October 2008

Une octogénaire mortellement happée par un camion

Le Droit, le 31 octobre 2008
François Pierre Dufault

Une octogénaire a été mortellement happée par un camion à benne, vendredi vers 11 h, à l'intersection des rues Cumberland et Rideau, dans la Basse-Ville d'Ottawa.

La dame de 86 ans d'Ottawa tentait de traverser la rue Rideau vers le sud en se faufilant entre deux camions immobilisés l'un derrière l'autre dans le carrefour, en direction ouest, lorsque le second véhicule lourd s'est mis à avancer et l'a entraînée sous son pare-chocs.

La victime, dont l'identité n'a pas encore été révélée, se déplaçait à l'aide d'une canne et transportait deux petits sacs contenant vraisemblablement des effets personnels. Elle a été transportée à l'hôpital où elle a succombé à une grave blessure à la tête dans l'heure qui a suivi l'accident.

http://www.cyberpresse.ca/
le-droit/actualites-regionales/200810/31/01-34876-une-octogenaire-mortellement-happee-par-un-camion.php

Calgary: 'Urban village' plan for Brentwood passes 1st hurdle

CBC News, October 31, 2008

City hall wants to build an "urban village" around a northwest C-Train stop, a plan that is unpopular with some of the people living near the transit hub.

Calgary's planning commission approved the Brentwood Station Area Redevelopment plan Thursday. The plan will now go to council for approval, likely in December.

On one side of the Brentwood C-Train station at Crowchild Trail are strip malls, a few low-rise apartments, a park and the residential neighbourhood of Brentwood.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/calgary/story/2008/10/31/transit-brentwood-plan.html

Jockvale plans to get rough ride: McRae
Council not keen on big road projects,councillor says

Ottawa Citizen, October 30, 2008
Patrick Dare

OTTAWA - A proposed $39-million suburban road project could be the first casualty of a growing mood on city council away from roads and toward more public transit.

Councillor Maria McRae, chairwoman of the transportation committee, says the proposed expansion of Jockvale Road in south Nepean, from a two-lane country road into a four-lane arterial with median, lighting, bicycle lanes and sidewalks, may not win the easy approval that previous road projects have enjoyed. She says councillors are increasingly questioning the big, costly road projects that are supposed to ease congestion, but only seem to feed it.

"I don't think that's council's direction right now," said Ms. McRae. "We've come to a crossroads. Is that how we're building Ottawa?"

http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=f9cb7c90-5d48-4f3f-bdc3-b0b08298e148

Transit commission hopes to avoid Toronto's hybrid bus woes
Ottawa to get model with more efficient lithium-ion battery

Ottawa Citizen, October 30, 2008
Patrick Dare

Ottawa is trying to dodge Toronto's woes with hybrid electric-diesel buses.

The Toronto Transit Commission is so unhappy with its hybrid buses that transit managers are trying to switch 250 hybrid electric-diesel bus purchases for this year and next year into orders for diesel buses.

Toronto's 500 hybrid buses have had serious problems with their batteries, which have had to be replaced after 18 months when they were supposed to last five years. Toronto has also seen only a 10-per-cent improvement in fuel efficiency.

http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/city/story.html?id=978391e7-c857-45f8-98b2-5429c9911884

OC Transpo rolls out new hybrid buses

Ottawa Sun, October 29, 2008
Derek Puddicombe

The newest addition to the city's public transit fleet has hit the street.

OC Transpo's new green machine -- a brand new $650,000, 40-foot diesel-electric hybrid bus -- was unveiled at City Hall yesterday. It's one of two new hybrid buses that will begin picking up passengers along routes 5, 14 and 18 in about two weeks.

The pair of buses are among 202 ordered by the city with the remaining 200 expected to hit the road in the summer of 2009 and 2010.

http://www.ottawasun.com/News/OttawaAndRegion/2008/10/29/7236451-sun.html

Faciliter le covoiturage

Radio-Canada, le 29 octobre 2008

Le gouvernement de l'Ontario veut légaliser le covoiturage.

La loi actuelle oblige les automobilistes qui souhaitent recevoir une rémunération d'un passager à obtenir un permis spécial, une assurance distincte et à respecter des règlements de sécurité particuliers. Cela empêche des organismes comme Allô-Stop et Pickup Pal d'opérer légalement en Ontario.

Le ministre des Transports Jim Bradley souhaite changer les règles du jeu. Les changements qu'il propose à la loi permettraient aux conducteurs de se faire rembourser les frais d'essence par un maximum de 10 passagers.

http://www.radio-canada.ca/regions/Ontario/2008/10/29/006-covoiturage-assouplissement_n.shtml

Approved plan for hospital lands 'something out of the '50's': councillor
Committee sanctions mix of businesses, condo towers, park, but transit still issue

Ottawa Citizen, October 29, 2008, page C7
Patrick Dare

A new development plan for the hospital lands at Smyth Road and Alta Vista Drive is being touted as an effort to create a more mixed community, with residential buildings constructed along with more hospital buildings. But one city councillor says the plan approved at committee yesterday is old-style suburban development.

The plan, which involves land bordered by Riverside Drive in the west, Smyth Road to the south, Russell Road in the east and the Alta Vista transportation corridor to the north, allows for the future expansion of The Ottawa Hospital.

The Smyth Road health sciences campus in the study area, which covers about 150 acres, includes the General campus of The Ottawa Hospital, the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario, the Rehabilitation Centre, the Health Sciences Building and the Alta Vista campus of the University of Ottawa.

http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/city/story.html?id=263439ce-47c8-4212-8e67-570b80b91a69

City on its own in paying for costly 'natural disaster'
Emerald ash calamity projected to inflict budget pressures for 10 years

Ottawa Citizen, October 29, 2008, page C3
Patrick Dare

The emerald ash borer is going to be an extraordinarily expensive problem for the city and its homeowners, but the federal and provincial governments aren't offering any financial help.

The federal government is leading the way on restrictions for the trees, which are all expected to die in Ottawa over the next 10 to 15 years due to the Asian beetle that has recently killed trees in the St. Laurent Boulevard-Ogilvie Road area. The federal government's Canadian Food Inspection Agency is expected to bring in tough restrictions on the handling of the trees, which make up 25 per cent of the city's forest.

But the city appears to be on its own in paying for the natural calamity. It is starting out with a $1.4-million plan for next year, but that bill will go up dramatically.

http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/city/story.html?id=3afd6f98-f2f0-44b9-88c8-7ab7171965ee

Cold Power

CFRA, October 29, 2008
Josh Pringle

The city is now looking at using cold energy from snow to keep City of Ottawa buildings cool.

The Planning and Environment Committee has directed staff to report back in February on the concept of using cold energy to replace traditional energy.

Councillor Diane Deans suggested the concept could reduce operating costs for the municipality.

http://www.cfra.com/?cat=1&nid=60765

Expedited approach on transit tunnel reaping benefits: city transit official

Ottawa Citizen, October 29, 2008, page C7

The necessary feasibility and costing studies for a possible downtown transit tunnel will be done on schedule, says the city's top transit official. In an update on the studies yesterday, infrastructure and sustainability deputy city manager Nancy Schepers said the expedited approach the city is following is working, and she expects them to be done by December 2009. The tunnel, which would cross downtown and have electric light-rail cars running through it, is the anchoring piece of the city's new transit plan, which was approved by council earlier this year. If built, the overall $4.7-billion plan will see light rail running east and west across the core of the city and south to Riverside South.

http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/city/story.html?id=26088b03-4707-4c87-8d60-c61f4a32bd24

2 hybrid Ottawa transit buses to roll out in November
Diesel-electric buses have lithium ion batteries, not lead acid like Toronto's

CBC News, October 28, 2008

Starting in November, transit users in Ottawa can ride the city's first diesel-electric hybrid buses - the first of 202 ordered from the same company that made the Toronto Transit Commission's controversial hybrids.

OC Transpo, the city's public transit company, will be soliciting feedback about the new buses from passengers, drivers and mechanics before putting the other 200 on the road in the summer of 2009 and 2010, said OC Transpo head Alain Mercier Tuesday while giving the media a test ride.

The buses, which will run on routes 5, 14 and 18 initially, are made by Daimler Buses North America and have a propulsion system made by BAE Systems, like the 500 in Toronto. The city councillors who oversee the Toronto Transit Commission voted last week to try and cancel an order of 130 more hybrid buses from Daimler after many of the batteries failed after just 1½ years.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/ottawa/story/2008/10/28/ot-hybrid-081028.html

City braces for battle with tree bug
Emerald ash borer invasion a 'natural disaster'

Ottawa Sun, October 28, 2008

The city is at war with the emerald ash borer and it expects to battling the nasty bug for the next 10 years.

By the time the war is over it will have cost taxpayers about $125 million to remove and replace the 75,000 city owned trees expected to die over the next decade.

In its fight against the bug, which wasn't expected to reach Ottawa until 2022, the city is launching a campaign that will include forcing private property owners to remove an infected tree. Homeowners will be responsible for the cost, which can be more than $1,000 for the removal alone, depending on the size of the tree.

http://www.ottawasun.com/News/OttawaAndRegion/2008/10/28/7232311.html

Le quart des arbres menacés

Radio-Canada, le 28 octobre 2008

Le quart des arbres de la Ville d'Ottawa sont menacés par un insecte provenant d'Asie: l'agrile du frêne. Comme son nom l'indique, cet insecte s'attaque aux frênes, qui pourraient disparaître complètement d'ici 15 ans dans la capitale. Ottawa adoptera mardi une stratégie de lutte contre cet insecte.

L'agrile du frêne est un petit insecte de moins d'un centimètre qui a ravagé plus de 100 000 arbres au Canada depuis sa découverte. Les premiers cas d'infestation ont été signalés en 2002 à Detroit, aux États-Unis, et à Windsor, dans le sud de l'Ontario.

Cet été, on a recensé des arbres infestés dans le secteur du boulevard Saint-Laurent et de l'autoroute 417. Il suffit de quelques feuilles mortes pour transporter l'agrile du frêne d'un arbre à l'autre, et les dommages sont très rapides.

http://www.radio-canada.ca/regions/ottawa/2008/10/28/001-agrile-frene_n.shtml

Ottawa riding rail to its transit future

Metro News, October 28, 2008
Tracey Tong

With a growing population, shrinking downtown space and rising gas prices, Ottawa's transit system will continue to grow and light rail is the way to go, officials said yesterday.

"You're going to see light rail zipping along the Transitway," said Alex Cullen, chairman of the city's transit committee.

"It's going to be modern, fast and efficient," he said, adding that the Transitway was built to be convertible to light rail.

http://www.metronews.ca/ottawa/Local/article/131912

Giveaway turns trash into treasure

Metro News, October 27, 2008
Tim Wieclawski

More than 100 collectible dolls and bears sat in front of Nancy Cloutier's house yesterday, waiting for a new home.

Looking to reclaim some space, Cloutier took advantage of the city-organized Hidden Treasures Giveaway Weekend and left out some items that her mother, who had recently moved, left behind.

"I'd love to have someone just come along and take them all away," she said. "I'm just trying to empty my living room so I can live again without tripping over bags and boxes or bears."

http://www.metronews.ca/ottawa/Local/article/131413

Small victory in Old Ottawa South
Builder bumps up size of new townhomes, but makes cosmetic changes to please critics

Ottawa Citizen, October 27, 2008, page C1
Maria Cook

Residents of Old Ottawa South have won some concessions from a developer in the form of cosmetic changes to the design of two massive townhouses set to replace a 1,200-square-foot house.

However, the changes by Campanale Homes do not address neighbours' central concern -- the sheer size of the buildings. At a total of 6,752 square feet, they are more than five times the size of the existing house at 35 Brighton Ave.

Demolition of the house, which faces the Rideau River and Brighton Beach Park, is expected to take place today.

http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/city/story.html?id=fd58bceb-e2c2-4851-87dc-a5fd89b8ab46

Conservationists fear effects of urbanization on Ottawa River
Proposed Kettle Island bridge has Riverkeeper volunteers worried

CBC News, October 24, 2008

Volunteers with the Ottawa Riverkeeper were out on Kettle Island again this year for the annual garbage cleanup, but this time they were worrying about the National Capital Commission's desire to build a bridge across the island, and what that might mean for habitat there.

"We've been here last year, and we removed four tonnes of garbage - big burnt car, 30 tires and more," said Andrew Mott, one of the volunteers.

However, the NCC recently named the island as its preferred choice for a bridge across the Ottawa River between Gatineau, Que., and Ottawa's east end.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/ottawa/story/2008/10/24/kettle-island.html

NCC has big plans for 'hidden jewels' on Ottawa River

CBC News, October 24, 2008

The Chaudière Falls and Island have been called the crown jewels of the Ottawa River, but for more than a century those jewels have been hidden from view, tucked behind a complex of ugly industrial buildings in Ottawa just upstream from Parliament Hill.

Now, the National Capital Commission is preparing a plan to transform Chaudière Falls and Island, as well as the nearby Victoria Island, to make them more accessible to the public.

The plan still faces a hurdle, because much of the land is owned by the paper manufacturer, Domtar, which while not using the land, has yet to agree to sell it.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/ottawa/story/2008/10/24/chaudiere-falls.html

Editorial: Real air quality

Ottawa Citizen, October 24, 2008

The air quality that matters is the one that greets your nostrils when you step out your front door every morning.

But you won't necessarily learn about that from the Ontario government's Air Quality Index. Its 40 monitoring stations measure six pollutants, to get a sense of regional quality. That's all well and good, but if you live near the corner of Carling Avenue and the Queensway, your air quality is probably quite different than if you live near the Rockcliffe Parkway.

Of course, the government is no stand-in for common sense. If your eyes start to water when you open your window, well, there might be a problem outside. And people who live near Rideau Street and King Edward Avenue should know they're never going to inhale the sweet, clean air of Algonquin Park.

http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/editorials/story.html?id=034f1c9f-6182-4e8a-98c1-e7c5b38823fc

ByWard to put focus on local producers

Metro News, October 24, 2008
Tim Wieclawski

The City of Ottawa is hoping to revamp the vendor stalls in the ByWard Market with the aim of making it more local.

A new bylaw going to the community and protective services committee in November would enable the city to reorganize the market and dictate what is to be sold, by whom, and provide incentives to local producers by offering lower rent or certain locations.

It's time to refresh the local tradition, said Rideau-Vanier Councillor Georges Bedard at yesterday's launch of Tastes of ByWard.

http://www.metronews.ca/ottawa/Local/article/130269

U-Pass gets green light
City Transit Committee approves pilot project for September 2009

The Fulcrum, October 23, 2008
Emma Goldmere

Students can anticipate riding OC Transpo with a universal bus pass as early as September 2009, thanks to Student Federation of the University of Ottawa (SFUO) President Dean Haldenby and U of O Sustainability Coordinator Jonathan Rausseo's presentation to the City of Ottawa's Transit Committee on Oct. 15.

The committee of nine city councillors passed a motion to recommend that council implement the SFUO-proposed U-Pass as a pilot project for full-time undergraduate students at the price of $125 per semester next academic year. Last February, students voted in favour of the project and the proposed price in an SFUO referendum.

http://www.thefulcrum.ca/node/1891

Sewage spill report blames 'incompetent management' for billion-litre sewage spill into Ottawa River

Ottawa Citizen, October 22, 2008
Jake Rupert

The August 2006 spill of almost a billion litres of sewage into the Ottawa River and the subsequent non-reporting of the event was the result of "incompetent management" that treated the spill and several others as routine, the city's auditor general has found.

In a report released Wednesday morning, Alain Lalonde concludes if several managers did their jobs even remotely well, the spill - and 16 other smaller ones dating back to 1998 - could have been avoided.

He found there was "almost a complete lack" of maintenance on the sewer gate that got jammed open and spilled the untreated sewage, even though the recommended maintenance standards are close to 40 years old.

http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=41ba85b2-0cf9-4bed-8ee7-3cbd7518dd0f

AG blames sewage spill on incompetence
Event caused by neglected equipment 'never viewed as noteworthy'

Ottawa Sun, October 22, 2008
Derek Puddicombe

Incompetent management is the reason a billion litres of raw sewage ended up in the Ottawa River in August 2006.

Alain Lalonde, the city's auditor general, released a 107-page report this morning that determined not only was an incompetent management structure a result of the dumping that went unnoticed for almost two weeks, but years of neglect of the city's 50-year-old sewer regulators, which control the the flow of sewage and stormwater into the river, is also to blame.

He said a lack of reporting protocols resulted in the provincial Ministry of the Environment not being notified for close to a year. Top city officials didn't find out until last May - almost two years after the spill.

http://www.ottawasun.com/News/OttawaAndRegion/2008/10/22/7164116.html

Ottawa auditor to unveil report on 2006 raw sewage spill

CBC News, October 22, 2008

A report into a massive raw sewage spill in 2006 that wasn't disclosed to city council until almost two years later will be released by the city of Ottawa's auditor general on Tuesday.

Alain Lalonde looked into who knew what about the spill of more than 764 million litres of sewage - for which the city was recently fined $562,000 - and why council wasn't made aware of the situation.

Three employees have been fired and another suspended in relation to the spill, which was blamed for bacterial contamination that closed the swimming area of Petrie Island beach for weeks in the summer of 2006.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/ottawa/story/2008/10/22/ot-ag-sewage-081022.html

Farmers Market Disappointed with Lansdowne Park Proposal

CFRA, October 22, 2008
Josh Pringle

The Ottawa Farmers Market is expressing disappointment with a proposal to revitalize Lansdowne Park.

President Andy Terauds says the area identified by a group of Ottawa businessmen for the farmers market is "tiny."

Terauds says the area could accommodate 15 to 20 vendors, not the 100-plus that are actively serving the public each week.

http://www.cfra.com/?cat=1&nid=60605

Plasco abandonne son projet à Port Moody

Radio-Canada, le 21 octobre 2008

Une compagnie d'Ottawa, Plasco, abandonne son projet d'usine de transformation de déchets en énergie à Port Moody, en Colombie-Britannique. L'entreprise plie devant les pressions de citoyens qui craignent les émissions polluantes.

Les opposants soutiennent aussi que cette usine aurait un effet pervers sur les efforts de recyclage et de réduction des déchets.

Plasco a toutefois conclu un contrat avec la Ville de Red Deer, en Alberta, pour convertir 300 tonnes de déchets par jour en électricité. Il s'agit du premier projet commercial de Plasco.

http://www.radio-canada.ca/regions/ottawa/2008/10/21/007-plasco_projet_abandonne.shtml

Projet de transformation de déchets en énergie de Plasco
Ottawa garde le cap, malgré le recul d'autres ville

Le Droit, le 21 octobre
Dominique La Haye

Pendant que la Ville d'Ottawa fonde de grands espoirs dans le projet de la compagnie Plasco de transformer les déchets en électricité, une municipalité située en banlieue de Vancouver rejette pour sa part l'initiative de l'entreprise.

Le conseil municipal de Port Moody, en Colombie-Britannique, a rejeté le 14 octobre dernier le projet de construire sur son territoire une usine de transformation des déchets en énergie, tel que proposé par l'entreprise d'Ottawa.

La décision a été prise après que la compagnie d'Ottawa a décidé, dans les jours précédents, d'abandonner son projet d'usine là-bas, cédant à la vive opposition des citoyens.

http://www.cyberpresse.ca/le-droit/actualites-regionales/
200810/21/01-31580-ottawa-garde-le-cap-malgre-le-recul-dautres-villes.php

Feds scrap tonnes of toxic tech junk yearly: report

CBC News, October 21, 2008

The federal government annually scraps about 2,045 tonnes of toxic tech junk - computers, fax machines, monitors and other electronics gear - roughly the weight of 225 school buses.

The figures are contained in an internal Public Works Department report, dated August 2007 and marked "secret." It was prepared by the public works office dedicated to greening government operations.

The Canadian Press obtained it through the Access to Information Act.

"The federal government is one of the largest single generators of end-of-life IT equipment in Canada," according to the report released Tuesday in Ottawa. "There is no comprehensive mechanism in the federal government to address environmentally responsible disposal of IT equipment."

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/ottawa/story/2008/10/21/toxicjunk.html

Chemicals in river
'We may conclude there are health effects or that there are no significant health effects'

Ottawa Sun, October 20, 2008
Derek Puddicombe

Not only is raw sewage flowing into the Ottawa River -- so are toxic chemicals.

In a memo sent to city councillors last week deputy manager for infrastructure services Nancy Schepers stated that recent testing found at least 10 chemicals -- some of them toxic -- in the waterway that is the city's main source of drinking water.

At least one chemical, Perfluorobutane Sulfonate (PFBS), can result in birth or developmental effects, affect the brain and nervous system, cause cancer and affect reproduction and fertility.

River water samples taken in April 2008 showed 10 compounds from a list of 51 compounds the city tested for.

http://www.ottawasun.com/News/OttawaAndRegion/2008/10/20/7140401-sun.html

Produits toxiques dans la rivière des Outaouais

Radio-Canada, le 20 octobre 2008

Après avoir été condamnée pour avoir pollué la rivière des Outaouais, la Ville d'Ottawa se retrouve de nouveau en difficulté: des échantillons d'eau recueillis dans le cours d'eau en avril dernier montrent la présence de 10 produits chimiques toxiques.

Dans ces échantillons, on a détecté, notamment, du perfluorobutane, un produit capable de causer des malformations à la naissance et des problèmes de fertilité, et du lasaloid A, un produit utilisé comme antibiotique pour le bétail.

On a également détecté du bisphénol, un produit que le gouvernement fédéral vient de placer sur la liste des produits chimiques toxiques. Il est utilisé, entre autres, dans la fabrication des bouteilles de plastique et des biberons.

http://www.radio-canada.ca/regions/ottawa/2008/10/20/003-riviere_outaouais_toxique_n.shtml

A step in the right direction
Inspired by a visionary Dane, communities around the world are reacquainting their citizens with the joys of walking and cycling. Can cities in climate-challenged Canada get off car-free as well?

Globe and Mail, October 18, 2008
Chris Turner

Last summer Montreal transformed 12 blocks of Ste. Catherine Street, one of its busier thoroughfares, into a vibrant public square. Outdoor cafés spilled out on the cracked concrete, and buskers and sculptures filled the curbside parking spaces. The catalyst for all this was simple: The city closed the stretch that serves as the main drag for Ville-Marie, also known as its gay village, to motor vehicles.

In the process, Montreal began to look like - for 10 weeks, at least - what famed Danish architect Jan Gehl calls a "reconquered" city.

Mr. Gehl is the chief proponent and visionary for a burgeoning global movement known as "pedestrianization." He feels people are healthier and happier when their feet are on the ground, and his ideas have helped to turn his native Copenhagen into a haven for walkers and cyclists - and inspired similar changes in cities as diverse as Oslo, Barcelona, London and Melbourne.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20081018.TURNER18/TPStory/?query=Chris+Turner

Plasco drops plans in Port Moody

Red Deer Advocate, October 17, 2008
Paul Cowley

The Ottawa-based company behind a proposed Central Alberta gasification plant dropped plans to build another facility double the size in Port Moody, B.C., in the face of public opposition.

The city and company signed a non-binding letter of intent in July that Plasco design, finance, construct and operate a waste conversion facility to process up to 400 tonnes a day of waste on a former landfill site.

However, unlike in Central Alberta where the response to Plasco has been largely supportive, the company's B.C. plans generated controversy.

A series of public meetings were held where concerns about air emissions were voiced by residents. Some feared using garbage to create electricity would hamper efforts to convince people to focus more on waste reduction and recycling.

http://www.albertalocalnews.com/reddeeradvocate/news/national/Plasco_drops_plans_in_Port_Moody.html

Talking trash: In light of looming landfill shortage, city could clamp down on businesses

Ottawa Business Journal, October 15, 2008
Peter Kovessy

Back in 2005, when the Ottawa International Airport conducted its first garbage audit, it found paper towels made up 17 per cent of its waste.

But today, airport officials say that instead of heading for the landfill - along with a host of other trash - the 20,000 kilograms of paper towels used annually at the airport are composted.

Along with replacing paper towel dispensers with more efficient ones, janitorial staff from Bee-Clean Building Maintenance manually sort through refuse before paper towels are compacted and shipped to Lafleche Environmental's waste management facility in Moose Creek, east of Ottawa. Overall, the airport has increased its diversion rate from 18 per cent in 2005 to 30 per cent today.

http://www.ottawabusinessjournal.com/292864655773800.php

Sun rises on new energy deal
Toronto becomes first North American city to buy solar power, and at no higher cost

Toronto Star, October 15, 2008
Tyler Hamilton

Toronto has become the first major city in North America to purchase large amounts of solar heat to offset its use of fossil fuels in buildings.

And local taxpayers won't have to pay an extra dime.

The city has selected two companies to install, own and operate solar-thermal equipment at 20 municipal sites, which are expected to include community centres, water treatment facilities, shelters and seniors' residences across town.

http://www.thestar.com/News/GTA/article/517415

Editorial: Neighbourhood improvement

Ottawa Citizen, October 9, 2008

Necessity is the mother of invention. So it's no surprise that California, famous for its sprawl and smog, is usually the first to try out new remedies to those evils.

The latest solution to come from the West Coast is a state law that encourages smart urban design. Unlike many government initiatives that tinker around the edges of the problem (tiny rebates on hybrid cars or home renovations, for example) this has the potential to create significant cultural change.

One of the obstacles to progress on the environmental front has been the dislocation of the individual from the collective. If our cities are designed around cars, that makes it difficult for families to reduce their dependence on cars. Willpower does matter, but it can only stretch so far.

http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/editorials/story.html?id=57d11b12-5e69-4bd3-ae75-4a721be04792

Ottawa Looks to Speed Up Lead Pipe Replacement

CFRA, October 8, 2008
Josh Pringle

Replacing Ottawa's 16-thousand lead water connections in the next five years could cost anywhere between $88 million and $800 million.

In a memo for the Planning and Environment Committee, Deputy City Manager Richard Hewitt says staff have identified three options for City Council to consider to replace Ottawa's portion of the lead water service pipes by 2014.

Council passed a motion from Councillor Alex Cullen earlier this year to look at speeding up the lead water pipe replacement program.

http://www.cfra.com/?cat=1&nid=60254

City, neighbours at odds over apartments
Intensification on trial in fight over tower on Industrial

Ottawa Citizen, October 8, 2008, page C1
Jake Rupert

Community opposition to a zoning change that would allow a nine-storey building in a transforming industrial area is typical of the challenges the city faces when trying to implement its drive to densify, a city planner and the councillor for the area say.

A building at Industrial Avenue and Neighbourhood Way is being proposed by Claridge Homes, and there has been a flurry of opposition to it from people living close by, despite existing zoning that would allow a large commercial operation on the site.

People have cited privacy, shade, traffic, parking, falling property values, pollution, and crime concerns as reasons the city should deny the rezoning request.

http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/city/story.html?id=7335efba-08bb-470d-b9bf-3c1bede92d79

Mayors ride the rails
Politicians kick the tires on potential commuter line to Ottawa

Metro News, October 6, 2008
Tim Wieclawski

The trains are back in town, but it could be years yet before a commuter rail linking the Ottawa Valley to Ottawa is ready to roll.

Yesterday, politicians from Renfrew, Pontiac and Ottawa took a trial run along what one-day might form a regional rail line along Ottawa Central Railway tracks, from Walkley train yard to Beachburg.

The trial run, which crossed the Ottawa River at Fitzroy Harbour and Portage-du-Fort, was intended to convince local politicians of the viability of a future regional commuter train into the valley.

http://www.metronews.ca/ottawa/local/article/121979

Green light to buy land applauded

Ottawa Sun, October 2, 2008
Laura Czekaj

A recent decision granting the National Capital Commission the ability to buy land within Gatineau Park bodes well for the ongoing review of its future plans for the Ottawa Greenbelt, says a local environmental group.

Sol Shuster, with the Greenbelt Coalition and the Gatineau Park Protection Coalition, says the federal government's decision to grant the NCC the authority to acquire private property worth more than $25,000 within Gatineau Park without first seeking Treasury Board approval is a good move for the Greenbelt. Most recently the NCC acquired two acres of land on Lac-la-Peche Rd. and one acre on Kingsmere Rd.

"It looks as if they are serious about protecting Gatineau Park and we hope that they will then turn their attention to the Greenbelt," says Shuster.

http://www.ottawasun.com/News/OttawaAndRegion/2008/10/02/6948936-sun.html

Development fees make a comeback
City needs cash to cover downtown infrastructure costs

Ottawa Sun, October 2, 2008
Derek Puddicombe

With the city faced with aging infrastructure and little cash to pay for improvements, one city councillor wants downtown developers to start handing over development fees again.

The former City of Ottawa passed a bylaw in the early 1990s that waived millions of dollars in development charges in an effort to stimulate growth in the urban core.

At the time, there was very little new development downtown. However, Somerset Coun. Diane Holmes says the policy has had its desired effect, so it's time to start charging downtown development fees again.

"It's (the urban core) now seen as a viable neighbourhood with lots of services," said Holmes.

http://www.ottawasun.com/News/OttawaAndRegion/2008/10/02/6948931-sun.html

Editorial: Let the seller beware

Ottawa Citizen, October 1, 2008, page C4

The City of Ottawa has an unusual relationship with Plasco Energy Group, Rod Bryden's fledgling waste-to-energy company. It not only donated the Trail Road site to the company for its demonstration plant, but stands to gain if the technology sells.

Given that relationship, it is not surprising that city officials and politicians are still finding their way, as the recent trip to Port Moody, B.C., by Barrhaven Councillor Jan Harder and deputy city manager Richard Hewitt highlights. Ms. Harder and Mr. Hewitt travelled to British Columbia at the request and expense of Plasco last month to meet with a committee exploring the technology.

City officials should not be shilling for Plasco. Helping sell something, at a company's expense, from which the city stands to benefit, is inappropriate for city officials. What's more, at this early stage in the process, there is not much they can say except that it would be great if the technology works.

http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/editorials/story.html?id=6e7ebb65-d73b-4dea-974a-cb8965091d34

Neighbours rage over road

Ottawa Citizen, October 1, 2008, page C1
Hugh Adami

Residents in Nepean's Grenfell Glen are fed up with what they say are harrowing rush hours that see hundreds of motorists cutting through their neighbourhood in the morning and late afternoon.

They're so upset with these aliens, believed for the most part to be from burgeoning Barrhaven, that tomorrow they're going to make it unpleasant for commuters using Grenfell Crescent, between Woodroffe Avenue and Merivale Road, with an old-fashioned protest. Residents are going to line their vehicles on both sides of the road, leaving room for one lane of traffic. The residents are going to be carrying signs telling commuters to stop using the street because it isn't a thruway.

But in a sense it is, and the public should have the right to use any city street, as all are paid for by all taxpayers. Under the city's official plan, Grenfell, which runs about 2.2 kilometres, is classified as a collector road because it allows motorists to connect between two major components of Ottawa's road system -- Woodroffe and Merivale.

http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/city/story.html?id=0bd10193-5d8e-49e1-836e-0a27a5e603de

Backyard wind turbine stalled by Ottawa bylaws

CBC News, October 1, 2008

An Ottawa man thinks bylaws that make it illegal to put a wind turbine in his backyard are out of date.

A city committee decided Wednesday to postpone its decision until at least Thursday about whether Graham Findlay should be allowed to install a power-generating turbine on top of a 10-metre pole in the yard of his home near Fisher Park.

The turbine, which looks like a giant, white, spherical bird cage and runs silently, would be expected to generate up to 15 per cent of his home's electrical needs. It is a little larger than the big stability balls found at many fitness centres, and to be efficient, it must be positioned 10 metres above the ground - double the height that zoning rules allow.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/ottawa/story/2008/10/01/ot-turbine-081001.html

Building outside the rules
Councillor fears ignoring official plan, experts sets bad precedent

Ottawa Citizen, October 1, 2008, page C1
Jake Rupert

Councillors have voted to approve a construction project on prime farmland outside Edwards, violating the city's official plan and bypassing experts' advice. It's just the latest such decision, part of a pattern that has at least one councillor worried.

The application, by Adrian Schouten, is for creation of two residential lots with wells and septic tanks on Yorks Corners Road. Last week, city planners recommended against the rezoning at a meeting of the agriculture and rural affairs committee.

http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/city/story.html?id=285d59ff-a58f-4b7d-9059-60cf5b6a58e1

Oakville passes bylaw to fight clear-cutting of trees

Toronto Star, October 1, 2008

After two years of public consultation, the Town of Oakville has passed a bylaw, effective today, protecting trees on private property from the axe. The bylaw requires property owners to notify the town before removing any living trees between 20 and 76 cm in diameter (limited to four per year). To cut five or more will require a permit costing $200 per tree; to cut trees bigger than 76 cm will cost $500.

Mayor Rob Burton says the bylaw "fights clear-cutting and protects mature trees without getting in the way of homeowners who are already effective stewards of their own trees."

Fees will help fund a tree protection program, including educational programs and tree plantings.

http://www.thestar.com/News/GTA/article/509305

Architects ask city to lead by example

Ottawa Business Journal, October 1, 2008
Peter Kovessy

Cost-conscious public tenders hindering urban design, industry reps say

When the city issued a request for proposals for its new central archive building in Nepean last month, 30 per cent of each proponent's score was based on price while design excellence counted for nothing, says one local architect.

It's this type of city RFP, he says, that's led to rows of substandard buildings in Ottawa. "The way to get this (contract) is to have the lowest fee, which means you have to put in the least amount of time and thought into this project and kick it out post-haste," says Rick MacEwen, a partner at Watson MacEwen Architects.

http://www.ottawabusinessjournal.com/292757621480566.php

City mulls reinstating development fees for Centretown

CBC News, October 1, 2008

Builders who erect new condo towers and other homes in downtown Ottawa may once again be asked to pay the same fees as developers in the suburbs.

New homes built in the Centretown neighbourhood have been exempt from development fees for more than a decade as part of the city's effort to encourage new development and boost urban density in its core. But municipal officials are now holding consultations with stakeholders to determine whether they should end the exemption.

The development charges, which range from $2,443 to $19,991 per residential unit, depending on its size and location, are intended to help the city pay for part of the cost of new infrastructure and the expansion of municipal services to support the growth. The fees are lower in rural and urban areas compared to suburban areas. Commercial and industrial developments pay even lower fees.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/ottawa/story/2008/10/01/ot-centretown-081001.html