By Amanda Pfeffer, CBC News Ottawa, June 10, 2016
Engineers say 300 metres of light rail tunnel are flooded after Wednesday morning's Rideau Street sinkhole and water main break.
Engineers for the Rideau Transit Group (RTG) went down into the tunnel Friday to assess the damage for the first time since workers were told to drop their tools and leave the site in the minutes after the street above the tunnel fell away, creating a sinkhole five metres deep.
By Joanne Chianello, CBC News Ottawa, June 11, 2016
Before the presentations, before Mayor Jim Watson thanked everyone involved, even before the free pizza was passed around, a few people were already enjoying Ottawa's latest "Streetside Spot.
"And why not? The spacious deck-line structure on Beechwood Avenue — the city is referring to it as a "parklet" — provides an attractive (and free) place to sit to sip a coffee, chat with a friend or simply watch the world go by.
By David Chernuchenko, Ottawa Citizen Letter to the Editor, June 11, 2016
Bravo to Ontario government
Re: Changing the climate in Ontario, June 8.
Much will be said and written about Ontario’s newly released Climate Change Action Plan in the coming days. Having just read it cover to cover, I am compelled to offer pre-emptive praise. To the thousands of Ontarians who contributed to this plan, and to Minister Glen Murray and colleagues for the courage and vision to bring it forward.
By Matthew Pearson, Ottawa Citizen, June 10, 2016
A 300-metre stretch of the LRT tunnel underneath Rideau Street, where a massive sinkhole opened up this week, is flooded, the city said Friday.
As crews at street level continued working around the clock to fill in the hole and repair damaged utilities, engineers ventured into the tunnel two dozen metres underground where excavation had been underway at the time of Wednesday’s road collapse, which swallowed a minivan and one piece of construction equipment, and caused huge headaches for transit users and businesses in the area.
By Jessica Cunha, Ottawa Community News, June 6, 2016
The Hydro One ombudsman will be in Kinburn Friday to answer questions and concerns relating to hydro bills.
Fiona Crean will be on hand to speak with residents directly at the Kinburn Community Centre on Friday, June 10. West Carleton-March Coun. Eli El-Chantiry cautioned, however, that joining Hydro Ottawa is not within her mandate.
By Alistair Steele, CBC News Ottawa, June 9, 2016
The sudden road collapse that left a gaping hole in the middle of a street in downtown Ottawa Wednesday morning occurred over a vein of sand, silt and fractured rock so unstable that workers completing the light rail tunnel below had to inch along cautiously for fear of causing a cave-in.
The sinkhole occurred in the same place engineers conducting a geotechnical survey for the light rail project in 2011 discovered a 120-metre wide "bedrock valley" stretching under Rideau Street, just east of Sussex Drive.
By Mary Ellen Kot, Ottawa Citizen, June 9, 2016
While driving in our neighbourhood recently, I noticed a lot of extra items in the garbage. There were toys and all kinds of furniture. I can’t help but wonder if a lot of homeowners still haven’t got the memo about recycling.
Earth Day was in April. Schools all across the city celebrated with assemblies and reminders to reduce, re-use and recycle. Kids were probably busy completing projects and essays on the environment. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if residents caught up with elementary school students and stopped sending useful objects into landfill?
By Matthew Pearson, Ottawa Citizen, June 9, 2016
An enormous sinkhole swallowed three lanes of Rideau Street and a parked van on Wednesday morning, forced the evacuation of the Rideau Centre and nearby businesses, and left the downtown core in a state of chaos that could last for days.
As the city moved “from response to recovery” mode late Wednesday afternoon, the Rideau Transit Group, builders of Ottawa’s light rail transit system, began pumping out water and filling the gaping hole with concrete to stabilize the area and protect building foundations exposed by the collapse. Building code inspectors were working with structural engineers to determine when affected buildings could reopen for business.
By Paula McCooey, Ottawa Citizen, June 9, 2016
A new eco-friendly boat tour program will offer a unique cruising experience for tourists and locals along the downtown portion of the Rideau Canal.
The locally built, state-of-the-art electric boats will host daytime tours and other special events. The first boat, The Queen Elizabeth Dr., will begin operations in time for Canada Day. The second, The Colonel By, will be launched in time for the 2017 season.
By Tom Spears, Jon Willing and Aedan Helmer, Ottawa Citizen, June 9, 2016
The city has issued a “precautionary boil water” advisory for three Rideau Street businesses as it continues to assess and repair the damage from the enormous sinkhole that opened up Wednesday morning.
The boil water advisory affects the Chapters/Starbucks location at 47 Rideau St., Holtz Spa next door at 45 Rideau and the CIBC building at 41 Rideau.
By Jon Willing, Ottawa Citizen, June 8, 2016
The city is throwing Kanata a bone as Orléans laps up light rail transit.
Extending LRT to Kanata isn’t part of the city’s $3-billion Stage 2 blueprint for rail extensions. It’s not until after 2031 that the city has plans to build tracks to the western suburb.On Wednesday, the city committed to starting an environmental assessment on Kanata LRT — the presumed Stage 3 of rail expansion — to see how much a construction project would cost and where the rail line would run.
By Jon Willing, Ottawa Citizen, June 8, 2016
OC Transpo’s proposal to jack up the price of the most popular monthly pass could come under heavy scrutiny at council.
Transpo wants to charge adult passholders $112.25 in 2017, which would be an increase of $6.50 from the price of the pass after the annual adjustment on July 1. The price, like all fares, would be subject to an average 1.5-per -cent increase in January, on top of changes to the base prices. Transpo wants to have all future fare increases to happen at the start of each year.