterbury
• Elmvale Acres
• Faircrest
• Guildwood Estates
• Playfair Park
• Rideau Park
• Urbandale
• Urbandale Acres

Schools

There are several schools in the area, including:

Public elementary schools

• Alta Vista Public School
• Arch Street Public School
• Featherston Drive Public School
• Hawthorne Public School
• Pleasant Park Public School
• Vincent Massey Public School (on the north side of Smyth, technically in Riverview)

Public secondary schools

• Canterbury High School
• Hillcrest High School
• Ridgemont High School

Catholic schools

• McMaster Catholic
• Ste-Geneviève Catholic School
• St. Patrick's Intermediate
• St. Patrick's High School

See: List of Ottawa schools

See also

• List of Ottawa neighbourhoods