By Joe Lofaro, Ottawa Citizen, October 3, 2016
No vehicles were swallowed up this time, but Ottawa police took extra precautions by closing part of Rideau Street on Sunday when another sinkhole opened up.
Police said a “small sinkhole” appeared during construction. Rideau was closed Sunday afternoon between Sussex Drive and Dalhousie Street as city crews assessed the hole.
By Don Butler, Ottawa Citizen, October 3, 2016
More than 3,000 people have responded so far to an online survey seeking public views on the best site for The Ottawa Hospital’s new Civic campus, the National Capital Commission said in a tweet Monday.
But time is running out to make your views known. The survey, posted on the NCC’s website, closes this Thursday.
At the request of Canadian Heritage Minister Mélanie Joly, the NCC is reviewing 12 possible sites for the new $2-billion hospital. It posted the survey Sept. 22, seeking public input to ensure the chosen site “meets the needs of everyone that will depend on its health care services.”
By Jon Willing, Ottawa Citizen, October 3, 2016
Giving rural landowners a 50-per-cent discount on stormwater fees won’t be enough for some residents who recoil at the thought of paying a new tax to city hall.
The city on Monday released an updated water rate and stormwater fee proposal, which gives landowners a break on stormwater service fees if they’re not connected to city water and sewer services. However, it still means landowners who don’t receive a water bill would have to contribute to the annual $42-million stormwater budget.
By CFRA News, October 2, 2016
Ottawa Police have closed Rideau Street from Sussex to Dalhousie after a small hole has opened up in the road.
Police say this is a safety precaution amid concerns the hole, near the Rideau Centre entrance at Colonel By, could get bigger.
By Ottawa Citizen, October 1, 2016
A section of Rideau Street between Sussex Drive and Dalhousie Street will be closed nightly beginning Monday and continuing through to December.The shutdown is due to ongoing LRT Confederation Line construction.
The two-block section will be closed nightly from 8 p.m. until 6 a.m. While traffic will be blocked, businesses will remain open, the city says. Detours will be put in place for taxis and delivery vehicle access.
By Melissa Murray, Ottawa Community News, September 30, 2016
Drivers, cyclists and pedestrians were flagged down by police officers conducting an education and enforcement campaign about crossover safety on Somerset and Bay streets on Sept. 27.
Ottawa Police Sgt. Patricia Urquhart, who heads the Central Traffic Enforcement Unit, said the first person they talked to told them they use the crossover – a pedestrian crossing indicated with striped markings, signage and in some cases flashing lights in pedestrian heavy areas – everyday, but even with signage and flashing lights cars don’t stop.
By Jon Willing, Ottawa Citizen, September 30, 2016
The city is releasing its final draft report on stormwater fees Monday, with hopes of trying to find middle ground with property owners who don’t want to pay a new “rain tax.
”The report was expected to be available by the end of the current week, but the city was continuing to work on the details Friday and fine-tuning the communications strategy. Council’s environment committee will vote on the proposal Oct. 18.
By CBC News Ottawa, September 30, 2016
The ride-hailing company that precipitated a change to Ottawa's bylaws regulating the taxi industry has applied for — but hasn't yet received — its licence under the new regime.
Uber Canada spokeswoman Susie Heath said in an emailed statement the company has been working for five months to become compliant under the new bylaw and says "all driver partners on the platform are fully compliant."
By Jon Willing, Ottawa Citizen, September 30, 2016
Ottawa has been captivated by major city-building projects like LRT and Lansdowne Park. It’s been hard to push homelessness and housing problems to the front of people’s minds, council’s housing czar says.
“Canada-wide, this is one of those sleeper issues,” Bay Coun. Mark Taylor said Friday when he returned to Ottawa after meeting with big-city mayors in Toronto.
By Emma Jackson, Ottawa Metro News, September 29, 2016
Ottawa’s lagging behind when it comes to adopting new tech in city planning, one councillor says.
Kanata South Coun. Allan Hubley said Ottawa staff should be looking at new, innovative ways of processing garbage, designing roads and building city infrastructure if the capital wants to keep its reputation as a technology hub.
“It’s amazing what’s going on around the world right now and we’re not where I’d like us to be,” Hubley said. “There are other cities getting ahead of us. We should be paying a lot more attention to this.”
By Ed Gregorich, Ottawa Citizen, September 29, 2016
Fast-growing global population. No additional land for agriculture. Climate change. These three pressures, linked through the process of food production, will become more daunting as we move toward 2050. That is the year, predicts the United Nations, when the world population will reach nine billion.
To feed that many people, as much as 50-per-cent more food will be needed. Much of that food will come from agriculture. Yet other UN data shows that the amount of land suitable for agriculture has plateaued. In the future, our children and grandchildren will live in a world with many more people to feed from the same agricultural land area we use today.
By Mohamed Adam, Ottawa Citizen, September 29, 2016
Enough handwringing over the location of the new Civic campus of the Ottawa Hospital. Let’s build it on the Central Experimental Farm where it belongs, and I guarantee you the sky will not fall. We will all wake up safe and sane the morning after the decision is made – and the day after the hospital opens 10 years from now, we will all be wondering what the fuss was about.
Since the federal Liberals overturned the decision of the Conservative government to transfer 60 acres of farmland to The Ottawa Hospital for a new Civic campus, many have worked themselves into a frenzy over the issue. A number of communities identified as potential locations don’t want it, but the most vociferous opposition has come from supporters of the Experimental Farm, where four of the 12 potential sites are located.