Ecology Ottawa

News Clippings

Tree-cutting at former Grant School upsets neighbours

By Tom Spears, Ottawa Sun, December 16, 2018

Neighbours of the former Grant School say they were surprised and upset when crews took down a grove of mature spruce trees last week in preparation for building a francophone centre.

A site plan showed that only three trees would be cut, said Andrew House, who lives nearby. He says the local residents were not informed of any cutting beyond that.

But the French public school board — Conseil des écoles publiques de l’Est de l’Ontario — says the trees were destined to be cut “from the get-go” and maintains it told everyone its plans. The board owns the property.

Pellerin: Driving, pedalling, walking – the city wants us all to get along on the roads

By Brigitte Pellerin, Ottawa Citizen, December 19, 2018

According to the city, 64 per cent of Ottawa residents say that “access to safe streets and  other public spaces is the most significant infrastructure barrier to walking that they face.” As part of the “Building a Liveable Ottawa” policy review, the city came up with a Pedestrian Plan in 2013 that aims to turn Ottawa into a “world-class pedestrian city where an equally vibrant and functional pedestrian realm encourages people to walk all year-round.”

Various measures help protect vulnerable road users, and Ottawa is experimenting with several of them. When everyone respects the rules, most shared or dedicated bike lanes work reasonably well. For pedestrians, I think raised crosswalks are a must, especially at busy intersections. They force cars to slow down and give you a better sense of security when you’re on foot. To my mind, the best innovation in recent years are those crosswalks painted to look three-dimensional that have started to pop up in some cities, including Montreal earlier this year.

Menard: Ottawa could pioneer a 'new urbanism' – if we let it

By Shawn Menard, Ottawa Citizen, December 18, 2018

As I knocked on doors and met with residents during this year’s municipal election campaign, one thing became clear: The people of Ottawa want a new direction for our city, a new vision. This wasn’t a superficial desire of change merely for the sake of change; this was a clear articulation of resident desires to move forward and make sure Ottawa is the city it can and should be.

Residents of our city are thoughtful. They are engaged. They care about what kind of city we live in and what kind of city we need to be. They understand that we need to be an inclusive and welcoming city that provides opportunities for all residents. They understand that we need a city built on sustainability and that we need to combat the greatest threat we face: irreversible climate change.

What we are seeing in Ottawa has the makings of a new urbanism, one that is very much our own and that is tailored to the needs of a culturally and geographically diverse city.

Pellerin: Ottawa, we're addicted to speed. And it has to stop

By Brigitte Pellerin, Ottawa Citizen, December 18, 2018

No matter where you live, it’s an issue you confront every day. At times you’re suffering from it; other times you’re the one inflicting it on others. 

Ottawa, we have a speeding problem.

We all do it. We barely notice ourselves going too fast. But we hate it when others fly past us. 

(...)Tobi Nussbaum, the councillor for Rideau-Rockliffe who will soon become CEO of the National Capital Commission, says the need to reduce speeding is a top priority for his constituents. “Improving transportation safety is one of the topics I hear from residents about most often and it is something that I have put a lot of focus and emphasis on as a city councillor.” Speeding, he says, happens everywhere, but like the rest of us he’s especially troubled by “incidences of speeding in school zones, near parks and in our residential neighbourhoods.”

South end of Elgin Street shuts down Jan. 7 for phase 2

By the Ottawa Citizen, December 19, 2018

Are you ready for Stage 2, Elgin Street users?

Starting Jan. 7, the downtown artery will be closed to traffic between Somerset to Catherine streets for the final phase of the street’s $36-million “rehabilitation.” (See below for map.)

The shutdown is to allow the replacement of underground infrastructure and other work, including burying power lines.

That work is expected to last through much of 2019.

Snowy owl invasion: Is the Arctic no longer Arctic enough?

By Tom Spears, Ottawa Citizen, December 19, 2018

Snowy owls have again flown south in large numbers to Eastern Ontario, and now birders are starting to think of this previously rare pattern as the new normal for the Arctic birds.

They’re also coming up with a theory: The owls are being driven south not because the Arctic is too harsh, but because it is no longer harsh enough. In an odd way, this may make life harder for owls in the North.

This is the sixth straight year of “irruptions,” or abnormal movements, of a lot of the big, powerful white owls. Normally they stay in the Arctic year-round, but young adults especially tend to move south if there is a shortage of food in the North.

This often happens when owls have had a good breeding season. It’s not that food itself runs short, but rather a case of having too many owls hunting in the same area.

Gatineau water main break prompts boil water advisory, traffic mess

By the Ottawa Citizen, December 19, 2018

Commuters should be prepared for a second day of headaches Wednesday as the City of Gatineau continues to try to repair a broken water main that has closed busy Alexandre-Taché Boulevard.

The break prompted a boil water advisory for Gatineau’s entire Hull district.

Mayor Maxime Pedneaud-Jobin said in a radio interview Tuesday evening the city should have the roadway repaired by Friday at the latest.

Pellerin: Why we speed – it's all about having too much space

By Brigitte Pellerin, Ottawa Citizen, December 19, 2018

Not to boast, but I’m pretty good at driving on the wrong side of the street.

I’ve crisscrossed the United Kingdom and Ireland several times. I’ve learned a lot driving those roads. First, that calling them “roads” is really funny. In North America, traffic lanes are wider than three metres; over there, they’re barely bigger than a standard elevator.

In more than a few places, the road is elevated and the guardrails few and far between. On a recent trip to a waterfall just outside Dublin, I motored along not four feet from a precipice with nothing to keep me from tumbling to my death except my instinct for self-preservation. There are speed limits but you don’t need them; you’d be bonkers to go faster than the roads allow. Incentives, I tell you.

There are various reasons so many people speed in Ottawa, including congestion, stress caused by same and busy lifestyles. But more than anything else, I am convinced, we speed because our roads feel so wide, straight and safe to us seated comfortably in our spacious cushy vehicles that we can’t possibly restrict ourselves to 40 km/h without a massive dose of self-discipline, which we tend to lack.

How to make your Christmas more environmentally friendly

By Sophia Harris, CBC News Ottawa, December 16, 2018

Christmas is a time of celebration, but once the party's over, plenty of garbage is hauled to the curb.

Environmental group Zero Waste Canada estimates that from mid-November to mid-January, the average Canadian generates about 25 per cent more trash than during the rest of the year.

The reason: people buy more stuff over the holidays, and a lot of it — from shiny wrapping paper to glittery cards — typically can't go in your recycling blue bin, so it's destined for the landfill.

COP24 edging toward deal on how to report carbon emissions

By the Associated Press, CBC News Ottawa, December 15, 2018

A deal on the rules that govern the Paris climate accord appeared within grasp Saturday, as officials from almost 200 countries worked to bridge remaining differences after two weeks of UN talks in Poland.

The COP24 talks were expected to end Friday, but sessions continued into Saturday in an effort to work out firm rules for measuring greenhouse gas emissions and efforts to reduce them.

The 2015 Paris Agreement was a landmark moment in international diplomacy, bringing together governments with vastly different views to tackle the common threat of global warming. But while the accord set a headline target of keeping average global temperatures from rising by more than 2 degrees Celsius — or 1.5 C if possible — much of the fine print was left unfinished.

Tiny house workshop coming to Vankleek Hill

By James Morgan, The Review, December 14, 2018

Are you looking for a smaller, simpler home that is easy on your bank account, and the environment? You can find out how to build one, thanks to a workshop taking place from February 8 to 10 at Zudio in Vankleek Hill.

Kenton Zerbin, an Alberta-based expert in the “tiny home” movement that is popular across North America right now, will be conducting a workshop on how to build one of the diminutive domiciles.

The other places Zerbin gives his workshops include Edmonton, Regina, Winnipeg, and Toronto. When asked why he chose to give one in a much smaller place like Vankleek Hill, he said that his organizer in Ottawa suggested it because Zudio has the space, and Vankleek Hill is located halfway between Ottawa and Montreal, which makes it easy for people from either city to attend.

Mayor talks pot, LeBreton Flats, LRT in year-end interview

By 1310 News, December 14, 2018

A year-end interview with the mayor on 1310 NEWS covered the biggest topics of 2018 and the year ahead, including retail cannabis stores, redeveloping LeBreton Flats and the opening of the O-Train's Confederation Line.

Mayor Jim Watson joined Mark Sutcliffe on Ottawa Today to reflect on 2018 and look at some of the biggest issues coming up next year at City Hall.