Last week, I joined community members, representatives of the Glebe Community Association and city staff for the implementation of a sticker plaque commemorating the Bank Street streetcar. One of the few remaining streetcar poles is on Bank Street just north of Rosebery, and one of our neighbours, Jay Miller, came up with the idea of the commemoration. Jay put in a lot of work with city staff, our office and the GCA Heritage Committee to make this happen.
It may seem like a small thing, but it’s important to remember that transit on Bank used to work well. This history is important to remember as we look to the future. Infrastructure that supports sustainable transportation on Bank Street is not only possible; it’s been done before. Let’s celebrate that history of transit on Bank Street, and work towards honouring that history in the work that we do to improve service on the street.
City Needs a Multi-Faceted Approach to Financial Concerns
Recently, there’s been much discussion about financial pressures at the City of Ottawa, with an emphasis placed on getting increased funding from both the federal and provincial governments. The city’s budget should be a top concern of all residents, and I would implore higher levels of government to better fund transit in Ottawa and through the province and country, but there’s more that we, as a city should be concerned about…and there’s more that we could be doing.
As we seek to tackle this financial issue, we need to have an approach that’s rooted in honesty and collaboration. We can’t be playing the blame game or obscuring what’s actually been happening in the city.
We have a lot of challenges at the city, and in the past, we have made a lot of decisions that have helped create the tremendous budgetary pressures we’re feeling. Urban boundary expansion—especially the last-minute inclusion of the Tewin Lands—is exceptionally expensive. The re-re-development of Lansdowne Park is exceptionally expensive (and the price tag keeps growing). Continued road expansions are expensive and create an ongoing financial liability as we have to pay, year-after-year, to plow them, paint them and fix them. P3 projects like LRT come with higher prices and poorer outcomes, piling onto our debt and reducing the confidence residents have in City Hall.
On top of that, Ottawa has had back-to-back budgets of below-inflation rate increases. Our development charges (which are supposed to—but unable to—pay for sprawl) are 50th in the province.
We neither have the revenue tools we need, nor are we acting as prudently as we could be with those we do have.
So, yes, we must work together, both as a city and with other levels of government, to secure better funding for important, necessary services that our residents deserve. But we also must acknowledge the mistakes we’ve been repeating for the last decade or longer—choosing, instead, fiscal prudence and focusing on services that residents need—like improving and expanding transit.
Old Ottawa East Barbecue and Capital Ward Bike Ride with Councillor Menard
The Capital Ward Office will be hosting a community bike ride on September 21, in collaboration with the Old Ottawa East Main Event.
We'll be joining the Main Street Barbecue (already in progress) at 12:30 pm, organized by the Community Activities Group of Old Ottawa East. It will be raising funds for the Old Ottawa East Community Association. Additional activities include a bouncy castle, band, and dunk tank, as well as some snacks. We will be meeting at the barbecue, which is currently scheduled to be located at the St. Paul University Parking lot next to the Grand Allee off Main Street, but there will be festivities all weekend—more information should become available here: https://www.ottawaeastcag.org/main-event-2024
At 1:15 pm, we'll start a short bike tour from the barbecue to some important spots for active transportation in the ward. First, we'll bike over to Springhurst Park, then under the McIlraith Bridge at the south end of Main Street and finally ending at the Billings Bridge. The pace will be slow, and people of all ages and abilities are welcome! We look forward to gathering with the community to celebrate achievements and talk about what's needed next.
Climate March
Before the barbecue and bike ride, we’ll be joining with Fridays for Future at their Expose the Climate Culprits March, which starts at 11:00 am at City Hall on Saturday September 21.
Come out for any of these events...or all three!
Reuse Ottawa
Reuse Ottawa is a unique pilot program that eliminates single-use plastic packaging by bringing reusable food containers to Ottawa food service businesses and grocery stores.
Borrow and return reusable containers at participating restaurants and grocery stores in your neighbourhood. Reuse Ottawa locations span Downtown Ottawa, Byward Market, Rideau Centre, Centretown, and the Glebe and extend to the Hunt Club area.
You can find reusable containers and return bins at the following locations:
- Farm boy, Rideau Centre, 50 Rideau St, Ottawa, ON K1N 9J7
- Farm boy, 193 Metcalfe St, Ottawa, ON K2P 0S
- Metro, Southgate, 2515 Bank St, Ottawa, ON K1V 0Y5
For more information or to start reusing, visit circularinnovation.ca/reuse-ottawa.
Join Centretown Churches Social Action Committee October 6th for Walk For The Centre 2024!
The Walk For The Centre is returning in 2024 for the ninth year. Centretown Churches Social Action Committee welcomes friends, families and teams for a walk, rain or shine, along the Rideau Canal on Sunday October 6 from 1:30 to 4:00 pm. Everyone will meet at City Hall at 1:00 pm for registration and team photos.
Residents will be walking to highlight the need for food security for so many in central Ottawa. As always, 100% of net proceeds go to the Centretown Community Food Centre. Last year, they were able to provide $40,000 in additional funds to the Food Centre thanks to the generosity of donors, walkers and business sponsors.
For more information, visit www.centretownchurches.org/walkathon/.
Ottawa Friends of Tibet Fall Event
Ottawa Friends of Tibet is holding their fall event in celebration of Tibetan culture and to raise funds to Tibetan refugees in India. There will be Tibetan food, Tibetan dancers, a silent auction and Himalayan Bazaar.
It will be from 3:30 to 6:00 pm on Saturday October 19 in the First Unitarian Congregation of Ottawa church hall, 30 Cleary Avenue.
Tickets are available at www.oft.ca. Adults $60, at the door $65, students 16 and under $20. Contact [email protected] if you have questions.
Your Capital Ward
Photo by Tanya Miller
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.
Old Railway Rideau River Pedestrian Bridge Renewal—Public Information Session
The City of Ottawa has commenced the Old Railway Rideau River Pedestrian Bridge Renewal Environmental Assessment (EA) Study. The Old Railway Rideau River Pedestrian Bridge (SN018600), built in 1898, is 160 m in length, crossing the Rideau River just south of Highway 417. The Bridge carried a single railway track on the former CP Rail Montreal & Ottawa Subdivision until its abandonment in 1966 and was re-purposed by 1972 to carry only pedestrian and cycling traffic. The bridge provides an important multi-use active transportation link between the National Capital Commission’s (NCC) Rideau River Eastern Pathway and the City of Ottawa’s (City) Rideau River Western Pathway / Rideau River Nature Trail. In 2018, a Detailed Condition Assessment was completed and concluded that the structure was in overall poor condition, with several components showing significant signs of deterioration.
Public Consultation
Public Information Sessions (PISs) are scheduled for September 24, 2024. An in-person session will take place at the Sandy Hill Community Center, 250 Somerset St. E, Ottawa, ON from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm with a virtual Q&A session scheduled from 8:30 pm to 9:30 pm following the in-person meeting. There will be no formal presentation during the PIS.
The presentation material will be on display at the venue and can be accessed on the City of Ottawa website.
If you have any questions or comments or would like to be included on the project’s notification list, please respond to the email address shown below:
Kosta Karadakis, M.A.Sc., P.Eng.
Infrastructure Assessment Engineer—Structures
[email protected]
Please provide your comments to the City's project manager by October 8, 2024.
National Grandparents Day
The One World Grannies invite you to join them in celebrating National Grandparents Day on Sunday, September 8.
They will be celebrating with the Stephen Lewis Foundation's National Clothesline event and a Bridge Crossing between 10:00 am and 2:00 pm on the Chief William Commanda Bridge.
This is an awareness-raising event with an invitation and welcome to the regional grandmother groups in the Ottawa and Gatineau areas as well as special guests and the general public to join in solidarity with grandmothers in sub-Saharan Africa.
ANCHOR for Mental Health and Substance Use Supports in Centretown
Starting this August, community members in Centretown can now call 2-1-1 to access the Alternate Neighbourhood Crisis Response (ANCHOR) for culturally sensitive and trauma-informed mental health and substance use supports.
Community-based and client-focused, ANCHOR provides free, confidential support for individuals aged 16 and older in Centretown experiencing a mental health or substance use-related crisis. The service is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
ANCHOR’s Crisis Response Teams are trained to handle crises using a culturally sensitive, trauma-informed approach. Mobile teams of outreach and peer support workers will respond to non-violent, non-emergency calls and provide a wellness check or in-person support throughout a crisis. They will also offer referrals to follow-up services for continued crisis care, like counselling resources or food banks.
Access this alternate response by calling 2-1-1, where teams are ready to help in English and French and have access to simultaneous interpretation to support care in other languages.
Visit the ANCHOR webpage on centretownchc.org to learn more.
I passed two successful motions at city council endorsing the concept of establishing a mental health outreach team in Ottawa, and our team has been working with the community and city staff throughout this term to make this initiative a reality. We are so happy to see it launched, and we will work towards permanent funding so this pilot can be expanded to other areas of the city.
Three-Item Garbage Limit
On Monday, September 30, the City of Ottawa will introduce a limit of three items of garbage to be picked up at the curb on collection day. A garbage item could be a garbage bag, a garbage container up to 140 litres or a bulky item such as an unusable or broken piece of furniture. Households can put several smaller bags in one garbage container to count as one item.
There is no limit to how much residents can set out through curbside recycling, green bins and leaf and yard waste bags. This change only applies to residents who receive curbside garbage collection. Not sure if this applies to you? Visit www.ottawa.ca/garbage and search your address to find out.
Why a three-item garbage limit?
The three-item garbage limit helps the city extend the life of the Trail Waste Facility Landfill. This gives us time to explore new options for waste disposal. This limit also puts us in line with what neighbouring municipalities have for garbage collection. More than half of what we put in the garbage should go in the blue, black or green bin.
Around 85 per cent of households already set out three garbage items or fewer on collection day. Even so, we can all do better when it comes to recycling and using a green bin. The new limit will encourage curbside residents to rethink how they dispose of household waste—whether it be through properly sorted recycling, neighbourhood “buy-nothing” groups, donations or return to retailer.
Tips and tools for adapting to the new three-item garbage limit
Are you new to Ottawa or find yourself needing a new blue, green or black bin? You can request one here. The city provides one of each for free and will deliver it to your home.
Not sure which bin something goes in? It can be hard to keep track. The Waste Explorer makes it easy. Search any item and it will tell you how to properly dispose of it.
Visit Ottawa.ca/garbage for more insight into how you can reduce the amount of garbage you send to landfill.
Enforcement
The new garbage limit is not meant to punish people. The city will focus on educating residents first. For the small number of residents who consistently exceed the garbage limit, a waste inspector may visit to make sure the household is aware of the new limit and to offer them educational materials. Ticketing may result if the limit continues to be exceeded even after repeated efforts to address the issue with education.
Yellow bags for residents
Yellow bags for residents will be available for purchase later this year in advance of the three-item garbage limit. Residents who need to go above the three-item garbage limit can purchase yellow bags from participating Home Hardware stores, Building Materials & Renovations (BMR) and select city facilities. Yellow bags will be sold in packages of four at a cost of $17.60. There is no limit to the number of yellow bags that can be set out for collection.
The city is exploring options to expand where yellow bags can be purchased. More information will be available later this year.
Household Hazardous Waste Event Happening on Sunday, September 8 at Tunney’s Pasture
The City of Ottawa is hosting a Household Hazardous Waste drop-off event on Sunday, September 8 at Tunney’s Pasture (residents can follow the signage at Tunney’s Pasture for the specific location of the event). Residents are welcome to bring their materials to the event between 8:00 am and 4:00 pm.
Of course, you don’t have to wait; the city’s Waste Explorer points to retailers where residents can return many items daily!
Please note that electronic waste is not accepted at Household Hazardous Waste drop-off events hosted by the city. Residents can bring electronic waste to retailers by checking Ottawa.ca/WasteExplorer. They can also attend electronic waste drop-off events hosted by Junk That Funk or bring electronic waste to the Trail Road Waste Facility during regular operating hours at no cost.
For information on household hazardous waste, visit Ottawa.ca/hhw.
Add Routine Vaccinations to Your Back-To-School Checklist
OPH is reminding families to take precautions to help prevent the spread of illness and get their children up to date on vaccines as they head back to school.
In Ontario, all children going to school need to be vaccinated against certain diseases or have a valid exemption. Some vaccine preventable diseases like pertussis (whooping cough) have been circulating in our community and can be very serious in some people.
The start of the school year is a great time to ensure your child’s routine vaccines are up to date. OPH will review student immunization records this fall and will send letters to parents and guardians of children who haven’t updated their vaccination records, as required by the Immunization of Schools Pupils Act (ISPA) to attend school. Parents and caregivers can visit ParentingInOttawa.ca/Immunization for more information on routine vaccines, where to get routine vaccines, and how to report routine vaccines to OPH.
