Ecology Ottawa

News Clippings

Older homes with lead pipes eligible for City of Ottawa rebate program

By Lesley McKay, StittsvilleCentral, September 17, 2019

There are many older homes in Stittsville and if your home was built before 1955 and you have lead pipes that connect to non-lead City pipes, you are eligible for a rebate to have these pipes replaced.

The Standing Committee on Environmental Protection, Water and Waste Management has approved a new rebate of up to $1,000 or about 20 per cent of the total replacement cost. The City will continue to offer loans for properties where both the private and City portions of the water pipes are made of lead.

Homeowners with confirmed lead levels that exceed Health Canada’s recently updated guideline, or who are awaiting pipe replacement under the program, could get a year’s worth of free water filters to remove lead from their tap water. Call 3-1-1 to make an appointment to have the lead levels tested in your water.

LRT week two: more buses and an end to the fare freeze

By Ted Raymond, CTV News Ottawa, September 23, 2019

The City of Ottawa says the first week of workday commutes on the new Confederation Line went by without any major problems.

There were a couple of train delays early in the week but they were resolved. Riders complained about crowded platforms at the Blair and Tunney’s Pasture rail-to-bus transfer stations, but OC Transpo says extra buses have been dispatched for afternoon riders to help handle the backlog.

Parallel bus service runs alongside LRT for another two weeks. OC Transpo’s manager of customer systems, Pat Scrimgeour, told last week’s Transit Commission meeting that once October 6 rolls around, buses at Tunney’s and Blair will be empty, which will also help move people along.

NCC 'keeping Orléans down' by rejecting boulevard plan, councillors say

By Matthew Kupker, CBC News Ottawa, September 23, 2019

Ottawa's east-end councillors say they're frustrated with the National Capital Commission after it withdrew support for a boulevard extension that would have eased local traffic and connected more residents to light rail.

The plan was to connect Brian Coburn Boulevard to Innes Road and the Blair LRT station, improving the east-west flow of traffic with lanes for cars and buses and a dedicated cycling path.

The NCC said while it still supports the project, it objects to road alignments that run counter to the Greenbelt Master Plan — and that includes "Option 7," the route preferred by councillors.

(...)Bog at risk, NCC says

The commission's objection will hamper efforts to connect people to the newly-built $2.1 billion Confederation LRT line, Dudas said, and the $4.6-billion Phase 2 expansion.

• Confederation Line launch: Everything you need to know as it opens

"We will continue to see more and more congestion on our existing roads. It will mean that we can't provide the long-term transit options that will allow people to see transit as a viable option," Dudas said.

Penton: Here's why Ottawa should support more local farmers’ markets

By Chris Penton, Ottawa Citizen, September 23, 2019

City staff recently cited increased local food production as one of their suggestions to Ottawa Council for the new Official Plan.

In reaction to that, I recently submitted a proposal to two general managers at the city, as well as 14 councillors. I was proposing the proliferation of small, local farmers’ markets across Ottawa in city-run parks. The councillors were a mix of urban, rural and a couple of suburban representatives.

I was asking the city to give basic support to small, privately run farmers’ markets; to allow the use of city park amenities (play structures, green space), the onsite hydro and washrooms; afford minimal storage; and maintain the park. In exchange, we would pay a small fee, set up 10 to 15 local vendor stalls, (quiet) live music and a community table for local interest groups.

(...)The environmental impacts are also worth noting. With a market around the corner, the average family is less likely to drive to a larger market. This not only reduces emissions, but gets everyone out walking and leading a healthier lifestyle. In addition, the vehicles coming in from a family farm are travelling a fraction of the distance compared to that of the large trucks, trains and boats from Montreal, California or Chile.

KDHE issues public notice for city’s permit request

By the Ottawa Herald, September 20, 2019

The city of Ottawa is asking state officials to issue a new individual municipal storm sewer system permit in place of an existing general permit.

According to state officials, a public notice and draft permit are related to a pending Kansas Water Pollution Control Permit and Authorization to Discharge under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System.

Under law, the municipality must issue a public notice, informing interested persons of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment’s intent to issue a state/federal Water Pollution Control Permit. The notice allows a 30-day period for comment by the applicant or other interested parties. If there is significant interest, a public hearing may be scheduled.

The proposed permit requires the city to develop, implement and enforce a stormwater management program designed to reduce the discharge of pollutants from the existing general permit to the maximum possible extent to protect water quality and and to satisfy appropriate water quality requirements of the Clean Water Act and state surface water quality statutes and regulations.

Montreal launches zero-emission delivery option to reduce truck traffic

By CBC News, September 13, 2019

Will electric cargo bikes stuffed with parcels unclog Montreal's downtown core and reduce the noise and air pollution that delivery trucks pump out every day?

Mayor Valérie Plante is betting on it.

Montreal kicked off a new, one-year pilot project in the Ville-Marie borough Thursday that invites heavy vehicles to unload at Îlot Voyageur, a former bus station between Berri and St-Hubert streets, below Ontario Street.

McKenna pledges to help make Prince of Wales Bridge safe for cyclists, pedestrians

By Joanne Laucius, Ottawa Citizen, September 20, 2019

Ottawa Centre Liberal candidate Catherine McKenna said if she’s elected, she will partner with the City of Ottawa and the province of Ontario to make the Prince of Wales Bridge accessible to pedestrians and cyclists.

McKenna estimates that the project would cost about $10 million, but argues that the project would make the abandoned railway bridge safe, as well as offer a new option for people crossing between Ottawa and Gatineau.

The derelict bridge is owned by the City of Ottawa and crosses the Ottawa River through Lemieux Island into Gatineau.

Waste Management pays steep penalty over missed pickups

By Kate Porter, CBC News Ottawa, September 17, 2019

Waste Management has been penalized more than $200,000 for failing to live up to its garbage collection contract in Ottawa's west end, city councillors on the environment committee heard Tuesday.

Residents of Kanata, Stittsville, West Carleton and Bay ward have been plagued with spotty trash pickup since April.

The company had blamed a fire that destroyed several of its trucks, but is now reporting curbside collection is back on track.

Positive public feedback to updated design for Pakenham pedestrian crossovers

By Ashley Kulp, InsideOttawaValley, September 16, 2019 If at first you don’t succeed, try again. The Municipality of Mississippi Mills received positive feedback from residents and business owners on its second attempt at the Pakenham pedestrian crossover design for County Road 29 at the intersections of Jeanie Street and Elizabeth Street/Waba Road. The revised designs were available for view at a public information centre Sept. 9 at the Stewart Community Centre in Pakenham.

“Just to be clear, this design does not include bumpouts,” Mississippi Mills chief administrative officer Ken Kelly stressed.

The original concept passed by Missississippi Mills and Lanark County council last October, included bumpouts, which caused concern for the agricultural community. To allow for the bumpouts, the street would be narrowed to include two travel lanes, instead of the two travel lanes and two parking lanes that exist now. Farmers worried the turning radius wouldn’t be wide enough to accommodate their heavy machinery.

LGTIRL all-candidates debate to build environmental leadership

By InsideOttawaValley, September 14, 2019 On October 2, community groups and individuals in our riding are hosting a non-partisan all-candidates debate on the environment for Leeds-Grenville, Thousand Islands & Rideau Lakes (LGTIRL). Around the world, we are seeing dramatic shifts in technology and people’s behaviour to help address environmental problems.

Here in the communities of LGTIRL, we are playing our part by adopting solar energy, retrofitting our homes and integrating energy efficiency into new homes, buying food that was raised or grown locally, composting our organic waste, and more.

But while individual action can make an important contribution to addressing problems like climate change, complex environmental challenges can’t be solved without government leadership.

Concerned about pedestrian safety? Let's start with dangerous SUV mentality

By Naomi Buck, The Globe and Mail, March 22, 2018, Tweeted by Bike Ottawa September 14, 2019

Recently, four-year-old Arisa Ahmed and her seven-year-old sister, Ayra, were struck by a Mercedes SUV while crossing the street in front of their school in a residential neighbourhood of Markham, a northeastern suburb of Toronto. Arisa was killed and Ayra was taken to hospital with serious injuries.

Every aspect of this collision will be investigated. But as traffic authorities consider installing the speed bumps and stop sign that residents say they have been requesting for years, one factor will escape scrutiny: the vehicle that did it.

We in the land of cheap gas and vast geography like our cars big and powerful.

A combination of psychological and design factors make large passenger vehicles such as SUVs much more of a threat to pedestrians and cyclists than standard passenger cars, a fact that deserves attention as a larger class of vehicle comes to dominate our roads.

Reality check: Will Scheer’s promised public transit tax credit help the environment?

By Andrew Russell, Global News, September 13, 2019

Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer is promising to bring back the public transit tax credit, aimed at decreasing the number of people driving to work, as part of the party’s environmental platform.

“By making it more affordable for Canadians to use public transit, we will reduce the number of cars on the road,” Scheer said in a statement. “This will decrease congestion, allowing Canadians to get home faster at the end of the workday. It will also help our environment as more Canadians choose public transit.”

The Conservatives say the plan, called the Green Public Transit Tax Credit, would give people a 15 per cent credit at tax season.