By Jon Willing, Ottawa Citizen, July 24, 2017
Ruth McCrea has mistaken rats for squirrels scurrying up a Manitoba maple tree outside her home.
That’s how big the rodents can get in Centretown.McCrea, who lives with her husband and their two young children on Cooper Street, said the rat problem in her community peaked in the spring and summer this year before finally tapering off over the past two weeks. It’s been a job just to keep them away from getting into their home.
By Kieran Delamont, Ottawa Metro News, July 20, 2017
A year-long “dooring zone” pilot project along Wellington Street appears to have succeed, showing how much of a difference a small infrastructure change can make.
Coun. Jeff Leiper and Shawn McGuire, coordinator of cyclist and pedestrian safety at the city, took to Facebook Live on Thursday to share the results of the project that used pavement markings to alert cyclists and drivers. The project tested a new type of road marking that staff said they hadn’t seen anywhere else.
Called a ‘dooring zone,’ the markings move cyclists to the middle of the lane in order to prevent drivers opening doors into cyclists, and also to discourage drivers passing cyclists who have a right to occupy the lane.
By Laurie Fagan, CBC News Ottawa, July 21, 2017
Conservation experts in Ottawa are waging war on Japanese knotweed, an aggressive, invasive plant species which has taken root in more than a dozen places on the city's shorelines. If it's not controlled, biologists warn the foreign plant — strong enough to break through walls and roads — will spread, displacing wildlife and crowding out native plant species in many areas.
"It grows so aggressively that it overpowers and overtakes shoreline areas where native vegetation would normally establish," said Rosario Castanon, who is co-ordinating the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority's efforts to control the weed.
By the Ottawa Citizen, July 20, 2017
Three companies are teaming up with the federal government to install 34 electric vehicle fast-charging stations along the Trans-Canada Highway in an attempt to encourage the adoption of zero-emission vehicles.
The $17.3-million charging network, which will be installed in Ontario and Manitoba, will allow drivers to charge their zero-emission cars in about 20 minutes through stations powered by a lithium-ion battery storage system, one its developers say won’t stress the utility grid.
The project is funded by an $8-million “repayable contribution” from Natural Resources Canada under the Canadian Energy Innovation Program, as well as private investment from eCAMION, a Toronto-based energy storage system developer, Leclanché, an energy storage provider, and Geneva-based power producer SGEM.
By Andrew Duffy, Ottawa Citizen, July 20, 2017
A federal funding agency has issued a national call for new Lyme disease research as the country’s population of disease-carrying ticks continues to climb.
The research initiative is the first step in the federal government’s recently announced $4-million, four-year plan to combat Lyme disease, which is now the most common vector-borne illness in Canada.
By David Reevely, Ottawa Citizen, July 20, 2017
Ontario taxpayers will soon be part-owners of one of the biggest coal-fired power plants in America west of the Mississippi River, making money off pollution in the U.S. Northwest that would be illegal to emit at home.
That’s business, and when the government goes into business, money talks.
It’s part of the package in Hydro One’s multibillion-dollar purchase of Avista Utilities, which the former Ontario government property announced Wednesday. Now that the province has sold 60 per cent of what used to be the transmission arm of Ontario Hydro, it’s looking for acquisitions and partnerships and it found a big one. Between them, they’ll be a $32-billion company, with Hydro One paying $6.4 billion to make Avista a subsidiary once the deal closes in 2018.
By Kieran Delamont, Ottawa Metro News, July 19, 2017
Residents of Overbrook are concerned about what they see as a lack of basic infrastructure in their neighbourhood, which is home to a high percentage of low-income residents.
“There’s a lot of areas that don’t have sidewalks,” said Overbrook Community Association president Rawlson King. “And the way the city typically operates is that sidewalks only go in if there’s new developments.
”Some of the concerns were generalized—residents just want better infrastructure, but not specific infrastructure. Others were more specific—King says the community would like to see OC Transpo roll back some 2011 cost-cutting measures that saw routes in the neighbourhood reduced.
By Erin McCracken, Ottawa Community News, July 19, 2017
Dozens of local companies will be able to tap into the federal government’s Ottawa-based district energy system when it is modernized by 2025 in an effort to boost efficiency, save money and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
“One of the goals that we have in the program is to make this a community asset,” said Don Grant, strategic advisor of engagement of the government’s energy services acquisition program.
That program is at the heart of a plan to transition Public Services and Procurement Canada’s properties to 100-per-cent clean power. It also includes updating five central heating and cooling plants at Confederation Heights, Tunney’s Pasture, the Cliff plant at 1 Fleet St., the National Research Council at 98 Sussex Dr., and the Canadian Government Printing Bureau at 45 Sacré-Coeur Blvd. in Gatineau.
By Ted Raymond, CFRA News, July 19, 2017
Ottawa Police say they issued 25 tickets Wednesday morning, to cyclists caught riding their bicycles on the sidewalk on Mackenzie Avenue.
As part of our STEP program for July. (Cycling safety) 25 tickets issued this morning on MacKenzie for riding on a sidewalk. @Denvale — Sgt Mark Gatien (@gatienmc) July 19, 2017
Gatien said, in one case, a cyclist clipped an officer who was giving a ticket to another cyclist.
Each ticket carries a $40 fine.
A $4-million bike lane recently opened on Mackenize Avenue, to mixed reviews.
Cyclists have said it's complicated, time consuming, and dangerous to reach the lane from Sussex Drive or Murray Street. The City plans to eventually connect the Mackenzie Avenue bike lane to one on Wellington Street.
By David Reevely, Ottawa Citizen, July 18, 2017
Grocery chain Farm Boy is set to open a new store in the Rideau Centre’s old food court by the end of this year, whacking the fragile ecosystem for food retail in the ByWard Market.
“We do have a deal with Farm Boy to open before the end of this year. We’re super-excited about the opportunity to do business with a very successful and well-regarded local retailer,” said Cindy VanBuskirk, the Rideau Centre’s general manager.
By Bill Curry, Globe and Mail, July 17, 2017
A Toronto-based condo developer that specializes in attracting Chinese capital for Canadian real estate is investing in a controversial proposal for a privately run commuter rail network throughout the National Capital Region.
Toronto’s LeMine Investment Group – which has developed condos in Toronto and Ajax – has agreed to spend $5-million on a 120-day study of the merits of a proposed 400-kilometre regional rail network that would connect several small communities outside Ottawa and Gatineau to the downtown core.
By Kieran Delamont, Ottawa Metro News, July 17, 2017
The Greater Toronto Area has GO transit, and the national capital region may one day have Moose transit.
Moose is a would-be privately owned, pay-what-you-want express-rail network providing rail service to small towns along six lines. Thelines would terminate in Bristol, Arnprior, Smiths Falls, Montebello, La Peche and Alexandria.
A recently announced $5-million study, which will be returned in approximately three months and which is being funded by LeMine Investment Group, is the first step towards the development of the network.