Ecology Ottawa

News Clippings

Tiny house tour: Carleton gives the public a glimpse inside the Northern Nomad

By Joanne Laucius, Ottawa Citizen, September 8, 2018

Carleton University held a tiny house party Saturday.

It was the first time members of the public had been invited to tour the Northern Nomad, 220 square feet of off-the-grid cuteness. Dozens showed up to coo over both the diminutive domicile and also the state-of-the-art material and technologies it showcased.

Tiny houses are all the rage on social media. There’s even a television show, Tiny House Big Living, dedicated to “radical downsizing.”

The goal at Carleton wasn’t to build a tiny house, but to use a tiny house to demonstrate technologies and materials that would produce enough renewable energy on site to meet or exceed its energy needs.

Record number of Orléans candidates tricky for voters

By Kate Porter, CBC News Ottawa, September 7, 2018

Eleven Orlé​ans ward candidates chatted in French at a debate Thursday night, giving voters what's likely going to be one of a few chances to hear from the record number of candidates for that council seat in one setting.

The francophone cultural group Mouvement d'implication francophone d'Orléans, or MIFO, held all-candidates debates this week for Ottawa's three eastern wards.

(...)On Sept. 27, Ecology Ottawa plans to also hold an event for the ward, but candidates do not expect a traditional format then, either.

Quotes and notes from the Stittsville election debate on Rogers

By Devyn Barrie, StittsvilleCentral, September 6, 2018

(...)On transit

GOWER: “We’ve seen light rail going out to Orléans, we’ve seen bus rapid transit go out to Barrhaven, and Stittsville and Kanata always seem to be lagging behind. I would have expected a much stronger role from the west-end councillors, including Coun. Qadri, to advocate for transit to Stittsville and Kanata sooner (than 2031).”

QADRI: “I was fantastically ecstatic when I heard and found out that LRT is coming to Stittsville… All three west-end councillors (Allan Hubley and Marianne Wilkinson) worked very diligently in order to get an environmental assessment for LRT to come out to Kanata and Stittsville. We got that environmental assessment complete and will be moving forward in the next term of council… If the financing comes through sooner we’ve already had the mayor come and talk to us and say we could build it sooner (than 2031).”

(Gower also noted that more than 30 per cent of morning 262 bus runs are late. Qadri says buses are running late because of construction downtown related to LRT.)

Clive Doucet launches mayoral campaign with promise of regional rail service, lower transit fares

By Ted Raymond, CFRA News, September 6, 2018

Mayoral candidate Clive Doucet is making transit a cornerstone of his campaign.

Doucet officially launched his bid for mayor of Ottawa Thursday, with the slogan “A City for Everyone.”

His main plank is a regional rail system, akin to the GO Train in the GTA. Doucet wants to use existing rail infrastructure to send commuter trains to Smiths Falls, Limoges, Kinburn, and Chelsea.

“My plan will remove 20,000 cars from the 417, making it easier and safer for Ottawa residents to get to work, whether they are taking transit, driving or cycling,” Doucet said in a press release.

City cites construction deficiencies on Colonel By raised crosswalk

By Joanne Schnurr, CTV News Ottawa, September 5, 2018

They're called raised crosswalks. But motorists say that's just a fancy name for a speed bump and a new one on Ottawa’s Colonel By is catching many drivers off guard. The raised intersection is aimed at slowing motorists down but many are complaining the bump is causing them to bottom out.

Now city staff are trying to figure out whether that bump is simply too big.

When the light turns green, that usually means "go" but at the intersection of Colonel By Drive and the Corktown Footbridge, you risk bottoming out your car if you're going the speed limit.

“They should rectify it,” says one motorist, “It's not good at all.”

In fact, that's just what city workers are trying to do; figure out how to make this bump a little less bumpy.

MCLEOD: transit service cuts and fare hikes undermine LRT

By Jonathan McLeod, Ottawa Sun, September 6, 2018

Earlier this year, there was a mini-revolt by Barrhaven bus riders. Under the banner of #lifeonthe95, they took to social media, chronicling all the late buses, cancelled buses, packed buses and other failings of our local transit concern.

With the LRT launching this November (we hope), OC Transpo will implement a can’t-miss solution for all #lifeonthe95 woes; they’re going to change the bus number! No longer will Barrhavenites be suffering on the 95. Now they’ll take the 75.

You can’t have problems on the 95 if the 95 doesn’t exist, right?

Obviously, this is not a solution. Without other improvements, transferring to 75 will be no different than transferring to the 95. Worse, if you’re going downtown, you’ll have to transfer to the train at Tunney’s Pasture (and to go all the way to Orleans, you’ll hop on the 39 to end your trip).

Mosquito population explodes in Kanata North

By Kimberley Molina, CBC News Ottawa, September 5, 2018

After an itchy August, some Kanata North residents are questioning whether a pilot project to take care of menacing mosquitoes is actually working.

The project has been running since 2016 with the goal of reducing the population in the ward.

After a relatively scratch-free June and July, August seems to have been particularly good for mosquitoes and bad for people.

CBC Ottawa explains: Traffic safety

By Kate Porter, CBC News Ottawa, September 6, 2018

Speeding. Traffic. Roads. Across the city, candidates and incumbents alike say that's what residents want to talk about most often out on the campaign trail.

• Join the conversation. Click on this link to become a member of the CBC Ottawa City Talk Facebook group.

So, how serious are these issues? What is the city doing about it? How much money are we throwing at the problem, and is it enough?

Let's take a look.

Councillors race through traffic-calming funds

By Kate Porter, CBC News Ottawa, September 6, 2018

As this term of council winds down, all but two councillors have spent most of the $160,000 they were each given to put up stakes and signs in their wards to slow speeders.

Safety on Ottawa roads is a common concern they hear from residents.

Each of the 23 councillors received $40,000 a year in each of the past four years to spend on "traffic-calming" methods in his or her ward.

• ELECTION 2018
  CBC Ottawa explains: Traffic safety

Councillors get to buy solar-powered signs that display motorist speeds, as well as speed-limit stakes, pavement markings and planters to install where residents want drivers to slow down.

Boil water advisory in effect for Gatineau sector

By CBC News Ottawa, September 6, 2018

The City of Gatineau has issued a boil water advisory for a section of the Gatineau sector south of Highway 50.

Residents are asked to boil their water for at least a minute before drinking the water, the city said in a news release.

The boundaries of the effected area are:

• East of Labrosse Boulevard.
• West of Montée Mineault.
• North of the Ottawa River.
• South of Highway 50, and the industrial park area near the airport north of the Highway.

Today's letters: Garbage in, garbage out

By Rebecca Dufton, Ottawa Citizen Letter to the Editor, September 6, 2018

Here’s why waste disposal matters

I was disturbed to hear Mayor Jim Watson say that reducing garbage is not a priority among residents. Most people give little thought to what they put out at the curb and don’t care what happens after that. City leaders are doing nothing to create public awareness and encourage more responsible practices.

I believe our politicians need to take a stronger leadership role. It should be a priority to prolong the life of landfills, protect our environment, manage our tax dollars wisely and do what’s best for the future. Think beyond the four-year term. Once the Trail Road site is filled, the city will need to make a major investment in a new facility. It won’t be pleasant and it won’t be cheap.

Reevely: If Ottawa wants a big shift to transit, Clive Doucet has a plan for it

By David Reevely, Ottawa Citizen, September 6, 2018

Clive Doucet would get a regional rail system running in all directions within four years if he’s elected mayor, he said Thursday, using industrial tracks to connect downtown Ottawa to outlying villages and towns as far away as Chelsea, Smiths Falls and Limoges.

He’d cut transit fares, keep 178 hybrid-engine buses the city intends to sell, and augment them with 12-seat minibuses on suburban routes serving his new rail stations.

Doucet’s plan would be a sharp turn toward transit and away from auto-centric transportation, with a change in spending to match. He presented it in a news conference on Lemieux Island in the Ottawa River, the south span of the Prince of Wales Bridge just behind him.