Ecology Ottawa

News Clippings

Ottawa, Gatineau traffic updates for April 25 - Ottawa - CBC News

By Doug Hempstead, CBC News Ottawa, April 25, 2017

Bike lanes are for bikes only

Speaking of bikes, Margaret asked me a question via email:"Are the bike lanes exclusively for bikes? I'm asking because now that spring has sprung, I see multiple wheeled-things on the O'Connor strip including roller blades, skateboards, chair-type vehicles for the disabled, motorized (or electric) two-wheeled scooters and even bikes. All moving at varying speeds.

"Are there laws or by-laws which stipulate speeds in these lanes?"

Brie Watson: Here’s how to improve Para Transpo

Ottawa Citizen

By Brie Watson, Ottawa Citizen, April 25, 2017

A group of friends and I were waiting in a shawarma shop on Rideau on a night back in January. I was visiting Ottawa, a city I once called home. One of my friends, Artrude, had scheduled a pick-up with OC Transpo’s Para Transpo services for 10 p.m. The time rolled around and the bus was nowhere in sight.

“I can’t call for a half hour,” Artrude told us.

So we all waited, late on a cold night, in downtown Ottawa.

The system currently in place is such that a disabled person cannot call OC Transpo to ask about the whereabouts of their scheduled pick-up until a half-hour has passed from the initial scheduled timing. Luckily, we had ordered a shawarma, so it technically wasn’t considered loitering, as we sat around for an additional 30 minutes. We didn’t leave the restaurant because we didn’t want to leave Artrude alone downtown at night.

Science of spring: The only sequoia in Eastern Canada has made it through its fifth winter in Chelsea

Ottawa Citizen

By Tom Spears, Ottawa Citizen, April 24, 2017

The only sequoia in Eastern Canada has made it through its fifth winter in Chelsea, standing 61 feathery centimetres tall and preparing now for a spring growth spurt.

It’s six years since Chelsea artist Sarah Hatton planted 50 sequoia seeds indoors, and waited.

The sequoia is native to California. It is the world’s tallest tree species, and can live well into its second millennium. But it prefers gentle California weather.

‘We have this raging battle between bike lanes and parking’: Spencer Street blowback angers Ottawa cycling advocate

Ottawa Citizen

By Jon Willing, Ottawa Citizen, April 24, 2017

A businessman who was one of the first supporters of drawing bike lanes on Spencer Street says the removal of a big bike rack on Wellington Street West nearly three years ago has given opponents some swagger.

“We empowered them,” Randy Kemp said. “All the whining and complaining paid off.

”Kemp, a former chairman of the Wellington West BIA and now the organization’s treasurer, said the conflict over the bike corral at Clarendon Avenue in 2014 set the stage for the current debate over putting bike lanes on Spencer Street. The city removed the bike corral, which was placed in a spot used for on-street parking, after receiving complaints about the lost vehicle space.

StittsvilleCentral.ca

By StittsvilleCentral, April 22, 2017

When light rail service begins in 2018, a lot about taking transit in Ottawa will change.

OC Transpo outlines everything that’s new and unfamiliar in their $1 million marketing campaign, Ready 4 Rail.

With some helpful additions from OttawaStart.com, here are the details:

Court upholds fine, orders rehabilitation of Rothbourne Road wetland

StittsvilleCentral.ca

By Glen Gower, StittsvilleCentral, April 22, 2017

A provincial court has ordered a company and its director to rehabilitate a provincially significant wetland on Rothborne Road that they damaged over five years ago.

On Thursday, Justice Diane M. Lahaie of the Ontario Court of Justice in Ottawa upheld an appeal initiated by the Mississippi Valley Conservation Authority (MCVA), and issued a court order to a numbered company, 1634088 Ontario Inc., and its director, Rodolfo Mion, to rehabilitate and restore the wetland on Rothbourne Road near Highway 7.

Transit chair mum on Confederation Line opening day

OttawaCommunityNews.com

By Jennifer McIntosh, Ottawa Community News, April 21, 2017

As the city launches a marketing campaign to ready customers for the opening of the Confederation Line, transit chair Coun. Stephen Blais remains vague on the official opening day, only saying the line will be open sometime in 2018.

While the city may be readying to customers to ride the rails, transit chair Coun. Stephen Blais was surprisingly mum on the Confederation Line’s debut date.

“It will open in 2018,” Blais said, declining to give an exact date when pressed.

​ Ottawa edging out Calgary for green, LEED certified buildings

OttawaCommunityNews.com

By Jennifer McIntosh, Ottawa Community News, April 21, 2017

While Ottawa and Calgary are tied for the number of city buildings that are constructed to be environmentally sustainable, we may be in the lead, staff said at the environment committee meeting on April 18.

Right now, officially, we have 25 — as does Calgary, staff said the number may have jumped to 26.

Three new buildings received LEED, an accreditation for construction that meets certain sustainability requirements, were certified in 2016. The new OC Transpo Articulated Bus Garage and Dispatch Building was certified, along with the Richcraft Recreation Complex in Kanata and the Greenboro Community Centre expansion.

Ottawa commuters celebrate, lament OC Transpo bus number changes - Ottawa - CBC News

By CBC News Ottawa, April 21, 2017

This weekend, several OC Transpo bus route numbers will change, paving the way for a major expansion of light rail service in Ottawa next year. The longtime route 2 will soon be known as route 11, and route 96 will be known as route 61. Changes to 12 other routes take effect Sunday.

For nostalgia's sake, we asked you if they had fond or foul memories of riding routes like the No. 2 or No. 96 bus.

Scoffield: Politics matters – Housing, climate and children’s rights

Ottawa Citizen

By Heather Scoffield, Ottawa Citizen, April 21, 2017

Save for the pot-smoking protesters who lit up outside the Peace Tower on Thursday, Parliament Hill was an island of quiet this week — even as global forces battered the country’s sense of security.

MPs were mainly in their ridings for the Easter break, and several cabinet ministers were south of the border preaching the wonders of the federal agenda.

But reminders of the unpredictability of powerful international events hailed down around them, with terrorists striking again in Paris and U.S. President Donald Trump suddenly turning his protectionist wrath on the “disgrace” that is Canada. At the same time, there were concrete developments on housing, greenhouse gas emissions and the rights of children. Here are a few ways federal politics touched us this week:

A major earthquake could hit Ottawa. Are we prepared?

Ottawa Citizen

By Tom Spears, Ottawa Citizen, April 21, 2017

The walls start suddenly to shake and groan.

First, it’s a dull rumbling sound, like a heavy truck where no truck should be. Then comes a banging and clanging that threaten to rend the walls and the ceiling of your office.

Outside, falling plates clatter along the ground of the Sparks Street patios. Over on Bank Street, walls bulge outward. Bricks from the older stores fall to the sidewalk and to the street.

Science of spring: Early spring is bad news for baby loons

Ottawa Citizen

By Tom Spears, Ottawa Citizen, April 21, 2017

Loons are back in Eastern Ontario, and one of North America’s loon scientists is discovering a problem: An early melt on lakes and a head start in breeding appears to backfire on the loons.

This seems backwards to the usual story for migrating birds.For many birds, getting a fast start in breeding is crucial to raising strong, healthy babies in time to fly south next fall. Many birds risk flying north early to grab the best territory, risking death from freezing or starvation if the weather turns bad.