By Liz Bernstein
Photo radar pilot project
Lowertown residents are all to familiar with the dangers of speeding cars and trucks on King Edward Ave. This month, Council passed a motion to try to curb it. Michael Powell of Dalhousie Community Association and Kevin O’Donnell spearheaded the campaign, and Councillor Riley Brockington had proposed a motion – which we supported – to make our streets safer. The motion included requesting permission from the provincial government, as other municipalities have, to use photo radar as a tool to address speeding. On May 11, a weaker version of the original motion was passed: in a 20-2 vote, Council approved a motion to ask the provincial government for permission to conduct a photo radar pilot project in school zones only. The ward’s councillor must agree, so let Councillor Fleury (who voted for) know you support it. Money collected from the fines would be used to fund road safety programs.
King Edward Avenue study
We are waiting to hear when the feasibility study for the tunnel will be released, as it was due to be made available in May or June. As soon as we hear anything, we will schedule a meeting to discuss the report. Stay tuned.
New launch docks on Rideau Canal
Thanks to the hard work of our neighbours in the Old Ottawa East and Glebe Community Assoications, paddlers will now have easier access to the Rideau Canal with the opening of two new access points for canoes, kayaks and paddleboards. The new access points are at Patterson Creek in the Glebe and n the east side of the canal at Clegg Street. The docks will be open to the public until October 10. Get out and enjoy the new forms of active transportation available to us!
Cathcart Park Square
A public consultation on May 26 was announced with short notice by Councillor’s Fleury’s office to discuss concerns from residents regarding off-leash dogs around Cathcart Park. The notice acknowledges that it is unusual for an off-leash dog area to be so close to a playground, while noting that there are not many areas available where dogs can run around freely. City staff was asked to propose solutions, and we will attend the consultation. Stay tuned.
Urban Forest Management Plan
Consultants for the City are working on the draft plan which will be submitted to city staff for review soon. It will be made available to the public later this summer in preparation for the Phase 2 consultations, which will take place in late September / early October. Check out ottawa.ca/urbanforest for the draft plan and the dates for the consultations this fall.
Gotta Go Campaign
The Gotta Go Campaign, which we have supported, launched a great report on the lack of accessibility for public toilets. The “Flushing Inequality” report found that nearly half of the public washrooms were inaccessible during standard hours: “Although assessed during standard operating hours on weekends and weekdays, at time of survey, 45% of the City of Ottawa public toilets were unavailable for access, either due to seasonal or daily closures.” The report includes data from a survey: “all of those interviewed indicated that they would be more likely to use public transit, cycle or walk to commute if there were more public toilets in the City of Ottawa (Canham, 2014, p. 17). A strong public toilet strategy would complement the current sustainability plan by shifting service users away from driving as a means of commute toward more sustainable methods of travel. A concrete aspect of this would be to ensure that facilities near transit stops are made available to the public, and that forthcoming transit stations be equipped with accessible and free public toilets.” One of the researchers, Tori Roberts, provided a breakdown on the data for Lowertown public toilets and noted that “many are located in heritage/older buildings that have a number of stairs (i.e. Champagne Baths) which poses a barrier to elderly and people with disabilities. They have lifts, however the inconvenience of needing to alert staff inside for assistance would certainly pose as a deterrent to using these spaces.” Lowertown resident Feliks Welfeld noted that even our beloved renovated Jules Morin Fieldhouse does not have hours of operation posted, and once when he was using the toilet after a ski trip in the winter was asked what he was doing there. At our recent meeting, we were told the LRT station at Rideau will not have public washrooms, either. We have a long way to go to ensure access when we gotta go!
Climate change: have your say
The Federal government has initiated a consultation process across Canada and are calling on all of Canada’s MPs to host climate action consultation town halls in their communities. They are also calling on all Canadians to access their online platform to submit comments and suggestions (letstalkclimateaction.ca) while they finalize their climate action plan for the fall. Take a minute to submit yours. Meanwhile, the Renewable Energy Strategy at the City is progressing and consultations will take place during the next quarter. Stay tuned.