HAVE YOUR SAY ON ALTERNATIVES FOR CHANGES TO RICHMOND ROAD TO REDUCE CONGESTION AT RICHMOND AND STONEHAVEN

City of Ottawa Traffic staff have come up with three options to reduce congestion for traffic from Stonehaven Drive turning left onto Richmond Road.

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DECISIONS ON CITY OFFICIAL PLAN WILL DETERMINE WHAT OUR CITY LOOKS LIKE AND HOW MUCH WE PAY IN TAX

If the proposals for changing the Official Plan pass without amendment we will have much needed controls on where and how intensification will take place, but there will be an 800 hectare expansion of the urban boundary. Details can be found here.

If the City’s urban boundary expands, we will see the impact in future City budgets with revenues not keeping pace with the cost of services.

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Controlling Stadium Costs will be a Challenge

The decision of a majority of councillors to move ahead with the Lansdowne Live costs has the potential to result in costs to the City that are far beyond the $97 million that has been quoted by the proponents. This is why I voted against the decision.

Under the proposal from Lansdowne Live, the City of Ottawa would be responsible for the following costs:

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HYDRO OTTAWA REPLACING TRANSFORMERS IN GLEN CAIRN IN MAY

Hydro Ottawa will be replacing 18 small transformers in Glen Cairn in May. Each of these transformers serves 10 to 15 customers. For people served by a transformer that is being replaced, power will be out for roughly four hours when the work takes place. Hydro Ottawa have promosied to provide each affected home with notice of when the work is scheduled to take place.

INPUT WANTED ON PLAYSTRUCTURE REPLACEMENT AT BRIDLEWOOD PARK

Funds to improve the play area at Bridlewood Park, including the older of the two play structures, have been approved.

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Regular parking rules back on March 16

With the resumption of service on all bus routes on March 16, it has been decided that regular parking rules will be back in place. This means that restrictions on how long people can park on streets where parking is normally limited to one, two or three hours will be enforced.

Because service will be operating on March break levels, I am concerned about the possibility of overcrowding and suggested that it was premature to reintroduce parking restrictions. The response I received is that staff will be monitoring the situation. If you do experience problems with overcrowding, please don't hesitate to let me know and I will make sure staff are aware.

I have just heard from OC Transpo that the date service will be restored on several of the routes serving Kanata South will be moved up.

As of March 16 all routes will be running. This includes all express routes. There will still be some individual trips to be reinstated between mid-March and early April so people should check the schedules at www.octranspo.com before using routes restored on March 16.

OC Transpo will also be restoring the route 60 tomorrow (Wednesday February 25). This is in addition to the route 61 which resumed service on Monday. While the route 60 does not serve the Park and Ride, it will help take the pressure off the 96, 96D and 61.

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COMPENSATION FOR TRANSIT USERS CHANGED - NEW PACKAGE A STEP BACKWARDS

At the February 11th Council meeting it was possible for some councillors to block the recommendations proposed by the Transit Committee. The Transit Committee recommendations recognized the time it will take to get back to full service by allowing people to use regular December passes until the end of March and express December passes until the end of April. Contributions for Ecopass holders would have been suspended for an equivalent period of time.

A majority of councillors voted to approve these recommendations, but there were enough councillors opposed to get a reconsideration motion passed. With reconsideration the issue would have been on hold until early March and there would be no compensation for Ecopass holders or people who purchased December passes until the next Council meeting at the earliest.

Details of the reduced compensation measures can be found here.

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EXPRESS BUS SERVICE NEEDED AS SOON AS POSSIBLE

At the Council meeting to approve the agreement to end the strike, I made it clear that express service was needed as soon as possible. The speed at which buses will be available is better than first expected, but OC Transpo projects that express service will not be fully restored until April 6. I will continue to work for the process to be speeded up.

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MEASURES TO ASSIST WITH PARKING TO CONTINUE UNTIL FULL TRANSIT SERVICE RETURNS

Measures put in place during the strike to assist people with parking will stay in place until transit service is fully restored.

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ADDITIONAL HELP ANNOUNCED TO HELP PEOPLE COPE WITH THE TRANSIT STRIKE

Funding has been provided to community agencies to help those hit hardest by the strike cope. After the initial $200,000 was exhausted, council allocated an additional $500,000.

There are also additional measures to help people get to work, including additional parking spaces and discounts at city parking lots for people who are carpooling. Details of measures to help people people cope can be found here.

WHERE TO FIND FREE ON STREET PARKING

During the strike people can park all day at locations without parking meters where there would normally be a one, two or three hour time limit. One question that has come up is which downtown streets don't have parking meters. To see a map showing parking meters downtown click here.

There are some locations where parking or stopping is not permitted. Before parking check the signs to be certain. Generally parking is not allowed in areas north of Laurier Street with no parking meters and is allowed on streets south of Laurier.December 11, 2008.

HELP AVAILABLE TO GET TO APPOINTMENTS FOR SENIORS AND ADULTS WITH DISABILITIES

Through the Western Ottawa Community Resource Centre in Kanata seniors and adults with disabilities can arrange for rides to medical and other appointments. This service has existed for many years, but with the transit strike the need is even greater. Rides are provided by volunteers.

To get information about arranging for a ride or to volunteer, please call 613-591-3686. More information can be found here.

2006-2007 Crime Statistics for Kanata South Released

The 2006-2007 crime statistics for Kanata South are mixed news for our community. When I saw the increase in the crime rate I met with the police to discuss why.

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WARM CLOTHING NEEDED

The Streetsmarts program run by Jewish Family Services is looking for donations of warm clothing.

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Peggy's 2008 Report to Constituents

Peggy's 2008 annual report is available here.

City's final offer balance of controlling costs and respecting transit employees

The City's final offer to OC Transpo employees represented a very reasonable attempt to reach agreement without a strike. Details of the offer can be seen here. People who use OC Transpo are particularly hard hit, but all of us who are travelling during rush hour are feeling the effect. We need to get the strike settled as soon as possible with an agreement that reflects the current economic realities. I hope as there is more discussion of the City's offer, the union will agree to return to the negotiating table and come up with a settlement.

Information on changes to rules in place during the strike can be found here. There is also a ride matching service at ottawaridematch.com.

Budget 2009: controlling costs vs. protecting services

In this year’s budget there is a $45 million gap to be closed. This is after this year’s portion of the $113 million in efficiency savings approved for 2008 to 2010. Details can be found here.

Staff have put forward a variety of proposals ranging from user fee increases to cuts to services. There are some cuts that can be made without harming basic services. Other cuts leave me concerned about the impact on Kanata families and the City as a whole.

During the budget debate I will be working to achieve a balance between controlling costs and protecting services people value.

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