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City of Ottawa Councillor Reports By Shad Qadri, Councillor Ward Six Stittsville City of Ottawa
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SPORTS
July 23rd, 2012
John Brummell photo
Going over jump
Emily Beach guides her horse “On Target� over a jump in the green hunter class at the “Horse Lovers’ Weekend� at Westar Farms on Fernbank Road in Goulbourn last Saturday, July 21.
At Westar Farms
Megan Harris is ready to go on Phoenix Rising in the training hunter class at the “Horse lovers’ Weekend� at Westar Farms on Fernbank Road west of Stittsville last Saturday, July 21 as her grandmother Sherry Harris, right, looks on.
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John Brummell photo
ROBERT (BOB) SLACK PRESIDENT DIRECTOR – ONTARIO The Canadian Snowbird Association (CSA) is pleased to announce the election of Robert (Bob) Slack as the association’s president and director for Ontario for the term 2012 – 2014. Mr. Slack has had a long and distinguished career in education. As a teacher, principal and later supervisor of student teachers, he began his teaching career at the Galt Roman Catholic School Board, continued with the Carleton Roman Catholic School Board, and later the State University of New York. During his career in education he was actively involved in the establishment of classes and programs for dependently handicapped students. For over ten years Bob was a presenter of retirement planning workshops for the Ontario Teachers’ Federation. He also served as an educational consultant for the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture. In addition to a regular teaching career, he was employed as a part-time lecturer at the University of Ottawa as well as served as a municipal councillor for the Township of Goulbourn. A member of the Canadian Snowbird Association, Mr. Slack has been a volunteer with several organizations. He has served in numerous capacities with the Catholic Principals’ Council of Ontario, including two terms as president. A past-president of the Richmond District Lions Club and Richmond Snowrovers Snowmobile Club, he has also been active in minor hockey. Bob Slack and his wife Lois reside in Athens, Ontario. Founded in 1992, the Canadian Snowbird Association is a national not-for-proďŹ t advocacy organization dedicated to actively defending and improving the rights and privileges of Canadian travellers.
Water flow on City streets As part of the Westend Flooding Action Plan one of the key measures to reduce the risk of basements flooding was the installation of inlet control devices (ICDs) to prevent the storm sewer from getting overwhelmed. These ICDs restrict but do not prevent the flow through the catch basins. This means that residents may see water accumulating on the street during a storm event, but the water should drain shortly thereafter. On July 17 we did receive a brief but strong rainfall and it appears that any water on the roads was due to these ICDs and no flooding on private property was reported. Stittsville Power Outages My office has received inquiries from some residents in Stittsville who were experiencing power outages. Hydro Ottawa has investigated three recent outages affecting customers in Stittsville between July 4th and July 10th. In all three cases, the outages were caused by animal contact on the overhead system as follows: 1. July 4th 5:40 am – 7:08 am a. Squirrel contact on Johnwoods Street b. Momentary outage for 2756 customers c. 4 customers remained out until 7:08am 2. July 8th 9:01 am – 1:20 pm a. Squirrel contact on Johnwoods Street (same location) b. Auto reclose for 2756 customers c. 4 customers remained out until 1:20pm 3. July 10th 5:08 am – 10:20 am a. Bird Contact on Hazeldean Road b. Auto reclose for 2756 customers c. 1 customer remained out until 10:20am In the Johnwoods location, Hydro Ottawa field crews have installed animal guards in an effort prevent further animal interference. While these momentary outages do cause unfortunate inconvenience to their customers, Hydro Ottawa is satisfied with the effectiveness of our system equipment. In each of these events, protective devices installed as part of their ongoing Stittsville reliability efforts have worked as intended to clear the failure and automatically restore the majority of affected customers. If you have any further questions on these outages, please do not hesitate to contact Greg McAuley, Supervisor System Operations, Hydro Ottawa Limited at 613-738-5499, extension 7182. Please also remember that to report outages or to receive outages updates to contact Hydro Ottawa at 613-738-0188. Stittsville Tour with Ottawa Police I recently had an opportunity to patrol the Stittsville area with Stittsville’s Community Police Officer, Constable Ryan Strotmann. In addition to receiving weekly updates from Constable Strotmann on Stittsville activity I find it very valuable to ride along with him in the community. We reviewed some of the area where there have been residential fires and speak with some neighbours involved. Constable Strotmann and I also discuss the Ottawa Police Service launch of Youth In Policing Initiative (YIPI). This is a summer employment program with the Ottawa Police Service for youth 14-17 years of age and attending a secondary school program. The goal of YIPI is to give young people an opportunity to develop job skills while enhancing police and community relations. The program is for youth who may experience barriers to success and would benefit from this unique opportunity. In 2007, Ottawa Police Service joined the YIPI program, with seven youth participating. Over the past five years, over 150 youth have participated in Ottawa; and this year the Ottawa Police Service will welcome 45 youth to the program. During our tour of Stittsville We also left notices with some cars parking in parking lots to remind residents to remove all valuables from your car. It is also very important to ensure that you lock your car doors. Thefts from vehicles are particularly high from June to October, and a good way to reduce these thefts is by lowering opportunities for criminals. With the “All Valuables Removed� initiative, residents are instructed to remove their valuables from their vehicle, or secure them out of sight, and place a warning card in their window, letting would-be-thieves know not to bother searching their car, and also reminding others to take the same precautions. In addition to removing valuables, the Ottawa Police would like to offer the following tips to drivers when leaving their vehicle: 1. Never leave your vehicle running and unattended. 2. Close windows and lock the doors. 3. Never leave your car or house keys in your vehicle. 4. Park in well lit areas with pedestrian traffic. For more tips, and to find out how you can obtain a warning card for your vehicle, please visit ottawapolice.ca. For further information please visit: http://www.ottawapolice.ca/en/crimeprevention/safetyandpreventiontips/roadsafety/safety_theft_prevention.aspx Stittsville Transportation Infrastructure I encourage you to visit the Transportation Infrastructure information on my website under the Planning and Development tab. On this site you can find information regarding current and upcoming transportation projects in Stittsville; such as the Huntmar Drive reconstruction, Maple Grove Road upgrades and the roundabout at Fernbank and Shea Roads. This website also has information regarding a number of future planned transportation projects in Stittsville which will assist to continue to accommodate the growth in the area. The timelines identified for these projects are outlined in the City’s Transportation Master Plan (TMP). The TMP is reviewed by the City every 5 years and the next review is coming up in 2013. The TMP review will take into consideration the current growth in the area and this may result in a re-assessment of the timelines and priority of projects in the area. Please note that some of the new road construction will also be dependent on construction of future development in those areas. When this review takes place I will try to ensure that some these projects in Stittsville are moved to a closer construction timeline. A listing of the future planned transportation projects in Stittsville has been provided below, and you can also see the location of these projects on the map on the next page. r 2012 - Huntmar Road temporary pedestrian shoulder r 2012 - Stittsville Main Street new sidewalk connection on east side r 2016 - Carp Road widening (417 to Hazeldean) r 2016 - Palladium Drive Realignment (Huntmar to North-South Arterial) r 2017 - Huntmar Road widening (Palladium to Maple Grove and Campeau to Cyclone Taylor) r 2018 - Stittsville Main Street / Kanata West extension (Stittsville Main Street/possible Maple Grove to Palladium) r 2018 – Stittsville/Kanata West North-South Arterial (Hazeldean to Fernbank) r 2023-2031 - Maple Grove Road widening (Huntmar to Terry Fox) r 2023-2031 – Stittsville/Kanata West North-South Arterial (Huntmar to Hazeldean) r Prior to 2031 - West Transitway connection (Terry Fox to Fernbank) Council approves work to update plans guiding Ottawa’s growth Earlier this month City Council gave its approval for work to proceed on updating the plans that shape the way Ottawa grows. Council approved the statements of work for updates to the Official Plan, the Transportation Master Plan and the Infrastructure Master Plan. These are the documents that guide how and where the City will grow over the years to come, especially focusing on the next 20 years. The transportation planning work will include updates to the City’s pedestrian and cycling plans as well as a prioritization of transit and road projects. The Official Plan update will be a review of the document, rather than a full revision. Main areas of focus will be on: ensuring that future urban and suburban intensification projects are built to a higher level of urban design; encouraging the redevelopment of properties around Tunney’s Pasture Station to Blair Station as part of the City’s LRT project; prioritizing infrastructure rehabilitation projects to areas of the City undergoing intensification; reviewing Ottawa’s supply of employment lands to ensure that it aligns with the goals of Invest Ottawa; and, developing unique growth strategies for each of Ottawa’s rural villages. It is not expected that this review will require changes to Ottawa’s urban boundary, as a preliminary analysis indicates there is an adequate supply of land for residential and commercial development already within the urban area. This will be confirmed in the fall when Council adopts the City’s future population projections. There will be public consultations on the updates to these plans beginning later this year and continuing next year. The updated documents are scheduled to be before Council for consideration by the end of 2013. Fire safety especially important during dry conditions Ottawa Fire Services is calling on the community to be cautious when throwing out lit cigarettes or matches, which could result in bush or grass fires due to the dry spell the region is experiencing. By disposing of cigarette butts and matches in appropriate containers, residents can help prevent fires. Do not throw them onto the side of the road, in a flower bed or near other combustibles such as decks, garbage or fences. A single cigarette thrown onto the side of the road can cause a large grass or brush fire. Ottawa Fire Services has had numerous calls over the past few weeks for smouldering mulch at homes and businesses, all caused by improperly discarded cigarette butts. Residents need to be cognizant of their actions, especially during this extremely dry period. Hot and dry conditions across the Ottawa area have also increased the risk of fires from BBQs and grills. Residents should be extra cautious when cooking outdoors and ensure that any fire and all smouldering materials are completely extinguished with water before leaving the area. BBQ and grill safety: r Have a garden hose, fire extinguisher or buckets of water at the ready. r BBQs and grills should be a minimum of 10 feet away from your home. r Make sure your grill or BBQ is level and away from overhanging branches, grass, hedges, fences, sheds and other dry or flammable areas and materials. Also keep children and pets at least three feet away. r Keep all matches and lighters away from children. r Do not use matches and lighters near dry grass and wooded areas. r Never grill under a tent, canopy or in a garage. r Never leave the grill unattended. r Never use gas or paraffin to start or revive your BBQ - use only recognized lighters or starter fuel on cold coals. r Never light a BBQ on, or over, dry or dead grass or vegetation. r Allow coals to burn out completely and let ashes cool at least 48 hours before disposing. r Dispose of cold ashes by wrapping in heavy-duty aluminum foil and placing in a non-combustible container. Be sure no other combustible materials are nearby. Ottawa Fire Services would also like to remind residents that in order to have an open air fire in the City of Ottawa, a fire permit must be obtained from the Fire Department. Please note however that there is a Burn Ban in effect. For further information I encourage you to visit the following web site http://ottawa.ca/en/licence_permit/bylaw/a_z/open_air/ . Always listening and acting on your concerns As your Councillor, I always welcome your keen input and ideas on how we can sustain and improve Stittsville. Please contact our office anytime by phone at 613-580-2476 or by e-mail at Shad.Qadri@ottawa.ca. I also encourage you to follow me on Twitter and on Facebook.
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