News & Announcements

There is a major development coming to the Committee of Adjustment (CoA) next week (February 3) for the corner of Parkdale and Wellington - a nine-storey seniors' residence being proposed by Taggart. Take a look at the plans for 1166 Wellington St. here.

I'm thrilled to have been asked by Westfest festival organizer Elaina Martin to host a fundraiser for the event on Sunday, March 6 at 3-8  pm at the Orange Art Gallery. It's going to be an incredible evening - the list of participating acts and local business support is as long as anything I've seen in a long time. I'll be particularly looking forward to back-to-back live music with Lynn Miles, Holly McNarland and John Allair, as well as Lynne Hanson, Cody Coyote, Andrew Vincent and Maria Hawkins. Tickets are $100, and they're going to sell out.

The study exploring Armstrong Street's future development is starting to take shape nicely now that the McGill students hired by the Wellington West BIA have completed their report based on your feedback. Recall that in November, those students held an open house to explore zoning, transportation and other considerations for Armstrong.

This morning, many will have seen news (Le Droit and the Sun) of the hate crime perpetrated against the Parkdale United Church last week. Racist graffiti was scrawled across the building: "nigger" and a reference to Tupac that is sometimes used as a veiled threat of violence.

This morning was the first real test for the Scott Street bus detour, and I was onsite for a couple of hours through the morning peak to observe how it went. There are two categories of concerns that I and the community have had in the run-up to this: the impact on residents immediately adjacent, and the safety of pedestrians, cyclists, motorists and passengers through the corridor.

Residents may recall that this summer, the community was notified of a new Official Plan amendment process to designate part of the NCC Rochester Field land as developable, and part as perpetual park (read more here). I missed getting it into this week's newsletter, but wanted to provide a brief head's-up that that process has been paused. With the City's buy-in, the NCC has decided it wants to do more consultations on the future use of the park area before seeking the amendment.

With the Scott Street detour about to start in a few hours, there have been several questions that have come to the fore. Motorists are wondering how they'll interact with new buses-only lanes, and pedestrians and cyclists are seeking an alternative to the Albert Street bridge. I had a chance to pull together a quick 7 1/2 minute video today that explains some of the highlights. Check it out here.

I was interested to see recently, pointed out by the Sun’s Jon Willing in social media, that the Mayor has submitted comments to a key telecommunications process. I spent several years at the CRTC as a manager and executive, and try to keep up with what’s going on in that fast-changing sector.

Give us your feedback! The bookmobile stops in 22 communities around the City. We will be recommending a new schedule to the Library Board in 2016. We would like to hear from you! Send us your feedback at Bookmobile@BiblioOttawaLibrary.ca before Friday, January 15, 2016.

Clearview stop currently: Monday from 11a.m.-12 p.m. Proposed: Wednesday from 11a.m.-12 p.m.

I'm very pleased to say this morning that we're at a point in discussions about Reid Park where we can turn over the final vision to the planners. In May, it became clear after discussions with residents that we needed further consultations to arrive at a plan for the park with opportunity for everyone to have meaningful input. Since then, I and my staff have been working with consultant Wesley Petite to host workshops and solicit input around what the community would like to see.