Ecology Ottawa

News Clippings

More than just a bike: Kids get free rides thanks to anonymous donor

By Joe Lofaro, CBC News Ottawa, April 22, 2018

Sixty kids marked the first day of real spring weather in Ottawa Saturday by testing out shiny new bicycles given to them by a generous — and anonymous — donor.

It's the second year in a row an anonymous woman has donated new bikes to youth who otherwise wouldn't have access to them, in partnership with the Ottawa Police Service.

On Saturday, 30 boys and 30 girls took their new rides for a spin inside the McNabb Community Arena for the Bikes for Kids event.

'Greening' project could end use of fossil fuel for Centennial Flame

By Dean Beebe, CBC News Ottawa, April 22, 2018

Will the Centennial Flame monument on Parliament Hill, with its dancing fires lit by natural gas, become the Centennial LED?

The federal government has launched a study of options to cut the flow of natural gas from Western Canada to the popular monument, and replace it with a more eco-friendly energy source.

Natural gas piped from the West has been bubbling through the fountain in the centre of the monument for 50 years, ever since it was unveiled by then-prime minister Lester Pearson on the eve of July 1, 1967, Confederation's 100th birthday.

Today's letters: Battle of the artists, more views on transit and parking

By William Parker and Others, Ottawa Citizen Letters to the Editor, April 21, 2018

Pedestrians a problem at roundabouts

Re: Letters, Roundabouts are superior to lights, Traffic circles should be a priority, April 14.

I have to wonder why the Ontario government made changes to the Highway Traffic Act, (ironically under the Making Ontario’s Roads Safer Act passed in June 2015) when Type 2 crossovers were created allowing municipalities to place pedestrian crossovers close to a roundabout.

I have no objection to pedestrians crossing traffic, but the location of a pedestrian crossover shouldn’t be such that a vehicle exiting can’t get off the roundabout because one pedestrian has stepped out (usually without looking), crossing the second lane.

Some Gatineau Park trails open for hikers and cyclists as crews continue ice-storm cleanup

By Jacquie Miller, Ottawa Citizen, April 21, 2018

Parts of Gatineau Park reopened Saturday, including several of the main trails, and cyclists can hit the parkways and paved trails with caution, says the National Capital Commission.

However, the planned reopening of the parkways to vehicles, scheduled for May 4, has been postponed.

Gatineau Park closed on April 16 because of damage caused by the freezing rain storm. Crews have removed large branches and trees, although none of the shelters or other buildings were damaged, said the NCC in a media release.

Beach-cleaning robot honoured with $1K grant

By CBC News Ottawa, April 20, 2018

An idea to use robots to scour local beaches for litter has earned an Ottawa woman a $1,000 grant from local group Awesome Ottawa, which rewards those working on "awesome projects."

Erin Kennedy created Robot Missions — a social enterprise that uses robots to find litter on beaches — was honoured with the "micro-grant" at a ceremony on Thursday night.

(...)"The objective of our robot is to improve our environment by collecting tiny-trash pollution found on beaches," Kennedy said.

"This type of pollution poses a threat to our ecosystems, but is often ignored by manual efforts, and large machinery does not collect it."

Gatineau Park to partially reopen Saturday

By CBC News Ottawa, April 20, 2018

Gatineau Park is set to partially reopen Saturday after it closed earlier this week due to the ice storm, according to a news release from the National Capital Commission.

• Gatineau Park closed due to icy conditions

• Gatineau Park cleanup to take at least a week, NCC says

Lauriault Trail, Sugarbush Trail, Capital Trail and Pioneers Trail will reopen, while all backcountry trails and rock climbing sites will remain closed, the release said.

Tick season is coming; are you prepared?

By Ted Raymond, CFRA News, April 19, 2018

You may be forgiven for not thinking about tick season in Ottawa, given the weather we’ve been having, but one city councillor says reports of the little bloodsuckers are already coming in.

Kanata North councillor Marianne Wilkinson tells Newstalk 580 CFRA’s Ottawa Now with Evan Solomon the number of tick reports in Ottawa has been on the rise.

“These ticks are found everywhere in the city, but we’ve had a couple of people notify us,” she says. “We have a lot of natural environment lands here, and they tend to be in the tall grass, but you’ll find them anywhere in the city. They’ve been increasing in recent years.”

NCC improving cycling safety on Portage Bridge with surface renovations

By Jon Willing, Ottawa Citizen, April 19, 2018

A $9.2-million repair job to the Portage Bridge between downtown Ottawa and Hull would upgrade the asphalt on all lanes and improve safety on the cycle tracks, the National Capital Commission says.

The NCC board approved the budget allocation Thursday.

The NCC considered three temporary options for improving cycling on the bridge. The agency dismissed a $1.3-million option to create a new southbound cycle lane on the southbound side of the bridge and make the current bidirectional cycle track northbound-only. A $900,000 option that would widen the area between the vehicular lanes and cycle track was also counted out.

Downtown bus service will improve after LRT launch, transit commission hears

By Kristy Cameron, CTV News Ottawa, April 18, 2018

The reliability of OC Transpo was the focus of a meeting of the City's transit commission.

New data shows routes 6, 7, and 12 have a higher-than-average cancellation rate than the rest of the system.

Councillor Mathieu Fleury says the City needs to be mindful of how this impacts people's lives.

"We collectively want to make bus usage a lifestyle and when you start creating these situations where it's not just a delay or life planning it's actually impacting their livelihood, it's challenging."

Gatineau asking Quebec to help foot bill for LRT to Aylmer

By CBC News Ottawa, April 18, 2018

Gatineau city councillors will ask Quebec to share some of the cost of building a light rail and rapid bus link between Aylmer and the city's downtown.

Councillors also voted at a Tuesday night meeting to officially fund two high-profile downtown projects and demolish a Hull presbytery despite opposition over its historic value.

Aylmer LRT

Councillors unanimously voted to ask the provincial government to help pay for the estimated $700- to $900-million cost of building a light rail link to the city's west end.

Gatineau Park cleanup to take at least a week, NCC says

By CBC News Ottawa, April 18, 2018

It will be at least a week before visitors can return to Gatineau Park, thanks to damage from this week's messy spring storm.

The National Capital Commission (NCC) says crews will need the time to clean up fallen trees and branches knocked down by a combination of freezing rain and high winds.

Ottawa transit commission flouts Quebec's 'niqab ban'

By Laura Osman, CBC News Ottawa, April 18, 2018

Ottawa's transit commission has made its opposition to Quebec's so-called "niqab ban" official.

The 12-member commission on Wednesday unanimously passed a resolution that requires OC Transpo to continue to provide service that complies with the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and to "remain committed to equity and diversity."

Critics say the Quebec law, which passed last October, violates the charter rights of Muslim women who wear a niqab or burka. It bans the wearing of such face coverings by anyone receiving public services, including public transit.