Ecology Ottawa

News Clippings

Autonomous vehicle crash rates alarm insiders

By Brian Turner, InsideOttawaValley, August 23, 2019 While driverless vehicle technology is still in its infancy, industry insiders are raising the alarm bells over fleet testing on public roads. Recently a former Uber exec went public with his opinions on the risks of high mileage testing, which he states involves collisions at rates higher than human pilots. This, he said endangers other motorists and pedestrians alike. With the U.S. federal government currently considering legislation to cover autonomous vehicles, Robbie Miller — a former Uber operations manager — is calling for a rethink on safety standards.

"I want to make the road safer," said Miller, in a recent interview with Autonews.

LRT line to open Sept. 14

By Joanne Chianello and Trevor Pritchard, CBC News Ottawa, August 23, 2019

It may have arrived 456 days late, but there's finally light at the end of the tunnel for people who've been waiting to ride Ottawa's new Confederation Line.

The doors to Ottawa's $2.1-billion light rail system will open to the public on Saturday, Sept. 14, Mayor Jim Watson announced at City Hall Friday afternoon.

"This is truly an exciting day for the city of Ottawa, and I want to take an opportunity to thank the residents of our city for their patience," Watson said.

Welcome to the 15-minute neighbourhood: Intensification key to city's official plan

By CBC News Ottawa, August 22, 2019

Ottawa's revised official plan aims to create a community of "15-minute neighbourhoods" that will transform the capital into North America's most liveable mid-sized city while planning for a population that will eventually double or even triple.

To reach that lofty goal, the 25-year growth blueprint unveiled Thursday at Ottawa City Hall is hard-focused on urban intensification instead of sprawl, creating residential hubs where people can get to most of their daily destinations — schools, grocery stores, public transit, parks and libraries — within a 15-minute walk from their homes.

(...)To achieve its ambition, the city is aiming to have residents make significantly more than 50 per cent of their trips by foot, bicycle, public transit or by carpooling, Miguelez said. Currently, between 40 and 50 percent of residents' daily trips are made by some mode of transportation other than their personal vehicles.

City looks to toughen tree rules amid deforestation 'crisis'

By CBC News Ottawa, August 22, 2019

The City of Ottawa is looking at toughening its tree bylaws to halt the worrying trend of urban deforestation, and that could include demanding compensation from developers and homeowners who flout the rules.

There are currently two separate tree bylaws, one dealing with trees on municipal property and another aimed at protecting trees on private property.

• Homeowner fights to save 100-year-old trees, set to be cut down by developer
• Neighbours feel betrayed by city after mature maple tree cut down

In the decade since that second bylaw was enacted, "the steady pace of development and infrastructure projects, together with disease, has resulted in noticeable tree loss in the urban area," according to a discussion paper released by the city.

(...)In an effort to "retain, replace and renew" the urban tree canopy, the discussion paper proposes several ideas including:

• Lowering the minimum diameter for "distinctive" trees from 50 centimetres.
• Developing "clear rules around permitting."
• Requiring a "permit to work around trees."
• Developing "tree compensation requirements."

(...)Ottawa residents have until Sept. 9 to tell the city how they feel about the proposed changes to the tree bylaws.

Saving the planet from ecological collapse: An excerpt from Burning Souls

By David Chernuchenko, Ottawa Citizen, August 22, 2019

It was easy being friends in the cloistered environment of Cambridge University in 1997, but when Simone Cohen, Sagan Cleveland, Jenny Fung and Jiro “JJ” Ebitsubo set out to right the wrongs of the countries they come from and the world they live in, they confront serious professional and personal challenges. Whether they continue to support each other in future, in the midst of social and ecological breakdown could make all the difference — to one another and the course of humanity. 

•

Dateline: September 10, 2025, Southern France

Weather: Hot, dry, silent

Simone’s mind was spinning like the hard drive on her first laptop. Writing columns for papers that no longer published, for readers who no longer cared. No longer dared.

Today's letters: Shame on Elections Canada for muzzling climate change truths

By Christine Midwinter and others, Ottawa Citizen Letters to the Editor, August 22, 2019

Elections Canada sets a dangerous precedent 

Re: Elections Canada warns environment groups that calling climate change real could be considered partisan

The United Nations has said we only have 11 years before climate change causes irreparable, disastrous consequences for all nations. I am absolutely horrified and disgusted that Elections Canada has informed environmental charities that any talk of climate change in the upcoming federal election could be considered partisan activity.

Selley: Climate change fracas exposes ridiculous third-party spending rules

By Chris Selley, Ottawa Citizen, August 21, 2019

Many Canadians have been understandably flummoxed, with gusts to outraged, by news that Elections Canada has warned organizations advocating for more forceful action against climate change that they may have to register as “third parties” for the upcoming election, and be subject to limits on advertising expenditures during the campaign. “The climate crisis is objectively real — a fact,” is the common refrain. “Why is Elections Canada cracking down on facts?”

The warning reportedly comes in response to Maxime Bernier’s new People’s Party, whose platform rejects “climate change alarmism.” But it’s tough to say climate change wouldn’t have been an election issue otherwise: The Liberals accuse the Conservatives of denialism, the Conservatives accuse the Liberals of killing jobs, and the New Democrats and Greens assail the Liberals’ and Conservatives’ failure to meet identical emissions targets. And the Elections Act is crystal clear on the question of “issue advertising” (as opposed to “partisan advertising,” which advocates for a party or candidate). Registration and reporting rules kick in for anyone “taking a position on an issue with which a registered party or candidate is associated,” and who wants to spend more than $500 advertising that position.

Pellerin: We need better, reliable data on air pollution in Ottawa

By Brigitte Pellerin, Ottawa Citizen, August 22, 2019

Breathing, most would argue, is a crucial part of survival — so why isn’t the City of Ottawa doing more to measure how much air pollution we’re inhaling?

Since most people consider breathing to be an important part of their daily health regimen, air quality matters. But it can be difficult to find reliable information about what exactly is in the stuff we inhale where we live, work and play. Air quality in Ottawa is relatively good; we haven’t had a smog advisory since 2013. But that doesn’t mean we’re in the clear. (...)We know we need to do this. The city is updating its Air Quality and Climate Change Management Plan, and is supposed to release a new report by year’s end. This is our guide to reducing greenhouse gas emissions alongside goals we set for ourselves in 2005 and which so far we’re nowhere near hitting.

How Ottawa ended up with a 2.5-km rail tunnel under its downtown

By Jon Willing, August 22, 2019

There were two ways the city could get electrified trains through the downtown core when it was planning its east-west light rail system more than 10 years ago: build rail lines on the road surfaces or dig a rail tunnel.

A 2007 report from a task force appointed by former mayor Larry O’Brien, whose council cancelled a north-south LRT contract, recommended a downtown rail tunnel as the best way to breathe life into the core and get rid of the daily traffic bottleneck.

Digging a tunnel through the core of the nation’s capital would be expensive, but there was potential to reduce the operating costs of OC Transpo by taking diesel-guzzling buses off the roads and removing any barriers to getting through a busy downtown at rush hour.

The 2008 transportation master plan included a downtown tunnel as the backbone for the “phase one, increment one” of an LRT system, part of a larger vision to expand rapid transit across Ottawa.

City starts improvements to cycling safety on Laurier Avenue

By Tom Spears, Ottawa Citizen, August 22, 2019

The city has begun work on improvements to Laurier Avenue West where a cyclist was struck and killed in mid-May.

Among the changes the city announced in a news release:

• A new stop sign where the ramp from Queen Elizabeth Drive meets Laurier Avenue West; • A new bike lane on the Queen Elizabeth Drive ramp; • New flex stakes along the Laurier westbound bike lane. These are vertical stakes that separate car and bike lanes. • Measures to prevent vehicles coming off Queen Elizabeth Drive from going directly to the Elgin Street right turn lane. These vehicles will need to merge with Laurier before making the turn. • A new bike signal at the crosswalk at city hall (westbound direction).

A user's guide: Everything you need to know about taking Ottawa's LRT

By Jon Willing, Ottawa Citizen, August 22, 2019

The launch of the O-Train Confederation Line is the start of a new era of public transit in Ottawa as the city becomes more dependent on electrified trains to get across the city.

The LRT system, which runs between Tunney’s Pasture and Blair stations via a 2.5-kilometre downtown tunnel, replaces the crosstown bus routes through the core. Instead of taking a bus across that 12.5-kilometre stretch, transit customers will need to board the Confederation Line during the LRT operating hours.

We have assembled some of readers’ most frequently asked questions about the LRT system and found the answers.

Announcement coming Friday on LRT opening date

By CBC News Ottawa, August 21, 2019

Ottawa residents will learn Friday when the long-awaited Confederation line LRT will finally begin service.

In an email sent Wednesday afternoon, the city announced a press event with Mayor Jim Watson and other local politicians about the opening of the line, on Friday afternoon.

The line has been undergoing testing for several weeks to ensure the system is ready for handover. Rideau Transit Group was to handover the key on Aug. 16, but missed that deadline.