Ecology Ottawa

News Clippings

Red Bull to bring Rallycross auto racing championship to Ottawa as Canada 150 event

Ottawa Citizen

By Vito Pilieci, Ottawa Citizen, March 23, 2017

Red Bull is adding Ottawa as a stop in its 2017 Global Rallycross racing series this June, marking the first time one of the events has been held in Canada

.The two-day race event on June 17-18 features 16 drivers at the wheel of 600-horsepower super cars on a track that will be built at the Canada Aviation and Space Museum.

(...)“In support of Ecology Ottawa’s One Million Trees project and to further support this important legacy of the sesquicentennial year, the series’ organizers have committed to planting 10,000 trees in Ottawa.”

Residents push for better Orléans transit service

By Jennifer McIntosh, Ottawa Community News, March 24, 2017

A small, but dedicated group of advocates braved frigid temperatures at the Trim Road Park-n-Ride on March 22 in an effort to get better transit service to Orléans suburbs

.The group gathered signatures from transit riders during the morning commute in an effort to get the feeder buses into their local neighbourhoods to run later into the evening.

LRT tunnel is safe for everyone, former worker says

By CFRA News, March 24, 2017

A former construction worker on Ottawa’s light rail transit project is speaking out following complaints from concerned workers about unsafe practices and procedures within the tunnel.

Rick Dimuzio was employed as a contract worker for several months back in 2013 at Kent and Queen. Dimuzio said he was hired to help prepare the site for tunneling.

Police hand out more than 500 tickets in weeklong school zone blitz

CTV Ottawa News

By CTV News Ottawa, March 24, 2017

The results of the Ottawa Police week-long school zone blitz are in, and they're not pretty.Police say their traffic officers handed out more than 500 provincial offences notices during the Mar. 20-24 enforcement campaign.

Officers were looking for violators who were speeding in school zones, failing to yield to pedestrians at school crossings, and failing to obey crossing guards and bus signs.

Three new farmers' markets up for consideration in Ottawa neighbourhoods

Ottaw

By Matthew Pearson, Ottawa Sun, March 24, 2017

There could be a bounty of fresh fruit and vegetables coming to three Ottawa neighbourhoods.

The planning committee will be asked Tuesday to formally approve farmers’ markets in three locations, two of which are new — Village Square Park in Stittsville, the Byron Linear Tramway Park in Westboro and the Riverview park and ride in south Ottawa.

The markets will be run by the Ottawa Farmers’ Market Association, which also operates the Lansdowne Market and one at the Ray Friel Recreation Complex in Orléans.

11 towers, 209 storeys: A glimpse at what could be coming to a skyline near you

Ottawa Citizen

By Matthew Pearson, Ottawa Citizen, March 24, 2017

This is a story about storeys: 209 of them, to be exact.

From the large-scale redevelopment of an aging shopping mall to a new retirement complex in Barrhaven to an infill project in Old Ottawa East, the 11 towers of varying shape and size up for consideration next week by Ottawa’s planning committee represent a combined total of 209 storeys of new homes, shops and offices.

(...)

A pair of public meetings was held in late 2015 before RioCan Management’s application was even submitted, and another was held last June. Residents worried about impact of increased traffic, wanted cycling and pedestrian connections and support to create community facilities and amenities on the Westgate lands.

Carbon monoxide scare prompts Rideau Centre evacuation

Ottawa Citizen

By Blair Crawford, Ottawa Citizen, March 24, 2017

A portion of the Rideau Centre was evacuated briefly Friday afternoon after a carbon monoxide detector in one of the stores sounded a warning of high levels of the potentially deadly gas.

Firefighters were called to the mall just after noon and confirmed elevated carbon monoxide levels of between 30 and 50 parts per million. While firefighters, police, paramedics and mall security evacuated the first floor, firefighters used fans to ventilate the affected area. The department’s Hazmat team monitored air quality throughout the mall and carbon monoxide levels soon returned to normal.

OC Transpo riders lament loss of transit credit - Ottawa - CBC News

By Giacomo Panico, CBC News Ottawa, March 23, 2017

OC Transpo riders who've come to enjoy a small perk at tax time are in for some disappointment.

The federal Liberal government is scrapping the non-refundable public transit tax credit, first introduced by the Conservatives in 2006.

The credit allowed riders to claim up to 15 per cent of what they spent on transit passes. For an adult OC Transpo pass holder, the credit translated into a $200 saving come tax time.

Police responding to possible coyote near Carling and Fisher - Ottawa - CBC News

By CBC News Ottawa, March 23, 2017

Ottawa police are investigating a possible coyote spotted near the intersection of Carling and Fisher avenues Thursday afternoon.

Police spokesman Const. Chuck Benoit said police received a call at 1:44 p.m. and that patrol officers have been sent to find the animal and force it back into the woods.

An audience member submitted photos of the animal to CBC News, indicating it was last spotted near the intersection of Carling and Fisher avenues and appears to be the size of a German shepherd dog.

Your laundry may be to blame for tiny plastic water pollutants, study indicates

Ottawa Citizen

By Tom Spears, Ottawa Citizen, March 23, 2017

As tiny bits of plastic build up in lakes and rivers, there’s a new suggestion that everyone has been wrong about where most of this plastic pollution comes from.

The common perception is that little round “beads” of plastic from skin care products and toothpaste are to blame.

But there’s now evidence that the real source is much simpler. It’s your laundry.

A new study of microscopic plastic in the Ottawa River pinpoints tiny synthetic fibres from clothing, says the study’s main author, Jesse Vermaire, an environmental scientist at Carleton University.

Uber dismisses ‘tax on innovation’ in federal budget

Ottawa Citizen

By Jon Willing, Ottawa Citizen, March 23, 2017

Uber, the international ride-ordering company competing with taxis in the City of Ottawa, says the federal government’s plan to apply sales tax to its rides is a “tax on innovation.

”Instead, the company thinks the feds should extend tax breaks for small businesses to cabbies.

“At a time when Canadians spend far too much time stuck in traffic — and people should be encouraged to leave their cars at home, take public transit, and share rides — we should be supporting policies that make sustainable transportation more affordable, not more expensive,” Uber Canada general manager Ian Black says in a written statement released Thursday.

‘Due diligence’ first before Stage 2 LRT funding decided, feds say

Ottawa Citizen

By Jon Willing, Ottawa Citizen, March 23, 2017

No one wants to say for sure if the federal budget includes Stage 2 transit money for the City of Ottawa, but everyone seems confident it’s in there somewhere.

The feds aren’t ready to confirm if the city will receive $1.15 billion for the rail extensions, but Mayor Jim Watson has been optimistic about the discussions between his office and the office of Infrastructure Minister Amarjeet Sohi.

Sohi’s spokeswoman said in an e-mail Thursday that the federal budget released Wednesday “provides the sources of funding for us to meet that commitment” and that the feds are working with the province and city on the “necessary due diligence.”