Capital Ward Bulletin: Capital Ward Holiday Party, budget progress and city council updates

Capital Ward Holiday Party!

Don’t forget about the Capital Ward holiday party. Come out for some holiday cheer on Friday, December 13, from 5:00 to 7:00 pm at Clark Hall at the RA Centre, 2451 Riverside Drive.

RSVP here.

Greenfield-Main-Hawthorne Meeting

We had a very productive meeting with residents on the Greenfield-Main-Hawthorne re-construction project. We met on-site with over 30 residents, as well as Pat Sammon, Senior Engineer of Infrastructure Projects; and Bryden Denyes, Area Manager of Roads Services.

We went over the project status, plans for re-instating the road and sidewalks for winter, and the snow-clearing plan. Residents were able to ask questions about such things as driveway re-instatements, water hook-up, traffic circulation and the performance of work crews.

It’s been an incredibly challenging project, with a lot of infrastructure work happening in some tight spaces, and I appreciate everyone who came out.

For a full re-cap, visit our website.

Winter Stair Maintenance

Winter poses specific challenges for people trying to get around the city. This is especially true for pedestrians, as the city does not keep all public stairways clear of snow and ice, choosing, instead, to close these facilities off during winter months.

Last year, the city ran a pilot to keep the stairs open for both the Flora and Corktown Footbridges. In its first year, this pilot was a tremendous success. The city received a lot of positive feedback from residents, and, as a result, will continue the pilot for another year.

While last winter had higher temperatures and less snowfall than is normal, we’re bracing for the opposite this year. Staff will track the efficacy of the pilot during this year’s winter.

We expect to have another successful season, and we look forward to expanding this program to other stairways throughout the ward and across the city.

Parks in Heron Park

Soil remediation at the site of the new community building at Heron Park has been completed. The tender for construction will go out in December or January and construction will start as soon as possible in the spring (after the snow is gone). Two garbage cans were put back in at Kaladar Park after having been initially removed for the winter. The bins have now been restored at the picnic tables and lawn bowling area at the North end of the football field, and another near the Kaladar skating hut by Kaladar Ave. Thanks to residents who notified us about this issue—with staff, we were able to follow up to see the issue quickly resolved.

Southbound Lane Reduction on Bronson Avenue

Bronson Avenue, between the Highway 417 underpass and Renfrew Avenue, will be reduced to one southbound lane for emergency repairs to the Bayswater Watermain. The lane reduction will be in effect until the repair is complete and could have an impact on traffic during peak hours on Thursday, November 28, and Friday, November 29.

Pedestrians and cyclists will be accommodated through the impacted area. Motorists are encouraged to find alternate routes where possible. Please plan ahead and watch for signage and construction flagging.

City Budget Process

The city budget process moves on. A number of city boards and committees have already met to discuss and approve their departmental budgets (including the Environment and Climate Change Committee, and the Transit Commission; more on those below).

City boards and committees that have yet to ratify their departmental budgets will be meeting in the coming weeks:

Please contact the appropriate committee coordinator to register to speak.

The full budget will be discussed and finalized by city council on Wednesday, December 11.

To learn more about this year’s budget, visit the city’s website.

Environment Committee Update

Last week, we passed the Environment and Climate Change Committee’s (ECCC) draft 2025 budget—which I spoke about on CBC, this week. The budget shows some additional growth for priorities such as the Climate Change Master Plan, as well as other mitigation and adaptation initiatives happening throughout the city. Of the $48M in the ECCC capital budget, staff indicate that $33.9M will contribute to reducing GHGs, and $14.9M will contribute to building resiliency. Strong investments are also slated for the implementation of Ottawa’s new Solid Waste Master Plan, growth and renewal of water and wastewater assets, and expanding the tree canopy.

I tabled a Notice of Motion with staff support to direct the Infrastructure and Water Services Department to report back to committee on new funding opportunities and payback parameters for municipal building retrofits. This item will be considered at the next ECCC meeting, to be held on February 18, 2025.  

Improving the Transit Budget

On Monday, the Transit Commission approved a modified version of the draft 2025 budget. As many are certainly aware, the draft budget had numerous fare hikes for various classes of riders. This included a 120% increase in the senior pass (including the elimination of free transit on Wednesdays and Sundays), elimination of free transit for 11- and 12-year-olds (who will now be required to pay $2.00 per trip), the elimination of the youth monthly pass and an overall 5% fare hike, including on the U-Pass.

At council, the budget was slightly altered to include only a 60% increase to the senior pass, along with the restoration of free transit on Wednesdays (but not Sundays). This is still too much.

We brought a motions to council to address some of these issues. We directed staff to enter into negotiations with the local colleges and universities on the U-Pass increase, as a 5% increase would violate the agreement the city has with the schools.

We also directed staff to work with school boards and the province in the potential development of a U-Pass program for all high school and intermediate school students.

At council, we will bring a motion restoring free Sunday service for senior.

Additionally, there will also be a motion to limit the senior pass increase to $58.25, making it the same price as the EquiPass. I will support this motion.

Improving Public Notification for Heritage-Related Developments

On Wednesday, I was happy to pass a motion at City Council to increase the information circulation radius for heritage applications from 30 metres to 60 metres beginning in 2025, and develop a procedure for posting of temporary notifications signs on properties subject to a Council-level heritage permit application beginning in 2025. The motion also directed staff to explore the development of an electronic mailing list that residents in heritage conservation districts can sign up for.

This motion stems from a situation on Clemow Avenue this summer where residents had insufficient notice of a heritage application on their street. The new procedures should help prevent a similar situation in the future and I want to thank residents and staff for assisting in these improvements.

Balancing Not-for-Profit Housing and Greenspace Needs on Hawthorne Avenue

Recently the city proposed six parcels of city-owned land become available for much needed affordable housing in the city. In our ward, a10-unit affordable housing development at 185 Hawthorne was being considered. Many residents wrote to us concerned about losing a site that has long been used as open greenspace. We understand. Our communities are in need of more park space not less. 

Nonetheless, the need for real not-for-profit housing is at crisis levels in our city. 

To balance these priorities, we passed a motion at Planning and Housing Committee and City Council directing staff to require three things as part of a future development:

• Retain and/or replace as many trees as possible.
• Provide publicly accessible greenspace on the site.
• Attempt to maintain the existing curbside parking capacity. 

We were happy to work on this issue with residents and staff, and I personally want to thank residents, particularly on Hawthorne, for your advocacy. 

Main Street Speed Camera

The new Automated Speed Enforcement (AS) camera on Main Street between Evelyn and Springhurst Avenues has passed all testing requirements and is now active.

This ASE camera has been added to the list of active ASE cameras on our website Automated Speed Enforcement and on the interactive traffic map.

Glebe Avenue Re-Opened

I’m happy to announce that crews have completed re-construction work on Glebe Avenue between Bank and O’Connor for the season. With some help from the weather, crews completed the baselift asphalt and the toplift asphalt for the road and cycletrack last week. The new two-metre sidewalk was completed in October.

Presently, crews are re-instating driveways, removing temporary streetlight poles and completing tree-planting. Crews are also placing topsoil to level out the ground. Grass and garden plantings will be done in the spring, as originally planned.

The road will be re-opened by the end of the week. The 56 will return to its normal route on December 6.

Two speed humps and the raised pedestrian crossing at O’Connor will be done in the spring.

We know this work has been disruptive, but it was important to get these improvements done. We thank residents for their patience while this important work has been going on.

Your Capital Ward

Photo by Sydney Gen

If you have a photo you’d like to share in an upcoming bulletin, please send it to [email protected], with the subject line Your Capital Ward. Please give us your name for attribution…or tell us if you’d rather not have your name shared.

Bold Voices of Ottawa

Bold Voices of Ottawa will be performing a Christmas concert, Sing Noel!, on Friday December 14 at 7:00 pm at Trinity Anglican Church, 1230 Bank Street.

Bold Voices of Ottawa is a local choir singing choral music by Black composers.

Small Business Saturday—This Weekend!

This Saturday is Small Business Saturday, a day to go out, shop local and support the small businesses in our community. If you’re out shopping this weekend, why not consider showing one of our local businesses your patronage.

Last City-Sponsored Repair Café of the Year

The City of Ottawa, in collaboration with the Ottawa Tool Library is sponsoring a Repair Café! On Saturday, November 30, visit the Tony Graham Recreation Complex (100 Charlie Rogers Place) for free repairs of electronics, clothing, small appliances, jewelry and more. Enjoy complimentary tea, coffee, and snacks (please bring your own mug). Visit Ottawa.ca/WasteReduction for event details and stay tuned for more city sponsored Repair Cafés in 2025. Choosing to repair rather than replace is cost effective and helps reduce waste.

Waste Explorer

Navigate proper waste diversion with ease using the Waste Explorer tool, accessible at ottawa.ca/WasteExplorer and via the Ottawa Collection Calendar mobile app. From batteries and paint to milk cartons and pills, the Waste Explorer is your go-to guide for responsible waste disposal!

Opportunity to Consult on the Special Events By-law Review

The staff review of the city’s Special Events on City Streets By-law (No.2001-260) and Special Events on Public and Private Property By-law (No. 2013-232) is well underway. This review is part of the Council-approved 2023-2026 By-law Review Work Plan and also supports the City Council’s strategic priority of creating a city with a diversified and prosperous economy.

Staff are facilitating a final round of public consultations before determining which policy recommendations to submit for Council approval next year. The review’s final survey, which asks questions about potential recommendations for special events permits, block parties, demonstrations, sidewalk sales, and public behaviour, is now live on EngageOttawa.

Better Homes Ottawa Loan Program

The Better Homes Ottawa Loan Program (BHOLP) is a City of Ottawa loan program for home energy efficiency retrofits. It aims to support local residents to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. 

As of November 15, 2024, 251 projects have been completed since the program launched in late 2021, 24 of which were in Capital Ward—the most in any ward across the city.

This program offers low-interest, 20-year loans of up to $125,000 (or 10 percent of the current value assessment of the home, whichever is less) to cover the cost of home energy improvements. Eligible measures include thermal envelope upgrades, mechanical systems, renewable energy, EV chargers (Level 2), and the addition of rental suites (up to a maximum of 30% of the value of the loan).

With low-interest, 20-year loans that are tied to the property, not the individual, the Better Homes Ottawa – Loan Program makes it easier and more affordable for homeowners to pay for these home improvements over time. The minimum loan amount which will be issued to an applicant is $10,000.

Enroll today!