Ecology Ottawa

News Clippings

Will remodelled Bank Street south mirror the Glebe? Business owners hope not

By Erin McCracken, Ottawa Community News, December 9, 2016

Business owners worry the proposed redesign of Bank Street between Riverside Drive and Ledbury Avenue is an attempt to import the Glebe’s model of bistros, boutiques and cafes farther south, where there are car dealerships, mechanic garages, plazas and large grocery stores.

“Fundamentally, what they’re doing is they’re trying to change the nature of businesses (along) Bank Street south, something that’s more Glebe-ish,” said Nikki Dignard, whose husband owns a family dentistry practice on Bank, between Heron Road and Alta Vista Drive.

“How many Glebes do you need? How many Westboros do you need? There still has to be the bread and butter to service the 70 per cent of the population,” Dignard said during a public consultation meeting at the Jim Durrell Recreation Centre on Dec. 6.

Transit Commission approves 2017 budget

By Ted Raymond, CFRA News, December 5, 2016

The City’s Transit Commission has approved its budget for next year, which includes several changes to how OC Transpo users pay for their ride.

Starting January 1, 2017, the Express pass will no longer exist. Instead, all bus riders will use the same monthly pass, costing $113.75. It’s a $16.75 discount for Express pass users, but an $8.00 increase for Regular pass users.

For approximately 8,800 users below the low-income cut-off, the new EquiPass comes into effect, costing $57.00 per month.

Near-unanimous vote sets stage for Gatineau bus strike - Ottawa - CBC News

By CBC News Ottawa, December 12, 2016

Gatineau's public transit workers voted on Sunday with more than 98 per cent in favour of a strike.

The vote allows the union, Syndicat uni du Transport Local 591, to strike within 60 days if they give 72 hours of notice.

Deteriorating working conditions and scheduling are some of the issues the union is struggling with, it said. After the vote, union president Félix Gendron said he was proud of obtaining a strong mandate to put pressure on their employer, Société de transport de l'Outaouais, or STO.

Egan: Stanley Park, a giant hole in the ground, 30,000 loads of muck

Ottawa Citizen

By Kelly Egan, Ottawa Citizen, December 11, 2016

New Edinburgh is one of the city’s best preserved neighbourhoods, a place where Queen Victoria never really died and the odd house still passes for a castle.

So the news — about the giant hole in its heart — has struck hard.

As part of the “Combined Sewage Storage Tunnel,” the City of Ottawa is planning to dig a massive shaft on the edge of venerable Stanley Park — named for a governor general — a hole as wide as a house (13 metres) and as deep as a six-storey building (20 metres).

An infrastructure levy in Ottawa? No thanks!

Ottawa Citizen

By the Editor, Ottawa Citizen, December 8, 2016

If in doubt, add another tax. Crumbling roads and leaky sewers? Better slap on an infrastructure levy.

The idea has been bouncing around city hall this week. To nobody’s surprise, the National Capital Heavy Construction Association (whose members benefit from the jobs created by infrastructure dollars) says it’s a good idea. Coun. Diane Deans says it should be considered. And the city’s long-term plan says that if higher levels of government don’t permanently set aside more money, a levy should be examined.

Portion of St. Laurent to get bus, cycling lanes over next year

Metro Ottawa

By Erin McCracken, Ottawa Metro News, December 5, 2016

A section of St. Laurent Boulevard in Alta Vista is undergoing a makeover that will see the installation of transit lanes and cycle tracks over the next year to meet the demand of a growing population and to ease congestion.

The two-stage $8.9-million project will change the look of the boulevard from south of Smyth Road to north of the junction at Industrial Avenue and Innes Road. It’s scheduled to be completed in November 2017.

What’s in a name? Does the Airport Parkway bridge need an official new name?

By Erin McCracken, Ottawa Community News, December 5, 2016

Think the Airport Parkway pedestrian and cycling bridge needs an official new moniker?

River Coun. Riley Brockington, whose ward includes the two-year-old span, is now testing the waters to see if there is appetite among residents to officially name the structure.“I’ve just noted since it opened, the Airport Parkway bridge, which is what people call it, really doesn’t have an official name,” said Brockington.

“With 2017 coming, it may be an ideal year when we commence a public process when we commemorate the bridge.

Bayview development spurs creation of advisory team

By Erin McCracken, Ottawa Community News, December 5, 2016

An advisory team is being pulled together to work with River Ward’s councillor and the developer of the vacant Bayview site before concept plans for the site are set in stone.

The group will be made up of Riverside Park residents and members of the Riverside Park Recreation and Community Association, who will be tasked “to try and get what’s best for the community,” Craig Searle, vice-president of the association, said during a community meeting that drew an estimated 90 people to the Riverside Churches on Nov. 30 to discuss changes made to the Bayview concept plan earlier this year.

Mississippi Mills residents sue NRC for $40M over contaminated water - Ottawa - CBC News

By Julie Ireton, CBC News Ottawa, December 6, 2016

A group of Mississippi Mills residents is suing the National Research Council for more than $40 million after residential wells were contaminated by chemicals originating from an NRC fire lab in their neighbourhood.

It's been almost a year since homeowners living near the fire safety testing facility on Ramsay Concession Road 8 in Mississippi Mills were told their water was contaminated and they should stop drinking it.

The water contained the chemicals often found in firefighting foams — chemicals that were tested in the NRC lab.

6 months after Rideau Street sinkhole, cause remains unknown - Ottawa - CBC News

By Ashley Burke, CBC News Ottawa, December 6, 2016

Six months after a gaping sinkhole suddenly turned one of Ottawa's busiest downtown streets into a chaotic danger zone of hissing gas and gushing, brown water, neither the city nor the light rail construction consortium tunnelling below know what caused the catastrophe.

Both the city and Rideau Transit Group are endeavouring to find out how the June 8 Rideau Street road collapse happened, and the results of their separate investigations should be available in a matter of weeks, according to the city's director of the rail office, Steve Cripps.

Ashby: The reasons why rural Ontario is fading

Ottawa Citizen

By Madeline Ashby, Ottawa Citizen, December 6, 2016

The urban-rural divide is swiftly becoming one of the most pressing issues of economic policy in this century. From Europe to England to the United States and yes, here in Canada, the sweeping changes to physical landscapes have translated to sweeping changes in political landscapes.

As David Reevely pointed out last week, Ontario’s urban centres have seen economic growth and recovery that the stretches of rural land separating those centres simply haven’t. There are multiple reasons for this, one being that Ontario’s muncipalities have been practising a policy of intensification for years, now. That policy encourages people to live in cities where there is work, in part to preserve existing farmland and protected lands outside urban centres. Intensification is an answer to ugly and wasteful suburban sprawl, and a response to the flight of young people out of the suburban and rural areas and into cities.

Today’s letters: Upholding the law, more on the Civic hospital

Ottawa Citizen

By Steven Poole, Ottawa Citizen Letter to the Editor, December 6, 2016

Transit can’t top hospital parking

Re: New Civic Hospital should prioritize health care over parking, Dec. 5.

I was astounded by Coun. David Chernushenko’s column, which barely mentioned patient health-care needs. His view that we should prioritize “green” space and the LRT over patient needs is what created this whole fiasco on the Civic’s location.