Ecology Ottawa

News Clippings

Gatineau bus drivers' union threatens rotating strikes as of Thursday - Ottawa - CBC News

By CBC News Ottawa, March 14, 2017

The union for drivers and maintenance workers with the Société de transport de l'Outaouais (STO) says members could walk off the job Thursday if a meeting does not lead to progress in an ongoing labour dispute.

The union — the Syndicat uni du transport (SUT) — and the transit agency have been at odds during protracted contract negotiations. Last week, the mediator recommended they go to arbitration, but the two sides disagreed over how that arbitration would be executed and what would be on the table.

Reevely: Sump pumps making a comeback in Ottawa as the city runs out of good suburban land

Ottawa Citizen

By David Reevely, Ottawa Citizen, March 14, 2017

Ottawa is bringing back sump pumps in new houses because the suburban land we have left is too crummy to build on without them.

The city’s hand is being forced, says Felice Petti, the city’s manager in charge of a review of Ottawa’s infrastructure standards. The usual way of building new houses, with sewer pipes under the streets installed lower than the basements so that water just drains into them by gravity, won’t work. So new rules allowing sump pumps (permanently installed devices that keep basements from flooding) are part of a plan to build “better and smarter suburbs.”

Ontario allows Quebec waste to be trucked to Carp facility, city mulls appeal

Ottawa Citizen

By Jon Willing, Ottawa Citizen, March 14, 2017

The City of Ottawa is thinking about appealing a provincial decision that allows a garbage and recycling facility on Carp Road to receive junk from Quebec.

The West Carleton Environmental Centre, a Waste Management operation, has received the go-ahead to accept construction and demolition debris from western Quebec communities, which could add truck traffic to Ottawa’s core.

Cold weather means maple sap taking a break, but not for long

Ottawa Citizen

By Tom Spears, Ottawa Citizen, March 14, 2017

Here’s welcome news for maple syrup lovers: The current cold spell is stalling operations for a while, but there’s no reason to worry about the season as a whole.

It has been an on-and-off start to the season, with producers staring to get sap and boil it down in February, and the recent cold weather stopping the flow completely for the moment.

Making Canada's capital a 'smart city' - Ottawa - CBC News

By Kate Porter, CBC News Ottawa, March 13, 2017

A number of civic, academic and business leaders will gather today to envision how Ottawa and Gatineau can become "smart cities" of the future.

Transit riders can already track when buses will arrive and drivers can add money to parking meters via their phones.

Driverless cars could be tested on the streets of Kanata this summer.

(...) Patterson sees a future where technology allows people to receive health care, education, and do work without leaving home, which will mean less wear and tear on roads and fewer greenhouse gas emissions.

Editorial: Travel in the shoes of Para Transpo users

Ottawa Citizen

By The Editor, Ottawa Citizen, March 13, 2017

Ottawa’s transit vision is undeniably impressive. Phase One of the LRT will open next year. The Prince of Wales bridge could one day be used to strengthen transit with Gatineau. Councillors dream of a downtown tunnel to relieve congestion. Bravo to all. But city governments still must get the less sexy – yet important – things right.

We refer to Para Transpo.As the Citizen’s Joanne Laucius reported Monday, disabled users of public transit face long wait times – often as much as 45 minutes – just to book a single trip (and that’s before the often-long wait for the Para Transpo minibus or designated taxi to show up). Improvements in transit for the disabled seem to move at a snail’s pace.

Carp landfill gets approval for Quebec garbage, despite City’s objections

StittsvilleCentral.ca

By Glen Gower, StittsvilleCentral, March 12, 2017

You might remember hearing back in September that Waste Management applied to the Ontario Ministry of the Environment for permission to bring construction and demolition waste from Quebec to the landfill facility on Carp Road.

A number of people in the community, me included, raised concerns about the impact this would have, including increased truck traffic and a slide down a slippery slope in regards to waste transfer between jurisdictions.

New plan for ByWard Market will allow for more flexibility

By Jennifer McIntosh, Ottawa Community News, March 10, 2017

Soon the days of filling forms out in quadruple to strum a guitar on a street corner in the ByWard Market will be over.

Mayor Jim Watson applauded work on rejuvenating the city's ByWard and Parkdale markets following council on March 8.

“We want to make sure the composition allows for creativity," Watson said. “The current structure is a bureaucratic maze.”

Ottawa Para Transpo user bemoans 45-minute waits to book rides: ‘They wouldn’t do this to any other category of customer’

Ottawa Citizen

By Joanne Laucius, Ottawa Citizen, March 12, 2017

Three or four mornings a week, Para Transpo user Suzanne Schecter Côté gets on the phone to schedule a ride for the next day. And waits. And waits. And waits.

It’s not unusual for her to be on hold for 45 minutes to book a ride. And that discriminates against people with disabilities, she argues.

“They wouldn’t do this to any other category of customer,” she said.

Danger at the door - Toronto Star Touch

By Ben Spurr, Toronto Star, March 10, 2017

Dooring — a crash caused when a driver opens a car door into a cyclist’s path — increased 58.3% over two years, says advocacy group Cycle Toronto Ben Spurr. Urban cyclists live in constant fear of it: the click of a car door opening just as they ride by, followed by an impact that sends them hurtling off their bike and into the street.

According to statistics obtained by bike advocacy group Cycle Toronto, incidents of “dooring” are on the rise.Data provided to the group by the Toronto police show that last year there were 209 collisions caused by dooring.

​City to looks to ready for rail for Barrhaven

By Jennifer McIntosh, Ottawa Community News, March 10, 2017

Barrhaven Coun. Jan Harder went to bat for her constituents during the March 8 council meeting that saw the approval of Stage 2 LRT.

“With regard to the future of LRT in the city, I’ve had a lot of people in my ward obviously say, ‘what about Barrhaven,’” Harder said to introduce the motion that asked staff to look at the feasibility of converting the Southwest Transitway to rail.

STO driver warns riders of potential strikes during morning commute - Ottawa - CBC News

By Sarah Dea, CBC News Ottawa, March 10, 2017

A Gatineau transit bus driver used his microphone to discuss union demands with passengers on board a moving bus Thursday morning, warning that periodic strikes could happen if the Société de transport de l'Outaouais rejects arbitration next week.

The unusual public demonstration, witnessed by a Radio-Canada producer, happened as the bus left Labrosse station, and it continued for nearly two minutes before one passenger shouted in French, "That's enough!"