Ecology Ottawa

News Clippings

OC Transpo boss 'highly skeptical' LRT deadline will be met

By Joanne Chianello, CBC News Ottawa, February 13, 2019

The city's head of transit and transportation doubts the city's $2-billion light rail project will be completed by March 31.

Responding to a question from Coun. Diane Deans at Tuesday morning's finance and economic development committee meeting, OC Transpo boss John Manconi said he's concerned about RTG meeting its third deadline to hand over the project to the city.

"I'm happy to be wrong, but I'm highly skeptical that they're going to achieve March 31," he said.

Mayor not concerned SNC-Lavalin involved with LRT Social Sharing

By Kate Porter, CBC News Ottawa, February 13, 2019

The mayor of Ottawa says he sees no risk in dealing with SNC-Lavalin, the company embroiled in a political controversy that is a major partner in the consortium building Ottawa's light rail system and a finalist to build part of the second stage.

Quebec-based SNC-Lavalin faces charges of fraud and corruption related to contracts in Libya. If convicted, the company could be blocked from competing for federal government contracts for a decade.

Matthew Kupfer's winter commute triathlon

By Matthew Kupfer, CBC News Ottawa, February 13, 2019

Getting through the snow in Ottawa is going to be a challenge today, no matter how you get around.

So we decided to test out plowing through the city streets three ways — a rush-hour triathlon, of sorts — travelling by bus, car and snowshoe.

The CBC's Matthew Kupfer started in Barrhaven at 7 a.m. and made his way to the CBC's studios downtown by 10 a.m.

What we know about the latest LRT dispute and the impact to residents

By Jon Willing, Ottawa Citizen, February 13, 2019

It doesn’t look good for anyone who was hoping to ride the Confederation Line LRT by the end of April.

The public learned this week there’s a disagreement about the March 31 handover deadline of the $2.1-billion LRT system from the Rideau Transit Group to the City of Ottawa.

RTG, the builder, thinks it can deliver a fully completed, safe transit system by then. The city doesn’t believe it.

Councillor supports Transit Week Challenge group's call for OC Transpo fare freeze

By Taylor Blewett, Ottawa Citizen, February 11, 2019

At least one city councillor is jumping on the idea of an OC Transpo fare freeze following an eye-opening “Transit Week Challenge” that set out to highlight the importance of accessible transportation services.

At a press conference on Monday, in front of many of the 17 councillors who took on the group’s challenge and rode the bus whenever possible for a week, Free Transit Ottawa member and challenge organizer Kristin Pulles laid out her group’s calls for action on transit.

“We wanted to get decision-makers out there experiencing the same frustrations that riders have every single day. And it worked,” she said. “There’s momentum now in the city for change, and we need to use that to push for a just and sustainable system.”

Water infiltration, concrete 'honeycombing' part of rectified defects at Rideau Station

By Jon Willing, Ottawa Citizen, February 12, 2019

Inspectors looking for construction snafus in Ottawa’s largest infrastructure project found water infiltration, drainage glitches and concrete defects at the Rideau LRT station last year, city records reveal.

The city recently released 25 more “non-conformance” reports to researcher Ken Rubin under access-to-information law. They are the same kind of inspection records whose details were reported by this newspaper last month and in August 2018. A ruling last year by the province’s information and privacy commissioner compelled the city and RTG, the project’s builder, to release the reports.

'I am concerned': City and mayor skeptical RTG can meet LRT handover deadline

By Jon Willing, Ottawa Citizen, February 12, 2019

Despite assurances from Rideau Transit Group the $2.1-billion rail line is on track to meet its handover deadline on March 31, the mayor and the city’s transportation head don’t believe it, raising the possibility that the LRT will miss a third construction deadline.

The schism between supplier and customer was revealed Tuesday during a meeting of council’s finance and economic development committee, with the head of RTG telling the mayor and councillors that the consortium can meet the handover date, and the city’s transportation boss saying he doesn’t buy it.

“I am concerned about March 31,” transportation general manager John Manconi said.

Dunn and Mitta: Let Ottawa's seniors pick their 'ride-free' day on OC Transpo

By Margaret Dunn and Asaf Mitta, Ottawa Citizen, February 12, 2019

The Council on Aging of Ottawa is a planning and advocacy organization that has represented the voice of seniors in Ottawa for more than 40 years. The Ottawa Seniors Transportation Committee (OSTC) is one of eight action committees of the council.

Our mandate is to identify barriers to accessibility and gaps in transit service, particularly relating to Ottawa seniors and adults with disabilities. We have a proposal to make to Ottawa Council that we believe will not be expensive but will be of benefit to seniors using public transit.

We are proposing that the Ottawa Transit Commission replace the current Seniors Ride Free on Wednesday program with a more flexible program which would allow senior transit riders to take free rides on OC Transpo on any one day of the week, on the day of their choice. We refer to this initiative as Seniors Pick Your Ride-Free Day.

Cohen: Fighting climate change isn't about politics – it's about morality

By Andrew Cohen, Ottawa Citizen, February 12, 2019

The Green New Deal of Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is not the New Deal of Franklin Roosevelt. It is not the Fair Deal of Harry Truman nor the Square Deal of Theodore Roosevelt.

But the Green New Deal is the most comprehensive legislative response to climate change yet proposed in the United States Congress. It is a progressive (if vague) statement of ambition on the environment – “a grand strategy,” some call it – at a time when the assault on the planet is reaching a tipping point. That makes it a big deal.

For now, the Green New Deal is just a resolution awaiting study by a committee. Realistically, it has no immediate prospect of becoming law; House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who has called it “a green dream,” does not plan to bring it to the floor for a vote.

Denley: Making OC Transpo 'free' won't fix quality issues

By Randall Denley, Ottawa Citizen, February 12, 2019

Free Transit Ottawa deserves a lot of credit for putting the spotlight on the deficiencies of Ottawa’s transit service. The idea of challenging councillors to use the transit system for which they are responsible was simple, but effective. This kind of transit-rider activism is long overdue.

It wasn’t much of a surprise to see councillors discover that bus stops are difficult to get to at this time of year, buses often run late or not at all, and they are usually packed. This is a system for which adequacy is still just a dream.

Those problems suggest OC Transpo needs more spending, better management, or both. Instead, Free Transit Ottawa is calling for a fare freeze this year and a pilot project to test the merits of free transit. Shifting the cost burden from transit riders to property taxes won’t address the problems the transit challenge underlined, unfortunately.

Virtual tour gives future LRT riders glimpse of Lyon Street station

By Blair Crawford, Ottawa Citizen, February 12, 2019

A virtual tour of Lyon Street station launched Tuesday gives future LRT travellers a 360-degree walk through one of the main downtown stations on the Confederation Line.

Virtual visitors can use their computer or cellphone to walk their way through the station, starting at street level and descending stairs and escalators all the way to the train platform. Along the way, clickable “hot spots” provide more details on safety features such as the location of emergency phones, signage and wayfinding markers on the floor.

Stairwells feature bicycle runnels to help cyclists guide their bikes down the steps. There is information on the public art installations, locations of the electronic information kiosks, turnstiles and markers to show where the paid fare zone begins.

Egan: LRT, the train to someday, looks to miss third deadline

By Kelly Egan, Ottawa Citizen, February 12, 2019

Well, it’s becoming laughable.

As a deadline for our $2.1-billion light rail system, March 31 was always a little too close to April Fool’s Day for comfort. No worries now. The joke arrived early. It became apparent at a meeting of city councillors on Tuesday the city has little confidence the system will be handed over on that date, the third deadline to be missed.

Three strikes, still not out of construction. Given the initial closing date of May 24, 2018, the opening of the 12.5-kilometre system is closing in on a year-long delay.