By Céleste Dicaire, CBC News Ottawa
A group of volunteers will spend the next several months pulling invasive gypsy moth caterpillars from trees, and destroying them, before the insects defoliate an urban park in Ottawa.
The gypsy moth caterpillar runs only four to six centimetres long, but that minor insect poses a massive threat to Ontario's forest cover.
By Jeff McGuire, Inside OttawaValley, June 3, 2021
...Despite some improvements over the years, especially in the speed and efficiency of trains, public transportation has continued to be something of a dead zone in Canada. Then came the pandemic which not only dealt a hammer blow to air travel but also upended rail and bus service across the country. Intercity public transit has never been great. COVID-19 has all but ended regular bus transportation, and rail service has also been dealt a serious blow.
By Jon Willing, Ottawa Citizen
A decision on whether Coun. Jan Harder keeps her position chairing the planning committee is packed with political drama that pits the credibility of the council’s conflict-of-interest rules against the need to have an experienced councillor overseeing the creation of a new official plan.
... Meanwhile, the main lobbying organization on municipal environmental issues has voiced its preference.
Ecology Ottawa called on council to “do the right thing” and accept the integrity commissioner’s recommendations to remove Harder as planning chair.
By Céleste Dicaire, CBC News Ottawa, June 17, 2021
Residents who live near the Ottawa airport and the area councillor oppose plans by a local car dealership to build a parking lot over a portion of a forest along Hunt Club Road.
..."We are in a climate emergency worldwide. It's an existential threat. And somebody has the guts to cut a forest to make a parking lot? I mean, it's so obnoxious to me," Costa said.
Coun. Riley Brockington, who represents River Ward, says his constituents want to pump the brakes on the potential parking lot.
By Evan Williams, InsideOttawaValley, June 17, 2021
EV charging network Electrify Canada has just announced the start of a new payment technology meant to make it even easier for users to plug in their EV and get that battery filled up. Plug&Charge allows drivers to do just that. Plugging in and charging without any extra steps or the need to get out their smartphone or their wallet.
The feature lets the electric vehicle communicate with the charger (and the EV charger's network) for more than just the flow of electrons. Currently, connecting at a fast-charge station requires setting up an account with each individual network
By Jon Willing, Ottawa Citizen
More than 70 proposals are on the table to achieve a “zero waste Ottawa,” including options that would make people pay fees based on the amount garbage they throw out or use clear plastic bags to prove they’re not trashing recyclable material.
The municipal dump on Trail Road only has about 17 years of capacity left for Ottawa’s residential garbage, based on the latest calculations made by city staff as they create a new 30-year solid waste master plan.
....Other proposals include banning materials from the garbage, enforcing curbside bag limits, mandating green bins in multi-residential buildings and implementing better recycling options in city facilities.
...It will be up to the public to weigh in before the city creates a short list of options.
By Celeste Dicaire, CBC News Ottawa
Residents who live near the Ottawa airport and the area councillor oppose plans by a local car dealership to build a parking lot over a portion of a forest along Hunt Club Road.
..."We are in a climate emergency worldwide. It's an existential threat. And somebody has the guts to cut a forest to make a parking lot? I mean, it's so obnoxious to me," Costa said.
Coun. Riley Brockington, who represents River Ward, says his constituents want to pump the brakes on the potential parking lot.
By Kate Porter, CBC News Ottawa, June 16, 2021
The City of Ottawa is ready to supercharge plans to electrify its bus fleet by spending nearly $1 billion on 450 buses and charging infrastructure by 2027.
Transit commission endorsed a plan on Wednesday that dramatically speeds up converting the 932-bus fleet that currently runs on diesel. The transit agency will start by purchasing 74 battery-electric buses next year, which are nearly double the price of their diesel counterparts, staff said.
By Jon Willing, Ottawa Citizen
...The city’s transportation department recommends going all-in on electric battery power as its zero-emission bus technology through 2027. It would cost $986 million to buy new 40-foot buses, charging equipment, electrical upgrades at the St. Laurent garage and a backup generator powered by natural gas.
...On the other hand, the city’s leap into zero-emission buses will be a difference-maker in reducing the municipal government’s greenhouse gas emissions. Council has a goal of eliminating all greenhouse gas emissions produced by the municipal government by 2040. Enviro-friendly buses, along with LRT expansions, have been considered in the city’s targets.
Par Julien Paquette, Le Droit
...La municipalité a présenté jeudi — dans un rapport provisoire intitulé «Ce que nous avons entendu» — une recension des principaux commentaires formulés à propos de la version provisoire du PO rendue publique en novembre dernier.
Les citoyens ont signifié par exemple leur opposition à l’élargissement du périmètre urbain actuel — zone où la construction résidentielle sera possible pour la durée du nouveau PO — en plus de soulever des enjeux perçus avec les limites de hauteur des futurs édifices sur les artères principales et les carrefours (secteurs qui entourent des stations de transport en commun rapide).
Par Julien Paquette, Le Droit
La Ville d’Ottawa obtiendra l’aide du gouvernement fédéral et de la Banque de l’infrastructure du Canada (BIC) pour financer le remplacement de tous ses autobus au diésel au cours des 15 prochaines années.
By CBC News Ottawa
The Canadian Infrastructure Bank (CIB) is promising a $400-million loan to the City of Ottawa to purchase 450 electric buses by 2027, the city said in a news release Monday.
The agreement will need the approval of the city's transportation committee and council later this month.
According to the CIB, if approved, it would be "the largest conversion of public transit vehicles in Canada to date."