By Vito Pilieci, Ottawa Citizen, April 21, 2017
The City of Ottawa will begin its new Kanata North mosquito control program Friday.The program, which was approved by council in February and is expected to cost around $1.5 million, will continue throughout the summer and is expected to end on Sept. 15.
The program is aimed an controlling the number of mosquito larvae in wetlands so they won’t hatch. No part of the program involves killing live mosquitoes.
By CFRA News, April 19, 2017
The city has launched its $1-million promotional ad campaign to get transit users prepared for the arrival of Light Rail Transit in 2018.
The "Ready for Rail" campaign was presented to members of the Transit commission Wednesday.The goal is to teach riders how their journey will change when the Confederation Line opens next year.
About one-third of the cost is going to consultants who worked on the program, while the remaining two-thirds is being spent on promotional materials such as signs and pamphlets.
By Jon Willing, Ottawa Sun, April 19, 2017
The Rideau Street sinkhole has undoubtedly thrown a huge wrench into the timeline for the city and LRT contractors, but it’s still not clear how it will impact the opening of service in 2018 or milestone obligations in 2017.
The LRT contract with the Rideau Transit Group includes a June 1, 2017 “readiness” deadline for the contractor to finish the downtown elements, largely to make sure Ottawa is polished for Canada Day.
By Andrew Foote and Stephen Pritchard, CBC News Ottawa, April 19, 2017
Quebec's Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources will present a plan Wednesday to block access to a former mine popular with weekend adventurers, but is leaving the door open to the site's eventual development into a proper tourist attraction.
The Wallingford-Back Mine, located approximately 60 kilometres northeast of Ottawa, has become a popular destination for paddlers, ice skaters, photographers and other explorers who are drawn to its turquoise water and imposing rock pillars.
By Kate Porter, CBC News Ottawa, April 19, 2017
Tourists and residents visiting Ottawa's downtown during the big summer of Canada's 150th birthday will still see some signs of light rail construction above ground, despite earlier promises it would be cleaned up for the 2017 festivities. The train is set to start running in 2018, although the city has not named a specific date.
That said, the original project agreement stipulated light rail's "core elements" downtown would be completed by June 1, 2017, and the city has described in past technical briefings its goal was to not disrupt 2017 celebrations with street-level construction.
By Shauna McGinn, Ottawa Citizen, April 19, 2017
More changes are coming to the city’s bus service.
Come Sunday, a number of OC Transpo routes will change, in preparation for the ongoing expansion of the LRT system.
A total of 14 regular bus routes will have new numbers. For example, route 2 will be now be known as 11, the 96 will become the 61, and route 176 will change to 80.
But it’s not just numbers that will shift – OC Transpo is also making adjustments to some routes, such as adding larger buses or more trips.
By Megan Gillis, Ottawa Citizen, April 19, 2017
Firefighters and paramedics were underground Tuesday for a first training exercise simulating an emergency rescue in the downtown LRT tunnel.
Firefighters were practicing a high-angle rescue, which is used to retrieve people from both heights and depths, using tools such as rigging, ropes and baskets.
Another session is planned for next week and more will be scheduled.“We have a large number of firefighters, every team has to be trained,” Ottawa Fire Services public information officer Danielle Cardinal said.
By Jon Willing, Ottawa Citizen, April 19, 2017
The Rideau Transit Group needs to hit a June 1, 2017 deadline to have LRT work done downtown, but we might not find out before then if the city has acted on the contract obligation.
The project agreement between RTG and the city includes a clause describing a “2017 readiness date.
”It essentially calls on the city to make an opinion on whether or not downtown work will be complete by June 1. When RTG receives a notice from the city about the possibility of falling behind that deadline, the consortium needs to respond within five days to provide the reasons for the delay and a game plan to reduce the delay.
By Gabrielle Roy, Ottawa Citizen, April 19, 2017
Elizabeth Smith has been living on the corner of René and Saint-Louis streets in Gatineau since 1983. She has seen floods in her area before, but none compare to the one she is grappling with now.
“I’ve seen water fill up the streets before, but it’s never gone up the driveway like that.” Smith hired someone to bring bags of sand to her property so she could stop the water from coming towards her house. “I’m trying to keep the water out of the basement because if I can’t, I’m going to have to move out of my house for a couple days,” the 79-year-old resident said on Wednesday.
By Drew May, Ottawa Metro News, April 18, 2017
The City of Gatineau has started giving out sandbags to residents in response to rising water levels on the Ottawa River.Jean Boileau, director of communications for the city, said the sandbags are free and so far 750 have been given out from city facilities in Gatineau. He said they are monitoring water levels and will do more if needed. Some roads in Gatineau have been closed because of flooding, including parts of St-Louis Street, he said.
The Ottawa River Regulation Planning Board issued a statement on April 18 saying that in some areas water levels could rise to the same levels seen after the January 1998 ice storm.
By CFRA News, April 18, 2017
The city plans to launch its campaign this week to prepare commuters for the the arrival of light rail in 2018.
The Ready for Rail campaign, being presented to the Transit commission on Wednesday, has been three years in the making.
It notes that transfers are the biggest concern among transit users, with most riders being forced to move from a bus to light rail to complete their journey downtown.City staff say they'll have to make sure light rail trains arrive and depart frequently so their customers' journeys don't take longer than they do now.
By Kate Porter, CBC News Ottawa, April 18, 2017
The City of Ottawa made nearly $10 million from selling what it collected from blue and black boxes in 2016, but still didn't collect enough organics to make its green bin contract a good deal.
The city sent 42,240 tonnes of paper recycling for processing last year. Even though that's lower than in past years, the city actually made more — $6.1 million — because the market value for fibre is high.
Residents are using less fine paper as they read fewer print newspapers and receive fewer bills on paper, but are putting more cardboard in their blue bins as they shop more online, said Marilyn Journeaux, the city's director of solid waste services.