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I Bike, I Buy! New bike corral spending web site
On Friday, I was very pleased to launch a web site, ibikeibuy.ca, to track spending by cyclists at the Wellington/Fairmont bike corral. The ibikeibuy.ca web site invites people to quickly tell us how much they spent while parked at the corral. It's mobile-friendly - save it to your phone's home screen for quick access. The full story is at http://kitchissippiward.ca/content/launch-ibikeibuyca. My thanks go to web developer David Hicks for quickly building the site, which has been on my to-do list for a few months.
Kitchisssippi parking strategy numbers are online
The City has posted all the material from our May 2 open house online. The presentation contains the updated parking numbers from the 2014 survey. Bottom line: the parking between roughly Golden and Churchill is - no surprise - extremely challenging. I'm still asking residents to let me know how they feel about parking in Westboro and Wellington West. Take a look at the presentation at the updated City page: http://ottawa.ca/en/residents/transportation-and-parking/parking/kitchissippi-parking-strategy.
Hickory pedestrian bridge update
Construction of the Hickory pedestrian bridge is expected to be completed by the end of August, according to an update I've recently received. The details are posted at http://kitchissippiward.ca/content/hickory-pedestrian-bridge-update.
Scott Street widening
In preparation for detouring 2,000 buses each week day onto Scott Street as part of the LRT conversion, widening work will soon begin on Scott Street with a tentative start date of July 6. Scott will be widened by a little under 2m, with the space taken from north side. The work will be undertaken through December, when buses will start getting on and off the Transitway at Merton. A full detour from approximately Smirle will start in June of next year. During construction, Scott will be down to three lanes. As more details become available, I'll be sure to
share them.
Street sweeping
Staff have responded to two on-the-record inquiries with respect to street sweeping operations. The Transportation Committee will formally receive the answers on Tuesday, June 30, during its meeting. This spring, we fielded a few calls and emails about street sweeping: multiple passes annoy the heck out of residents, and parked cars mean it can take a while before the streets are actually clean. I'm
encouraged that staff will explore ways to reduce the number of passes contractors have to make, and we'll need to continue to discuss the expansion of no-parking rules to our ward. Committee reports are frustratingly difficult to link to but take a look at the top of the committee agenda at http://app05.ottawa.ca/sirepub/mtgviewer.aspx?meetid=6450&doctype=AGENDA to see the staff replies to Councillors Deans and Fleury inquiries.
FEDCO meeting preview: LRT phase II
Tomorrow - Monday - the Finance and Economic Development Committee (FEDCO) will meet to debate the second phase of LRT - from Tunney's Pasture to points west. The NCC has already approved the 100-day solution, and it's now up to the City to do the same. I don't sit on the committee, but will be participating. I've heard significant support
for the 100-day solution, and am not seeking to change the proposal. However, the Unitarian campus comprising the seniors housing, church and day care have concerns about the route through their property and construction impacts. I will be working to ensure that they have every opportunity to air their concerns during the debate. Residents of Dominion are also concerned about considerations such as station placement.
Amended Infill II rules pass Council
On Wednesday, Council passed "Infill II" - a package of zoning changes that will rein in the size of infill developments. New infills will be required to provide more generous setbacks and longer back yards. The height limits for infills in many of our residential zones have also been reduced. Projections such as rooftop patio access are also being made to be
less obtrusive and set further back. The new rules are the result of months of discussion between communities, builders and City planners. I was very pleased to work closely with, particularly, the Champlain Park Community Association to accomplish one significant amendment to what was passed at Planning Commitee: a lower height for duplexes in our R2 zones for the sake of consistency and to provide a clear signal to the Committee of Adjustment. The new infill by-law is now in its appeal period, and may yet be challenged at the Ontario Municipal Board by any of the parties who participated in the process.
Richmond/Churchill intersection meeting
This week, I was pleased to do a street-corner meeting with one of our City traffic folks and Westboro residents to evaluate what might be done to improve pedestrian crossing at Richmond and Churchill. The southbound turn east is particularly challenging, with poor sight lines, little sidewalk room, and confusing signals. Few drivers respect - or even understand - the
straight green arrow that is intended to give north/south crossing pedestrians on the west side a head start into the intersection. The City is actively seeking to find ways to improve the situation; we saw more than a few people hurried along by turning cars, and some bizarre driver behaviour, in just the half hour or so we spent there.
New staff; vacation!
As many of you know, Susan Dunsiger (Ong) has left my office to move with her husband to the United States, and Katie Bonnar will be similarly leaving in mid-July to move to London, England. I cannot express enough my gratitude for both for their service these past six months. A new councillor walks in on day one to an empty office with no more than some phone lines,
computers, and newly-activated email addresses. Susan and Katie quickly learned the bureaucracy and rules, and established a fast and productive rapport with City staff and residents. I've heard from many of you how sorry you are to lose them - but all of us wish them every success on foreign shores! I'm thrilled to now have Jennifer Falconer and Fiona Mitchell in the office, along with Lisa Baird who has been with me (thank goodness) since very nearly the beginning, as the newly-constituted Team Kitchissippi.
I"m taking a few weeks off - July 20 through August 2, to road trip with Nick and Natalie to New Orleans. Laissez les bon temps rouler! My office will be staffed, and they'll know how to reach me in an emergency. As always, your best bet to seek our help is to write to jeff.leiper@ottawa.ca or call
613.580.2485. My staff see every message sent to that address, and several sets of eyes helps us ensure nothing falls through the cracks.
Pop-up ward office hours!
My next ward pop-up hours are at McKellar Park on Tuesday, June 30 - 4-7pm. We'll be inside the field house if it rains. But it won't. Come chat about your municipal issues under sunny skies, no appointment needed.
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