Ecology Ottawa

News Clippings

New Sparks Street features garner optimism from city, mixed reviews from Ottawans

By Taylor Blewett, Ottawa Citizen, July 18, 2018

How do you return Canada’s first pedestrian mall to its glory days as a commercial and social hub after years of general apathy from Ottawans?

The brains behind the Sparks Street Public Realm Plan are giving hammocks, street games, a pop-up library and picnic tables a try.

“Sparks Street is in need of an update, especially given its importance to our tourism industry,” Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson conceded Wednesday, by way of introducing the new “SparksScape” pilot project. After consulting with the public at a January town hall, the city and its Sparks Street revitalization partners are introducing the new street-level features on a trial basis, with a plan to evaluate their popularity in the coming weeks.

(...)Longtime Ottawa resident Ingrid Navas isn’t convinced. She gave the authorities points for trying, but said, “I think it’s too little, too late.”

Bird groups rally to save woodpecker found hung from tree in Heron Road area

By Norman Provencher, Ottawa Citizen, July 18, 2018

Bird safety activists in the capital were mobilizing to try to figure out how to treat a northern flicker-type woodpecker found hanging by its neck in the Heron/Alta Vista area late Tuesday.

“We’ve reached out to our online contacts for assistance,” said Safe Wings Ottawa spokeswoman Anouk Hoedeman.

“It’s pretty evident this was done by someone, it wasn’t an accident.”

A citizen found the bird, which is about 25 cm long and weighs about 100 grams, hanging from an “obviously knotted” piece of string on a fence near St. Patrick’s Catholic Intermediate School. It was struggling slightly, but was weakened and badly injured.

Here's why VeloGo bikes are parked in random places

By Andrew Foote, CBC News Ottawa, July 18, 2018

Have you seen newly painted blue VeloGo bikes standing tall and parked in random places around Ottawa over the past couple of weeks?

That's the point of this year's expanded service: scattering its bikes across a wider area instead of trying to cluster them at stations as it has for the last three years.

Bike riders use an app to find the closest VeloGo bike. After they have signed it out using the app, they can take it for a ride and leave it almost anywhere for another rider to find.

Riders no longer have to pay more to leave a bike outside a hub, which general manager Josh Holzman said offers more freedom and flexibility.

Remaking Sparks: Fresh ideas for pedestrian mall get test run

By CBC News Ottawa, July 18, 2018

Parts of Sparks Street in downtown Ottawa are upping the fun factor this morning as officials try out some new ideas to revitalize the pedestrian mall.

The City of Ottawa launched a campaign to bring more people to the pedestrian mall with a public meeting in January, asking the public for ideas. Winners will form a revitalization plan that will eventually go to council for a vote.

• From public art to parking spots, here are 8 ideas to improve Sparks Street

Change is already afoot: in an effort to keep vehicles off the street, removable bollards were installed earlier this month.

Drivers slam bridge detour as city defends shared route

By Marc-André Cossette, CBC News Ottawa, July 18, 2018

Cyclists aren't the only ones slamming the city's new Harmer Avenue bridge detour.

Drivers say they worry the shared route will anger other impatient motorists and endanger the safety of cyclists.

(...)Greg Kent, manager of traffic management with the City of Ottawa, downplayed safety concerns, saying that cyclists and drivers should both expect a learning curve.

"The cars will get used to those cyclists and the cyclists will get used to where they want to cycle," he said.

Kent noted that cyclists can ride either in the middle of the lane or off to the side of the lane, although cyclists have said that second option leaves them more vulnerable to dooring.

Zibi development to 'change the face of Gatineau,' city's mayor says

By Blair Crawford, Ottawa Citizen, July 17, 2018

When Gatineau Mayor Maxime Pedneaud-Jobin looks out over the Zibi development on the Ottawa River, what excites him most is what he won’t see.

In October, demolition crews will dismantle a massive 250-metre former Domtar building at the corner of rue Eddy and rue Laurier that has separated the city from the river as effectively as a prison wall.

(...)“This is the most incredible piece of land I’ve ever seen,” said Michael Cooper, founder and CEO of Dream Unlimited, the company is behind Toronto’s successful Distillery District redevelopment. “It’s got thousands of acres of waterfront. It’s in two provinces. It’s got incredible opportunities for sustainability. We think we can create one of the greatest global ‘mini cities.’ If you’re patient with us, we will exceed your expectations.”

Collectable Treasures: canoes, paddles, and memories of the Ottawa River

By the Editor, Kitchissippi Times, July 16, 2018

I found it hanging on a wall in a small, local antique shop. It is a crudely made wooden canoe paddle that obviously served someone well over the years.

The owner thought enough of the paddle to paint the words Ottawa River on the blade and the date, presumably the year, “49”, at the base of the handle. I suspect it was made for use in a wooden canoe, which at the time would have been seen all along the Ottawa River. Another paddle I bought from a home in McKellar Park was likely made in the late 1800’s and the blade displays an oil painting of a campsite along the river.

(...)Centuries ago, the Ottawa was the major transportation route to the upper Great Lakes and beyond. This is the waterway that underpinned the life of indigenous people dating back thousands of years and which also supported Europe’s insatiable quest for beaver pelts in the 17^thand 18^thcentury, as championed by the Hudson Bay Company founded in 1621 and in 1779 by the North West Company. (The two competitors merged in 1821.) It was the humble birch bark canoe that provided the means to reach the fur-bearing regions of Canada and to transport the product back to Montreal and other points in East for shipment overseas.

Is community planning a waste of time?

By Joanne Chianello, CBC News Ottawa, July 14, 2018

Between public meetings, poring over documents and debating with her own community association colleagues, Catherine Boucher figures she spent upwards of 20 hours participating in a process to come up with a plan for her urban community to intensify with the coming of light rail.

All those volunteer hours were worth it, thought Boucher. That work — a result of consultations between community members, landowners — resulted in the Bayview Community Design Plan (CDP), a sort of blueprint for the neighbourhoods near the transit station of the same name.

Ottawa companies call renewable energy contract cancellations a waste

By Matthew Kupfer, CBC News Ottawa, July 14, 2018

The Ontario government is cancelling 758 renewable energy projects, a move people involved with the sector call a 'waste' that will create uncertainty.

The government made the announcement Friday, which includes the cancellation of 26 Ottawa projects.

Four of those cancelled are solar projects that belong to the Ottawa Renewable Energy Co-operative, according to spokesperson Aaron Thornell.

(...)Robb Barnes, executive director of Ecology Ottawa, said the Ontario government is conducting "policy by sledgehammer" on the energy file.

• Company warns scrapping wind project could come with $100M price tag for taxpayers

• End of Ontario green school repair fund costs Ottawa board $5M

"Investors are going to go elsewhere. They're going to go to jurisdictions like California that are moving ahead with green jobs," he said.

Taking a peek at the nearly-complete Blair LRT station

By 1310 News, July 13, 2018

City of Ottawa officials and local media have had their first look at the new Blair light rail transit station.

There is still a bit of cosmetic work to be done, but the station is just about finished -- right down to intricate wood-decorated ceilings and artwork suspecnded from the ceiling. Titled Lightscape, the artwork is comprised of thousands of small glass flags.

Mayor Jim Watson joined the tour of what's expected to be one of the busiest LRT stations in the city.

Ottawa cycling infrastructure programs could be delayed as PCs cancel cap-and-trade scheme

By Jon Willing, Ottawa Citizen, July 12, 2018

Multimillion-dollar cycling plans at Ottawa City Hall could be delayed as the Progressive Conservative provincial government bails from the greenhouse gas cap-and-trade scheme.

The city received $9.7 million from the Ontario Municipal Commuter Cycling Program (OMCCP) this year and has counted on more money flowing from the fund to help pay for future projects. The city learned earlier this month that the PCs are ending the program.

Expanding Ottawa’s bike network and making it safer for cyclists has been part of council’s term priorities and would no doubt be part of the next council’s agenda when the new term begins Dec. 1.

Planning committee decides Ottawa is a 65-storey city

By Jon Willing, Ottawa Citizen, July 10, 2018

Ottawa is a 65-storey city, no matter what a community plan says.

That’s the view of the majority of planning committee members who voted Tuesday to recommend allowing a giant three-tower complex at 900 Albert St., near the Bayview O-Train station.

Councillors Jan Harder, Tim Tierney, Stephen Blais, Rick Chiarelli, Jean Cloutier, Allan Hubley and Shad Qadri voted in favour of planning amendments that would allow the development, while Jeff Leiper and Tobi Nussbaum opposed. Council will cast the final vote Wednesday.

(...)The city’s Bayview station secondary plan allows a maximum of 30 storeys on the property, but the official plan calls for buildings taller than 30 storeys to be within 200 metres of transit stations in mixed-use centres. A prime candidate for the official plan direction would be 900 Albert St.