Ecology Ottawa

News Clippings

Ottawa man develops transit app that is a blast from the past

Metro Ottawa

By Ryan Tumilty, Ottawa Metro News, April 10, 2017

Anyone nostalgic for the OC Transpo of old can get a retro feel with a locally developed app that will have many remembering waiting for a cold bus with only a screen to give warmth.

Eric Chiz, a self-taught developer recently launched an app that gives people information on OC Transpo bus arrivals, but displays the information exactly like the old television screens in Transitway stops.

The screens had simple information about the next arrival for bus routes based on schedules. The city has rolled out newer versions that are clearer and carry more information.

Ottawa councillor leads push for cycling-infrastructure money

Metro Ottawa

By Alex Abdelhawab, Ottawa Community News, April 11, 2017

Coun. Jeff Leiper has joined municipal lawmakers across the province to lobby Ontario to invest $50 million in cycling infrastructure.

In a letter sent Monday to the provincial ministers of Transportation, Finance, and Tourism, Culture and Sport, as well as the attorney general, Leiper asks the province to include the funding in the budget, writing “an investment in cycling infrastructure is an investment in safe access to public roads.”

“Right now, there is a lot of very confident and relatively fit people cycling around,” Leiper said. “There are a whole group of people that would like to be cycling, that see the advantages of cycling more, but they don’t feel safe on the patchwork infrastructure that we have.”

Water levels on Rideau River recede, but flood warning remains in effect: RVCA

By  Ted Raymond, CFRA News, April 10, 2017

Water levels on the Rideau River have dropped since the weekend, but the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority says a flood warning is still in effect.

The Authority says levels have dropped about 22 centimeters since Saturday's peak on the Long Reach between Burritts Rapids and Manotick, but not all areas are fully dry yet.

They say the river needs to drop another 34 centimeters before safe access to some neighbourhoods near Kemptville, such as Hilly Lane, can be restored.

Monitors to stay on OC Transpo double-deckers despite federal report - Ottawa - CBC News

By Joanne Chianello, CBC News Ottawa, April 11, 2017

More than three years after an OC Transpo bus crashed into a passenger train in Barrhaven, killing six, some federal recommendations aimed at making Ottawa's fleet of double-deckers less distracting for drivers have not been acted upon.

In a report sent to the city in February, an inspector with the Employment and Social Development Canada's Labour Program wrote that "there are still corrective and preventative measures, employee training and an evaluation program that have yet to be completed."

Spring ‘freshet’ blamed for 598 million litres of diluted sewage dumped in Ottawa River

Ottawa Citizen

By Jon Willing, Ottawa Citizen, April 11, 2017

A perfect storm of springtime activity caused nearly 600 million litres of diluted sewage to pour from city pipes into the Ottawa River over five days.

Spring showers melt the snow and all the water runs into the sewer system. The city has a network of older combined sewers that carry both sanitary sewage and stormwater. When the sewers fill with liquid, the overflow is pushed out into the river.

Several days of dreary weather in the capital made the overflow particularly large.According to the city’s records, about 598 million litres of combined sewer overflow ran into the river between April 4 and April 8.

Flooding continues in the capital with water levels expected to peak today

CTV Ottawa News

By CTV News Ottawa, April 8, 2017

Heavy rainfall from Thursday combined with melting snow and ice is keeping some areas of the city underwater.

“Runoff from the rain event on Thursday is working its way through the system leaving several waterfront communities still without access to their properties,” Patrick Larson with Rideau Valley Conservation Authority said in a statement on Saturday.

Larson expects water levels to reach their peak this afternoon.So far this month Ottawa has received more than 60 mm of rain, according to Environment Canada.

Quebec hopes $175M land decontamination fund spurs investments in economy, environment - Montreal - CBC News

By CBC News Ottawa, April 9, 2017

Quebec is setting aside $175 million over the next five years to decontaminate valuable land that has been sitting vacant for years.

Environment Minister David Heurtel said the money will help protect the environment and stimulate local economies at a news conference in Montreal on Sunday.

According to Heurtel, $120 million will be dedicated to decontaminating land that is owned by the province. The remaining $55 million will go into a fund that will be used to subsidize the cost of decontamination for municipalities and private property owners.

Ottawa, Gatineau traffic updates for April 10 - Ottawa - CBC News

By Doug Hempstead, CBC News Ottawa, April 10, 2017

Good morning commuters!There was a real effort to get streets and bike lanes swept and washed over the weekend. So, cyclists will hopefully find their routes a lot less gritty this morning.

The bike lane on Richmond Road going up and over the 417 to Bayshore was getting sprayed by water trucks around 5 a.m.

It's not all good news, of course, especially if your commute takes you through Queen Street. LRT work will now close Queen between Lyon O'Connor for the next 10 weeks.

Proposed radioactive waste disposal site in Chalk River raises concerns - Ottawa - CBC News

By CBC News Ottawa, April 10, 2017

A plan to build a disposal facility for radioactive waste from Chalk River Laboratories near the Ottawa River isn't sitting well with conservationists, but the company behind the project wants to assure people who live by the river the landfill will be safe.

Canadian Nuclear Laboratories has proposed building a five-storey-high mound roughly a kilometre from the river to store mostly low-level waste from the Chalk River nuclear facility, about 180 kilometres west of Ottawa.

The "near surface disposal facility" would be operational by 2020, and would take up to 1 million cubic metres of waste by the year 2070, when it would be closed.

Ontario’s anti-sprawl restrictions not a factor in housing shortage, government says

By Jessica Smith Cross, Ottawa Citizen, April 10, 2017

TORONTO — The Ontario government is dismissing suggestions that the province’s anti-sprawl policies are contributing to housing supply shortage and soaring home prices in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area.

Developers argue that easing restrictions on construction of detached homes and townhouses on “greenfield” land — areas set aside by municipalities for development as part of Ontario’s growth plan a decade ago — could help boost supply.

The province is expected to release its updated growth plan this spring after years of consultations, but preliminary recommendations suggest it will be more restrictive of low-rise homes, with higher intensification and density targets aimed at limiting urban sprawl.

City could reduce speeds on narrow, urban roads

By Jennifer McIntosh, Ottawa Community News, April 7, 2017

Drivers could be asked to slow down on select narrow, urban roads.The city’s transportation committee approved a policy that could bring the posted speed limit from 40 kilometres per hour to 30 km/h on streets that meet certain criteria.

Council still has final approval on the policy.

During the staff presentation to the committee, Kitchissippi Coun. Jeff Leiper asked staff if people abide by a 30 km/h limit. The answer was that few people do, which is why only streets that are narrow, have on-street parking, or are in the vicinity of an elementary or junior high school would be eligible for the change.

NCC approves 50-year plan for the capital

By Jennifer McIntosh, Ottawa Community News, April 7, 2017

The National Capital Commission (NCC) has a vision for the capital, and milestones will mark the way.

The plan, which will roll out over the next 50 years, compiled 1,800 responses from Canadians across the country. The vision was announced during the NCC board meeting on April 6.