By Norman Jack, CFRA News, December 16, 2013
City Councillor Tim Tierney says he`d like to see more enforcement blitzes on buses and and OC Transpo stations.
A joint operation on Saturday saw OC Transpo special constables and city police monitor buses as well as transitway stations at Blair, Billings Bridge, and Hurdman.
By Derek Spalding, Ottawa Citizen, December 16, 2013
OTTAWA — Fewer special constables patrol Ottawa’s transit system than those in two comparable Canadian cities.
The numbers, obtained by the Citizen, are prompting at least two city councillors to ask whether more needs to be done to ensure passenger safety here.
By David Reevely, Ottawa Citizen, December 16, 2013
OTTAWA — The mining machines chewing through rock under downtown Ottawa to make a new rail tunnel are amazing, powerful devices. But don’t try to sleep above one.
“It’s very hard to describe it. It’s a very low-wave, bass kind of sound,” said Valentin Chirica, who lives on the second floor of the Queen Juliana Apartments at 100 Bronson Ave., close to the “west portal” of the tunnel. He and his wife have had almost no sleep in days, he said, awakened over and over again by a sensation that’s somewhere between a vibration in their bones and a hum in their ears, coming from the “roadheader” nicknamed Chewrocka that’s grinding away at the rock under their home.
By Amar Kumar, Ottawa Citizen Letter to the Editor, December 16, 2013
Re: Energy plan includes big hydro hikes, Dec. 2.
This Citizen article is missing one method of energy conservation that gets overlooked again and again in the news: geothermal.
I'm all for energy-saving equipment like new furnaces, windows and solar panels. But that\'s just the surface. That\'s just about insulating a home. What about heating the home? We need to go deeper. If we\'re serious about saving on our hydro bills, we need to have a conversation about adopting geothermal.
By Derek Spalding, Ottawa Citizen, December 15, 2013
OTTAWA — Fewer special constables patrol Ottawa’s transit system than those in two comparable Canadian cities.
The numbers, obtained by the Citizen, are prompting at least two city councillors to ask whether more needs to be done to ensure passenger safety here.
By John Dance, Ottawa Citizen Letter to the Editor, December 14, 2013
Re: Buildings around Lees could be tallest in city, Dec. 11.
Coverage on city planning committee\'s approval of the Lees transitoriented development plan made no mention of the absurdity of also keeping the plan for an elevated four-lane roadway - the Alta Vista Transportation Corridor - beside the new LRT line and massive development. The planned AVTC road will cut off this development from the rest of Old Ottawa East and will eat up much of the precious recreation area adjacent to the development. If we are planning for 35,000 additional people at Lees and Hurdman, let\'s look at their needs and the available space first, not after a freeway is plonked down. Make up your mind, city council: LRT with transit-oriented development or a new elevated four-lane road in the middle of the city? Ottawa can\'t afford both. Even if it could, a new four-lane AVTC roadway would horribly undermine the use of LRT and the \"livability\" of the new transit-oriented development.
By Jill Vardy, Ottawa Citizen Letter to the Editor, December 14, 2013
Re: Bank of Canada masterpiece threatened, Nov. 30.
The Bank of Canada\'s head office at 234 Wellington St. has been the bank\'s home since 1938. The two 12-storey towers were constructed in the 1970s. We at the bank understand what a privilege is it to occupy Arthur Erickson\'s beautiful towers and atrium. We also understand our responsibility to look after the building. The 40-year-old facility is now in need of extensive renewal.
The building\'s main systems - ventilation, heating, plumbing and electrical - have reached the end of their lifespans. The facility needs to be upgraded to align with modern requirements for health and safety standards and seismic stability, and to better meet the bank\'s evolving security and business requirements. Renewing the bank\'s head office also is an opportunity to make it more energy efficient, more cost effective and environmentally sustainable, and to return the interior to the more open format of Erickson\'s original design.
By Chris Hofley, Ottawa Sun, December 13, 2013
Ottawa Community Housing isn’t the first of its kind to ban smoking in its buildings and it won’t be the last.
But as the largest housing provider in Ontario to implement a no-smoking policy — according to OCH — other cities will be looking to the capital to gauge whether or not it’s a viable idea.
By Don Butler, Ottawa Citizen, December 13, 2013
Trillium Power Wind Corp. is now seeking $500 million in damages from the Ontario government for its “bad faith” decision to impose a moratorium on offshore wind farm projects during the 2011 provincial election.
Trillium claims the damages in an amended statement of claim filed this week in Ontario Superior Court.
By David Reevely, Ottawa Citizen, December 13, 2013
OTTAWA — A provincial report that recommends raising taxes to pay for transit in Toronto points the way for funding Ottawa’s $4-billion new transportation plan, Mayor Jim Watson says.
“What I am pleased to hear about is that the government is at least talking seriously about how they’re going to fund transit, not just in the GTA but around the province, and having a mature discussion about how they’re going to raise funds for their share of the funding,” he said in an interview Friday.