Ecology Ottawa

News Clippings

Capital Voices: ‘I absolutely hate cycling on the road’

Ottawa Citizen

By Bruce Deachman, Ottawa Citizen, February 24, 2017

In anticipation of Canada’s sesquicentennial celebrations, the Citizen’s Bruce Deachman has been out in search of Ottawans — 150 of them — to learn their stories of life and death, hope and love, obsession and fear. From Feb. 2 until Canada Day, we’ll share one person’s story every day.

“I love cycling, but I’m really concerned now. In the past two days there were two cycling accidents, and I don’t know if something can be done about it, about the whole infrastructure of Ottawa, so it’s not only safer for cyclists, but also, you know, build a tunnel and get rid of the trucks. This is the only capital in the world that has trucks going through the downtown core.

Now that the new LRT plan is a go, city’s plans to consult the public

Ottawa Citizen

By David Reevely, Ottawa Citizen, February 24, 2017

The city will hold an “interactive information session” on its next round of light-rail plans a week after city council’s finance committee approved the plans on Friday.

This is just enough to say the public will get to ask questions about the plans without subjecting those plans to any real threat. Even the parts that should be threatened.

Mayor Jim Watson has learned from previous councils’ habits of listening too much. Whether Ottawa should build light rail used to be controversial and city council gave a lot of provisional approvals for things, often by narrow margins only achieved by promising that nothing was definitive yet and we could pull the plug later. Which councillors once did.

Ottawa LRT plans: Stage 2 blueprint passes first test with thoughts turning to Stage 3

Ottawa Citizen

By Jon Willing, Ottawa Citizen, February 24, 2017

City hall’s political brain trust has approved a $3.6-billion Stage 2 rail and road package, with one councillor laying the groundwork for Barrhaven LRT in the next transit plan.

Friday’s 11-0 vote of council’s finance and economic development committee, which includes all the committee chairs, was the first political test of the final blueprint to extend rail east, west and south.

Council will now vote March 8, but it’s clear councillors are already thinking about a future Stage 3.

Cycling projects costing 30% more than anticipated, city report says

Ottawa Citizen

By Jon Willing, Ottawa Citizen, February 23, 2017

Expanding the city’s cycling network has cost 30 per cent more than what was originally forecast just over three years ago, transportation planners say.

“Site-specific conditions such as contaminated soils, poor slope stability and utility conflicts are difficult to anticipate during master planning and have resulted in increased project costs,” the planners told council in a report published this week.

New accessibility standards also require upgraded traffic signals, another unanticipated cost that will now be considered in new cycling projects.

City hall blog: We’re on track for Stage 2. Now where?

Ottawa Citizen

By Jon Willing, Ottawa Citizen, February 23, 2017

After council gives the go-ahead to find contractors for the $3-billion Stage 2 LRT expansion, the city will start turning its mind to a Stage 3.

The finance and economic development committee will vote on the Stage 2 plan on Friday and council will vote March 8.

The city likes to talk about the 2031 “affordable network.” It’s pretty much Stage 1 and Stage 2, plus bonus rail extensions to Moodie Drive, Trim Road and the Ottawa International Airport.

Residents criticize Brigil proposal for higher density, less parking

By Jessica Cunha, Ottawa Community News, February 22, 2017

A number of residents are calling on the city to deny a proposal by Brigil Construction seeking higher density and less parking in a north-Kanata development.

Brigil applied for a site-plan revision and zoning bylaw amendment for a four-storey, 79-unit condominium at 124 Battersea Cres. near Kanata Avenue and Richardson Side Road.

The original plan, approved in 2013, was for 12- and 16-unit buildings.Dimitre Dimitrov said many homeowners in the area bought where they did in Kanata to purposely avoid intensification found in other areas of the city.

“I have nothing against intensification if it’s somewhere where it can actually work,” he said during a town-hall meeting on Feb. 13. “But a lot of us came to this neighbourhood because there’s big houses with big lots, and because we don’t want to live downtown or we don’t want to live somewhere with high density. We pay a premium for that. We pay a premium both for whatever you bought and also for the taxes that we pay.”

City wants to bundle highway 174 project with LRT

By Brier Dodge, Ottawa Community News, February 22, 2017

The highway 174 reconfiguration project will be bundled with LRT Phase 2 when the project goes out for bidding. The detail was unveiled at a Feb. 17 technical briefing on the second phase of the light rail transit project.

Cumberland Coun. Stephen Blais, who is also chair of the transit commission, said the bundling of the projects was the biggest line item for Orléans residents in information revealed at the briefing.

Ottawa streets riddled with more potholes than usual - Ottawa - CBC News

By Jessie Park, CBC News Ottawa, February 22, 2017

More potholes than usual have riddled Ottawa's streets this winter as the temperature continues to hover above and below the freezing point, according to the city's general manager of public works. Kevin Wylie says there have been 42 freeze-thaw cycles so far this winter compared to the average of 35.

Each of these cycles causes hundreds of potholes to open up throughout the colder months. When the weather warms up, water seeps into cracks in roads, which then freezes when the temperature drops, making asphalt break.

OC Transpo buses to use external speakers to help visually impaired riders - Ottawa - CBC News

By Kate Porter, CBC News Ottawa, February 22, 2017

People who are blind or visually impaired will soon be able to hear the number and direction of an OC Transpo bus from the outside of the transit vehicle.

Ottawa city council approved an amendment to the noise bylaw at its Feb. 22 meeting to allow the information to be announced on exterior speakers.The announcement will be made in both French and English, last between nine and 13 seconds, and be broadcast five to nine decibels louder than the ambient noise at a stop, and at an even quieter level after 9 p.m..

Hintonburg hopes to bring local shop vibe to Armstrong Street - Ottawa - CBC News

By CBC News Ottawa, February 22, 2017

Local leaders are hoping Armstrong Street in the city's Hintonburg neighbourhood can become home to a thriving mix of local stores and restaurants.

"Take Kensington Market in Toronto and Granville Island in Vancouver and mix them up and create a hybrid," said Wellington West BIA board member Randy Kemp during last week's planning committee meeting. "There are a lot of vacant lots on Armstrong, so there's an opportunity for new ideas and new development."

Reevely: Ottawa’s retiring OMB member cries out for better city planning

Ottawa Citizen

By David Reevely, Ottawa Citizen, February 22, 2017

Builders treat development rules like suggestions and Ontario cities co-operate so they can get parks and nice streets for cheap, a veteran member of the Ontario Municipal Board wrote in a scorching takedown of the way we plan communities in this province.

Marc Denhez’s cry begins around the 300th paragraph of a ruling on redeveloping a strip of land near Lake Ontario in Etobicoke, in west-end Toronto, which is probably why nobody much has noticed it since he issued it just before Labour Day weekend. That doesn’t make it any less amazing, especially as the provincial government works on a review of the board that can overturn city councils’ urban-planning decisions.

Mayor Watson defends 2017 free gas stunt, says city isn’t ‘anti-car’

Ottawa Citizen

By Jon Willing, Ottawa Citizen, February 22, 2017

Let’s not pretend that people aren’t going to drive their cars to Ottawa for the Canada 150 events, Mayor Jim Watson suggested Wednesday, defending a free gas stunt by the Ottawa 2017 bureau.

“We’re not anti-car at the City of Ottawa,” Watson said. “Some people may want to think that cars should be banned, but people still drive cars and they still drive long distances to get to tourist and vacation destination. I think we have to have a holistic approach.”