Snow clearing is political. This has become even more clear to me since we got absolutely walloped with back-to-back “extreme weather events” in February, leaving city staff to clean up more than 70 centimetres of snow.
I have heard from many of you about icy sidewalks, giant snowbanks at bus stops, inaccessible pedestrian crossings, and the inability for permit parking holders to find a place to put their cars. The reality is that downtown residents are disproportionately impacted by delayed snow clearance. We often live in smaller homes or apartments on narrower streets, and many of us rely on pedestrian infrastructure as the only way to get to where we need to be.
Ten days after the storm, I was frustrated to see that major bus routes like the 11 and the 14 were still being impeded by giant snowbanks on Somerset and Gladstone. And I know that Centretown residents noticed that many suburban residential streets had snow removed much earlier, even though people are more likely to have a garage or private parking spot in those areas.
That is why in the aftermath of this storm, I will be pushing for more of an equity-based approach to snow-clearing and emergency management. Councillor Jeff Leiper and I released a joint open letter to city staff, asking for more granular data on how streets are prioritized in the aftermath of a big storm.
Many of you wrote to me with excellent questions that I simply did not have the information to answer. Even when the city is asking residents to be patient during an extreme weather event, you deserve transparency and accountability from our city.
I have also been clear about the fact that I believe that bargain-basement yearly tax increases have led to a degradation in the quality of city services and the condition of crucial infrastructure. This becomes even more obvious when we must call on city staff to do more during a city-wide emergency.
Still, I want to thank our roads and winter operations staff for the tremendous job they have been doing. As of the time I am writing this column, 628 kilometres of roadway have been marked as complete since February 17. That’s like driving to just shy of Windsor, Ontario, in a blower, with dump trucks lined up the whole way!
Did you know that we can have up to seven workers assigned to a single snow removal crew with another eight to 12 operators hauling snow from our roads and into our snow disposal facilities? This means that over a 12-hour period, we can have up to 513 people working on snow removal simultaneously. An incredibly impressive feat.
Thank you to Somerset Ward residents for your patience, even when it wore thin. I look forward to warmer days – and your spring emails about potholes.
Warmly,
Ariel
Councillor Troster with Councillor Jeff Leiper, celebrating Catherine McKenney’s election as the new MPP for Ottawa Centre
The YMCA is staying in Centretown
Please join OC Transpo for a New Ways to Bus information session for Somerset Ward 14 on Monday, April 7 from 7:15 – 8:45 pm at the Jack Purcell Community Centre and Pool, Room 203 at 320 Jack Purcell Lane.
OC Transpo Outreach staff will be available to help you navigate your new daily routes, show you how to use the Travel Planner and answer your questions. We look forward to seeing you there!
ANCHOR program shows amazing results
The pilot project testing a new 24/7 non-police crisis response team in Centretown launched last summer released the data from the first 11 weeks of the program – and it’s positive. The Alternate Neighbourhood Crisis Response (ANCHOR) program began Aug. 15, 2024.
In the first 11 weeks, 1,310 people called 211, and 626 of those calls resulted in an ANCHOR Crisis Response Team being dispatched. Of the remaining calls, 594 were addressed by CNEO/211 Community Navigators and did not require dispatch while, 72 were redirected to 911. In 92 percent of cases, no police intervention was required.
I want to thank the Centretown and Somerset West Community Health Centres, as well as Community Navigation of Eastern Ontario for their incredible work getting ANCHOR up and running and continuously ensuring that the service is responsive to residents. I have heard some many stories of how ANCHOR is already making such a big difference in our community. I will be working with other councillors to push for this service to be scaled up city-wide.
In the meantime, if you are within ANCHOR’s catchment, you can call 211, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to get help for yourself or a neighbour who may be experiencing a mental health or substance use crisis.
Council approves Green Fleet Strategy
City Council approved the City’s Green Fleet Strategy, which outlines City efforts to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from its vehicles. The strategy adopts an agile framework for incorporating new and emerging vehicle technologies and industry trends with the Council-approved goal to reduce GHG emissions by 2040 to 100 per cent below 2012 levels.
The strategy is based on a comprehensive assessment of low-carbon technologies and identifies battery electric vehicles as the most favorable technology. Fuel cell electric vehicles are also seen as a strong contender for heavy-duty vehicles, pending further technology and market advancements. The strategy includes short-term and long-term plans, along with regular reviews, to ensure the City remains current with improvements in zero-emission vehicle technologies.
Overall, the switch to greener vehicles is expected to save the City more than $6 million by 2040.
1245 Kilborn Place Concept Plan
The City of Ottawa purchased 1245 Kilborn Place in December of 2023 with the goal of broadening the mix of housing types available in our community. The City aims to create a well-designed development on the site that contributes to an affordable, integrated and complete community.
This large property has convenient access to transit and a range of services and amenities nearby which will help people integrate into their new homes. The intention is to develop a community hub that will include supportive housing, other housing types like affordable and market rent units, social and health services, and other complementary uses that will benefit both residents and the wider community.
Creating housing options ensures that everyone can find a place to live. There is an opportunity for this site to contribute to building a livable community with different types of housing to meet the needs of all residents and to address Council’s priority to create a city that is more affordable and is more livable for all.
Public consultation will begin in the fall of 2025. You can learn more about the plan and consultation online here.
Donations needed for the Ottawa Courthouse
The cellblock at the Ottawa courthouse is looking for donations to support people leaving the criminal justice system.
If you’d like to make a donation, please bring the items in a bag labeled “Attn: Sheri Ottawa Police Cellblock” to the courthouse at 161 Elgin St, Monday through Friday from 9am - 11am or 2pm - 4pm.
James Street Update
Our office has received questions about the upcoming construction on James Street; below are some project highlights.
There are no firm dates yet for construction. However, as of today, we expect construction to commence in the Summer of 2025 with the section from Bronson to Lyon being within the first phase, with the remainder of James (Lyon to Bank) to commence in 2026.
Contra Flow bike Lane
The new contraflow bike lane was incorporated into the project design to provide additional route options and improve overall cycling connectivity in Centretown, in line with the City’s 2023 Transportation Master Plan (TMP).
Parking
To accommodate the new roadway geometry which includes the contra-flow bike lane, on-street parking will be shifted from the south side to the north side of James Street. This will result in a loss of 32 on-street parking spaces. Twenty-one (21) of these lost parking spaces is in the section from Bronson to Percy Street.
Trees
As a result of the re-design of the contra flow bike lane, the potential tree removals have been reduced to 12 trees. These 12 trees are in conflict with underground house sewer and water services. It is possible that we may be able to work around some of these trees to install the new house services. Also, with the cooperation of building owners, there may be opportunities to install the new building sewer and water services via trenchless methods, thus saving the need to remove the front yard tree.
We want to first thank you and your team for the extraordinary work the City has been doing on behalf of residents after the recent very heavy back-to-back snowfalls.
That was a lot of snow. Seventy centimetres over four days, in fact. Our city got absolutely walloped with back-to-back “extreme weather events” – an extremely unusual situation.
Environment Canada has issued a winter storm warning for Ottawa, and effective immediately, the City is declaring a significant weather event that will remain in effect until further notice. Below is information and resources related to snow clearing and cold weather resources.