Ecology Ottawa

News Clippings

Transport Canada struggling to buy a bus shell to crash

By Ryan Tumilty, CBC News Ottawa, January 18, 2019

Crash tests that could make transit buses safer and more resilient in a collision have been stalled because Transport Canada has been unable to purchase a bus shell for testing.

After the crash involving a Via Rail train and an Ottawa city bus in 2013, the Transportation Safety Board's investigation highlighted a lack of crash standards for transit buses and recommended Transport Canada put standards in place. The bus in the 2013 crash was from the same manufacturer as the one involved in last Friday's crash at Westboro station.

Transport Canada sets standards for cars, vans and SUVs, dictating how they must perform in front-impact, side-impact and rollover crashes. There are also rules for school buses, but larger vehicles like transit buses are exempt.

Feds fund 100K for fast-charge electric car stations in Kingston

By Alexandra Mazur, Global News, January 17, 2019

Kingston will be getting two new electric charging stations, and the federal government will be partially footing the bill.

At the Kingston Climate Change Symposium hosted by Sustainable Kingston, Mark Gerretsen, MP for the region, announced on Thursday that the federal government has earmarked $100,000 for two electric car fast-charging stations in the city.

READ MORE: Kingston: The electric city

According to a news release from Natrural Resources Canada, the city will build the two charging stations, which will be partially funded through Natural Resources Canada’s electric vehicle and alternative fuel infrastructure deployment initiative.

Editorial: Bus safety – let's not keep waiting

By the Editor, Ottawa Citizen, January 18, 2019

In the week since three people died and 23 were injured in the OC Transpo bus crash, the questions have only sharpened. Who or what was responsible? Could anything have been done to prevent such an accident? And: Is it safe to get back on our buses?

Ottawa’s police chief pledges transparency in his investigation. Somewhat murkier, though, is the question of why past safety recommendations for double-decker buses have been so slow to take effect.

The Transportation Safety Board issued recommendations in 2015 after the crash of an OC Transpo double decker with a Via train in 2013, in which six people died. Among the problems the TSB identified was a lack of standards around “crashworthiness” for such buses.

Canada's new food guide: A fail on culture and sustainability?

By Sarah Duignan, Ottawa Citizen, January 18, 2019

This article was originally published on The Conversation, an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts. Disclosure information is available on the original site.

Canada’s Food Guide is being revised. After a three-year consultation process, the guide will be published within weeks. Sadly, economic and political agendas will likely continue to make its dietary recommendations unachievable for many Canadians.

As a biocultural anthropologist, I explore how nutritional health goes beyond physical health. Social factors like income and proximity to grocery stores have an impact, as do cultural values and knowledge.

Heavy traffic stalling job growth in Kanata, tech firms complain

By Laura Osman, CBC News Ottawa, January 17, 2019

Gridlock in Ottawa's west end has created a roadblock to attracting high-tech talent, and business leaders want to know what city hall plans to do about it.

Workers trying to make their way down March Road to the Kanata North Technology Park often find themselves stuck in traffic stretching all the way to the Queensway, and there are no speedy public transit alternatives.

(...)Redesigning March Road and overhauling transit service to the business park are costly options, but they'll likely both be part of the conversation when city council debates the city's transportation master plan later this year.

How To Start a Community Garden: Jan 13, Jan 23, and Feb 6 2019!

By JustFood.ca, December 14, 2018

What a better way to start the new year then learning at the free, “How to Start a Community Garden” workshop! You will learn about the steps involved in starting a community garden. How to search for land, what is essential when starting a community garden, the supports that are available, tips for organizing the garden, and much more!

The attendance of at least one garden coordinator at a How to Start a Community Garden workshop is a requirement in order to receive funding through the Community Garden Development Fund.  The coordinator must have attended a workshop in one of the past 3 years.

Hydro-Québec asks clients to cool demand for electricity during cold snap

By the Canadian Press, Ottawa Citizen, January 17, 2019

As Quebec finds itself in the grip of a deep freeze, Hydro-Québec on Thursday appealed to its customers to reduce their consumption of electricity during high-use periods.

Those power consumption rush hours — between 6 a.m. and 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. — are when Quebecers crank up their thermostats and electricity-devouring appliances. On Thursday, for example, between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m., Quebecers plugged in to use 35,979 megawatts of electricity. During cold snaps, consumption hovers around 38,000 megawatts, according to Hydro-Québec spokesperson Jonathan Côté.

To ease that crush, Hydro-Québec suggests that some household power use be delayed till later in the day.

The utility also suggests that customers reduce their heating use by 1 or 2 degrees Celsius, particularly in unused rooms, and if possible to limit hot water use by reducing their showering time by a minute and waiting until later in the day to use their dishwashers or washers and driers.

Today's letters: More on the Westboro bus crash

By Patricia Larkin and others, Ottawa Citizen Letters to the Editor, January 17, 2019

Passengers were left in chaos

Re: Editorial: Probing the OC Transpo bus crash, Jan. 12.

The phrase in your editorial, “We know that OC Transpo worked diligently to get transit users to their destinations …” may be true, but not for the direct survivors.

My daughter was sitting at the back of the bus that crashed, on the second level. After climbing down the ladder, she and the other lucky survivors were held in another bus to keep warm (unfortunately in direct sight of the ongoing emergency response, but that is another issue). Police asked for their names, phone numbers, and to provide a written statement if desired. They were then let go after about an hour, to make their way to street level, where they were told buses were waiting to take them on their way.

Blanchard: Thoughts from a retired bus driver on the OC Transpo crash

By Tim Blanchard, Ottawa Citizen, January 16, 2019

As a retired transit operator in Victoria, B.C., my heart and condolences go out to the family and friends who lost a loved one in the horrific OC Transpo bus crash last Friday. Also to the injured who witnessed the chaos and trauma that transpired on that bus; I hope for a speedy recovery for all.

I drove all models of transit vehicles in my 20-year tenure in Victoria, as well as highway coaches over the years previously, and briefly after retirement. My favourite bus to drive was the double-decker buses – that are exactly like the OC Transpo type.

Two things stood out to me as an operator of double deckers: the extra height to be mindful of, our course; and, obviously, the extra weight. We had to trim many low-hanging trees and even raise a bridge on one route to eliminate any contact when the deckers first arrived.

Editorial: Probing the OC Transpo bus crash

By the Editor, Ottawa Citizen, January 14, 2019

As all of Ottawa mourns the dead and prays for the injured, tough questions are already being asked about Friday’s tragic crash of an OC Transpo double-decker bus at Westboro Station.

Was ice on the Transitway a factor in the crash? Did late-afternoon sunlight impede the driver’s vision? How fast was the bus going? What were the personal circumstances of the driver? Of the passengers? Were there mechanical issues of any sort with the Alexander Dennis E500 double-decker bus itself? Were there training issues? Are such double-deckers somehow less solid or stable than other buses? Is there anything about the Transitway design, or architecture and state of the stations themselves, that could have contributed to the crash? Should the city ask outside experts, such as the Transportation Safety Board, to lead the investigation?

Denley: OC Transpo crash – all public transit puts riders at risk

By Randall Denley, Ottawa Citizen, January 15, 2019

As a result of the horrific bus crash at Westboro Station, people are asking if double-decker buses are unsafe. We are missing the bigger point.

Every transit bus on the road has inadequate safety provisions. Public transit is a system that puts riders at risk by design.

Every day in Ottawa, people ride on OC Transpo buses that go barrelling down the Queensway. Those lucky enough to get seats have no seatbelts. Passengers who are forced to stand can grip a strap or a metal rod, if they can reach one. Keeping your balance is a challenge every time a bus swings around a corner. The interior of the bus is full of hard metal surfaces, just waiting to injure a stumbling passenger. And yet car drivers using the same road are protected by mandatory seatbelts and an array of air bags.

Growing calls for independent investigation into Westboro bus crash

By Elizabeth Payne, Ottawa Citizen, January 15, 2019

There were growing calls Tuesday to have independent investigators look into Friday’s OC Transpo bus crash, even as discussions are underway about bringing in technical support from the Transportation Safety Board.

Ottawa West-Nepean Progressive Conservative MPP Jeremy Roberts called for an “independent and thorough” investigation into the deadly bus crash. He wants to see it run jointly by the TSB and Ottawa Police.

Carol Anne Meehan, meanwhile, city councillor for Gloucester-South Nepean, said an independent, arm’s-length investigation into the crash would “instill more confidence” in OC Transpo.

“There are a lot of people who are questioning the safety of the buses and wondering who has got our backs on this one,” she said.