Westboro (often referred to as Westboro Village) is an area in the west end of Ottawa, Canada. Located along the Ottawa River, the neighbourhood is bordered on the east by Island Park Drive. Westboro’s northern border is defined by the Ottawa River.
Under this definition, the population of the area is 21,280 (2011 Census).
Its community association boundaries are the Transitway to the north, Tweedsmuir Avenue to the east, Carling Avenue to the south and Denbury Avenue to the west. This area excludes the neighbourhood of Westboro Beach, whose community association borders include the area immediately north of Westboro, west of Island Park Drive.
The neighbourhood got its start in the late nineteenth century, when flyers were published proclaiming ‘Move to Westboro,’ and offering prospective residents ‘views of the Laurentian Mountains.’ This slightly creative name for the distant geological formation along the Eardley escarpment is now better known as the Gatineau Hills. The Gatineau Hills can be seen across the Ottawa River.
Today Westboro is a thriving community with a lively street scene. Several condominium projects are encouraging densification and promising to bring more people to the neighbourhood. The village features murals painted by a local artist. The neighbourhood also boasts a concentration of outdoors and sport stores including Mountain Equipment Co-op, Vancouver-based Lululemon Athletica, Bushtukah, The Expedition Shoppe and Trailhead and is close to cycling trails and whitewater rapids in the Ottawa River. The influx of these outdoor and sports stores, along with a number of boutiques, restaurants and coffee shops on Richmond Road are considered to be a significant contributor to the gentrification that Westboro underwent in the 2000s.
The neighbourhood is served by two OC Transpo stations: Westboro and Dominion, as well as Route 2, which provides frequent local service along Richmond Road.
Westfest, a free Canadian arts and music festival, was previously held in Westboro from 2004-2015 during the second weekend in June, and featured a variety of local and national performers. It has now been moved to Laroche Park in Ottawa’s Mechanicsville area.
Westboro encompasses a large part of the western part of Ottawa, and many smaller sub-neighbourhoods. Including the core Westboro village located north of Richmond Road, there exists the following sub-neighbourhoods:
- Carlingwood
- Hampton Park
- Highland Park
- Hintonburg
- Island Park
- Laurentian View
- McKellar Park
- McKellar Heights
- Mechanicsville
- Westboro Beach
- Woodroffe North
- Wellington West
