By David Reevely, Ottawa Citizen, January 30, 2015
Downtown landlords Minto, Morguard and Manulife have signed up to support the
Ottawa Centre EcoDistrict, an organization aimed at pooling knowledge and
resources to make downtown more ecologically friendly. I wrote about the
non-profit group last spring (in a piece that’s sadly expired from the Citizen
website), when it got three years of funding from the Ontario Trillium
Foundation. The idea is that if landowners work together, they can make downtown
a lot greener and more pleasant, and save money along the way. via
City Hall Blog: Some big names join the Ottawa Centre EcoDistrict | Ottawa
Citizen.
By Joanne Chianello, Ottawa Citizen, January 30, 2015
It has been a week that brought us closer to the excitement of light rail, but
also to the looming obstacles for our future ambitious plans. Here in Ottawa, of
course, we’re excited to get our first glimpse of an Alstrom train that will
carry us on our LRT system some years hence. (The mock-up rail car is set up at
Aberdeen Pavilion for everyone to climb aboard and play engineer for the month
of February.) via
Chianello: How the Hamilton effect could hamper Phase 2 of Ottawa’s LRT |
Ottawa Citizen.
By Jason Fekete, Ottawa Citizen, January 30, 2015
The current chairman of the council of Canadian premiers took a few verbal
slapshots at Prime Minister Stephen Harper on Friday for not attending the
group’s winter meeting in Ottawa. The country’s provincial and territorial
leaders – minus two prominent western premiers from oil-producing provinces –
gathered in downtown Ottawa for talks centred largely on the economy, including
the need for federal investment on infrastructure, crashing crude prices and the
TransCanada Energy East oilsands pipeline project. (...) A group of
environmental and civil society groups held a protest outside the hotel where
the premiers were meeting to highlight their concerns about Energy East’s impact
on climate change, what they call the “elephant in the room.” The groups
inflated a giant white elephant outside the hotel. via
Chairman of premiers’ group takes shots at Harper for skipping meeting |
Ottawa Citizen.
By Alex Robinson, Ottawa Community News, January 29, 2015 Tree Ottawa is asking
Nepean residents to help reach their goal of planting one million trees by
Canada’s 150th birthday in 2017. The project, which is part of non-profit
Ecology Ottawa, hopes to engage residents across the city to help plant and
protect trees. (...)
“Ecology Ottawa has been so receptive and encouraging about anyone that’s
excited about planting trees,” Sambol said at the workshop. via
Tree Ottawa asks Nepean to help plant one million trees.
By Lucy Scholey, Ottawa Metro News, January 29, 2015
Drivers may need to put the brakes on their driving habits in residential
neighbourhoods, as the province mulls reducing speed limits from 50 km/h to 40
km/h. That’s a good thing for Ottawa, according to Mayor Jim Watson. It was a
policy he tried putting in place in his city councillor days during the 1990s.
via
Ottawa mayor lauds move to reduce 50 km/h speed limit to 40 km/h | Metro.
By Lucy Scholey, Ottawa Metro News, January 29, 2015
Ottawa needs to improve public transit on the congested Airport Parkway before
widening it, according to a city councillor. The city has begun its public
consultations on plans to twin the roadway between Brookfield Road and the
Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier International Airport, as well as Lester Road from the
parkway to Bank Street. Coun. David Chernushenko said the city needs to enhance
public transit, rather than attract more cars to the Airport Parkway. via
Airport Parkway needs transit solution, not widening: councillor | Metro.
By Jon Willing, Ottawa Sun, January 29, 2015
The O-Train won't be running over the next two weekends because of upgrade work.
The city says a parallel bus Route 107 will replace the train. via
No O-Train for next two weekends | Ottawa & Region | News | Ottawa Sun.
By CBC News Ottawa, January 29, 2015
The Ontario government is taking steps to reduce the speed limit on residential
streets and in school zones. The province is looking into reducing the default
speed limit, where there are no signs posted, from 50 km/h on residential
streets. via
Lower residential speed limit considered by Ontario government - Ottawa - CBC
News.
By Matthew Pearson, Ottawa Citizen, January 29, 2015
The city has unveiled a full-sized mock-up of the Alstom Citadis Spirit light
rail vehicle, complete with OC Transpo customized design features, that will, in
a few short years, transport thousands of residents between Tunney’s Pasture and
Blair station. via
City Hall Blog: All aboard | Ottawa Citizen.
By Joanne Chianello, Ottawa Citizen, January 28, 2015
Ottawa’s code of conduct for members of council calls for councillors to “avoid
conflicts of interest, both apparent and real.” This week, it was revealed that
Coun. Diane Deans was one of a three-member panel that recommended Blair Crew be
returned to the transit commission. Crew was one of four public members on the
transit commission during the last term, but he quit last year in order to run
Deans’ re-election campaign. A few months later, she’s voting to put him back on
the commission. via
Chianello: Was transit commission selection offside? | Ottawa Citizen.
By Matthew Pearson, Ottawa Citizen, January 28, 2015
(...) A tangible train The Confederation Line is several years from completion,
but residents will soon have a sneak peek at the trains they will be riding. The
Alstom Citadis Spirit train, complete with OC Transpo customized design
features, will be unveiled for the media on Thursday at the Aberdeen Pavilion.
via
Five things: Mayor Watson’s state-of-the-city speech | Ottawa Citizen.
By CBC News Ottawa, January 28, 2015
City of Ottawa officials says widening the Airport Parkway remains a priority,
even as the city looks to extend the parallel Trillium light rail line to the
Ottawa International Airport. The city plans to widen the parkway from two lanes
to four, and do the same for Lester Road — the other main road out of the
airport — out to Bank Street. via
City sees need for wider Airport Parkway - Ottawa - CBC News.











