Dear Internet… Merry Christmas… love from Ottawa. A video break courtesy of Ottawa Tourism for your Friday afternoon.
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Diagram of "Fake Trees" - Photo courtest of West side Action
Post by Stephan Telka
Those of you living or working in Ottawa Centretown will likely have experienced the “joy” that is Bronson Avenue. During rush hour, cars, trucks and buses inch along the stretch from Albert Street all the way into the Glebe. The pedestrian experience is far from ideal, with narrow sidewalks, little greenery, and long waits at limited pedestrian crossings (up to 10 minutes at Bronson and Christie). Cyclists know the street should be avoided.
The Plans
As part of an ongoing infrastructure renewal process, the City of Ottawa has scheduled Bronson Avenue for reconstruction, including the installation of new sewers, sidewalks, and naturally, a fresh layer of asphalt. Designated an arterial road in the 1970s, the street has turned into one of central Ottawa’s main north-south routes. As such, initial plans by an engineering consulting firm hired by the City, unveiled at two Public Advisory Committee meetings in April and June of last year, propose that the roadbed be expanded by at least 35% in an attempt to increase traffic speed.
Fake Trees?
The expansion of the road in an already small space will leave little room for sidewalks, bus shelters and street furniture, such as benches and garbage bin. To make up for the lack of greenery on the street, initial plans proposed metal ‘architectural features’ (a.k.a. fake trees) to provide shade to pedestrians, and create a visual barrier between the road and the sidewalk. Construction was to begin in the spring of 2011, but due to budget constraints at City Hall, has been postponed, much to the satisfaction of the grassroots “Rescue Bronson Avenue” committee.
Click to continue reading “Community groups want to put Bronson on a “road diet””
Photo courtesy of Max Middle from the Apartment613 Flickr Group
You may have heard that the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C. has been recently embroiled in controversy over their decision to give in to demands from Republican congressmen and the Catholic League and remove the film A Fire in My Belly. The film, which is said to depict a cross covered in ants – and thus has conservative religious groups in a tizzy – was to appear in the exhibition Hide/Seek: Difference and Desire in American Portraiture at the National Portrait Gallery.
Local free speech advocates and censorship-haters should not fret, however! In response to the Smithsonian NOT displaying the film, Gallery 101 and The Village will be co-hosting a screening this Saturday night. The piece will screen twice – once at 7:30pm and once at 8.
The Bank Street gallery is just one of a growing number of organizations protesting the move by the Smithsonian by hosting screenings. It’s such sweet revenge that censorship has a way of making things ever more popular and available. Admission is a suggested $5 donation to the AIDS Committee of Ottawa.
Photo courtesy of The Plant on Flickr
We all know that it’s just a matter of time until Skynet takes control of the city and makes us all slaves in the robot army. I tend to take the “if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em” approach… You now have an opportunity to embrace the growing role of machines in our lives with the apps 4 Ottawa contest at city hall.
As part of its open data initiative, the city of Ottawa has been releasing sets of data in formats that allow machines to read it and developers to work with it to create software that offers useful services and information to users. Creative developers from all over the city have been working to come up with applications that will leverage this data in creative and interesting ways. For instance, Phillippe Guitard has designed an application that can show you the skating times at indoor city-run rinks sorted by your current location. Susan Gardiner Boulier has designed an application that can easily connect you with cultural events at local galleries and studios. Other applications track garbage collection, augment by-law services, map availability of Kijiji items in Ottawa or provide transit schedules in fun and useful formats.
To help encourage the development of applications that can make life in Ottawa more iPhone friendly, the city is offering $50,000 in prizes to the top applications in a series of categories. Developers have designed the applications, the city has posted them online, and now you get to vote on your favourites. The most popular apps will get $5000 in funding. Voting is open until January 28th. All the details are online at the apps 4 Ottawa website.
Photo courtesy of Justinvl from the Apartment613 Flickr Group
We’ll be taking some time over the next week to celebrate the holidays with our families and friends. We hope that you’re all turning off the laptops and enjoying some egg nog too.
Thanks for spending the past year with us reading about all the great things our community is doing. All the best for the holiday from all of us at Apartment613!
Want to keep backyard chickens? Think urban dwellers should be able to have honeybees? Now’s your chance to speak up!
As we previously posted, Apartment613 is organizing a lunchtime “kitchen table talk” on the topic of access to food in urban areas. Our friends at Just Food will be on hand to help guide the conversation and answer any questions (while we munch on the delicious fare at Zen Kitchen). This lunchtime discussion is just one of the ways we can contribute to developing national and local food policies that work for all of us.
If you want to see more food grown and sold within the city (and not just at farmer’s markets), or are bothered by the fact that one in ten urban residents has inadequate access to food, then this is the perfect – and delicious – opportunity to express yourself.
The kitchen talk will take place on December 4th, from 12pm to 2pm at Zen Kitchen. The cost of lunch is $20 and you can purchase your ticket through Eventbrite. Seats are limited, so book early.
Thank you to Just Food and Zen Kitchen for helping make this event happen.
Photo Courtesy of mmmaaadworld from the Apartment613 Flickr group
We at apartment613 honestly believe that things will get better. Today we’re thinking of the LGBTQ youth struggling to make things work in high schools stacked against them. There’s no excuse for hate, bigotry and bullying. Egale Canada reports that “Six out of ten LGBTQ students reported being verbally harassed about their sexual orientation” – a statistic that has to change. The past few weeks have been filled with emotional and powerful stories from the queer community and we stand with them proudly in support of LGBTQ youth.
If you’re reading this and wondering what you can do to help, think about supporting local LGBTQ resources like the Pink Triangle Services. If you’re reading this after a day of taking crap from classmates at school – please know that we’re with you. Things will get better. Trust us.
We have all heard about Ottawa’s greenbelt, but what do we know about the city’s wild side? “Ottawa is unique in the world as a city that has a forest of old growth trees and species at risk and a diverse habitat in this small area.” The small area in question is the South March Highlands, a conservation area that consists of 457 hectares of municipally owned land near the north of Kanata. The quote reproduced above is from a video produced by a group of citizens – Paul Renau, Gord Stephen, Sherry Leavitt and Steven Hula – that states that if action is not taken, a unique ecological treasure will be lost to development.
The video argues that the construction of the Terry Fox road and accompanied developed is leading to the destruction of this ecologically significant area. The highlands are part of an corridor that provide protection to a number of plant and animal species, rids the city air of greenhouse gases and offers a bulwark against invasive species. Renau and his team cite scientific studies (anyone know the source) which claim that 440 plant species, 164 species of bird and 75 species of mammal, fish and reptile live in the area. Without even counting insects, this makes it one of the most ecologically diverse parts of the city.
Click to continue reading “Ottawa’s wild island: The endangered South March Highlands”
Photo couretsy of abdallah on flickr
People of Ottawa, the fate of the city is in your hands. Whether your vision for the city is more bike lanes, lower taxes or more things to do, voting in the upcoming election is an important step towards making Ottawa the city we know it can be. Below are some resources to help you make your choice this October. You’ll find information about our upcoming election debate, interviews with the candidates, some of our past coverage of election issues and a list of our favorite resources for municipal politics. We’ll update regularity as we get more stuff!
Debate | Candidate Interviews | News | Issues | Resources
ELECTION 2.0: MAYORAL CANDIDATE’S DEBATE
Jane Scharf’s Kanye West moment, the candidates saying nice things about each other, Clive Doucet wishing he were Spiderman and Sheila Copps Calling Larry O’Brien baby… relive the magic of the Web 2.0 debate right here at Apartment613. Our social media debate, which was put on in partnership with the Institute on Governance, Rogers Television and the National Arts Center, was a big success. The Sun called it “a multimedia extravaganza, blasting the four frontrunners into cyberspace and into people’s living rooms.” You can see the video of the debate below, or check out the live blog moderated by Ian Capstick of Media Styles and Walter Robinson by clicking here.
APARTMENT613 CANDIDATE INTERVIEWS
We’re hoping to profile all the mayoral candidates before October 25. Thanks to brentc.com for compiling information on the Candidate’s websites and contact information.
 Cesar Bello
Mr. Bello has declined our interview request due to our decision not to invite him to the debate we are co-hosting on October 5. You can find out more about Mr. Bello and his platform on his website. |
 Idris Ben-Tahir
Unfortunately, Mr. Ben-Tahir has not published an email address, so we were unable to contact him for the interview. If you know Mr. Ben-Tahir’s contact information, please pass it along.You can find out more about Mr. Ben-Tahir’s policy positions from CTV or the Carleton. |
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An interview we did with Councillor Doucet in October of 2009. Check out Councillor Doucet’s website for more information, or contact him on Twitter @CliveForMayor. |
 Joseph Furtenbacher
We have sent out our interview questions to Mr. Furtenbacher, and hope to hear from him soon! You can find out more about Mr. Furtenbacher and his platform on his website. |
 Robert G. Gauthier
Read our interview with Mr. Gauthier, past mayoral candidate. Also, check out his website for more information about his platform. |
 Andrew Haydon
We have sent out our interview questions to Mr. Haydon, and hope to hear from him soon! You can find out more about Mr. Haydon and his platform on his website, or contact him on Twitter @VoteHaydon. |
 Robert Larter
Unfortunately, Mr. Larter has not published an email address, so we were unable to contact him for the interview. If you know Mr. Larter’s contact information, please pass it along. You can find out more about Mr. Larter from Ottawa Election News. |
 Robin Lawrance
We have sent out our interview questions to Mr. Lawrance, and hope to hear from him soon! You can find out more about Mr. Lawrance on CTV or the Ottawa Citizen. |
 Vincent Libweshya
We have sent out our interview questions to Mr. Libweshya, and hope to hear from him soon! You can find out more about Mr. Libweshya on his website or contact him on Twitter at @freshjones. |
 Fraser Liscumb
Read our interview with Mr. Liscumb, or visit his website. You can also find out more about Mr. Liscumb on CTV. |
| Daniel Joseph Lyrette
Unfortunately, Mr. Lyrette has not published an email address, so we were unable to contact him for the interview. If you know Mr. Lyrette’s contact information, please pass it along.You can find out more about Mr. Lyrette from CTV. |
 Mike Maguire
Stay turned for our interview with Mr. Maguire! In the meantime, check out his website for more information about his platform. |
 Larry O’Brien
We have sent out our interview questions to Mayor O’Brien, and hope to hear from him soon! You can find out more about Mr. O’Brien on his website, or contact him on Twitter @larryobrien2010. |
Julio Pita
Unfortunately, Mr. Pita has not published an email address, so we were unable to contact him for the interview. If you know Mr. Pita’s contact information, please pass it along. |
| Sean Ryan
We have sent out our interview questions to Mr. Ryan, and hope to hear from him soon! You can find out more about Mr. Ryan on his website. |
Michael St. Arnaud
Unfortunately, Mr. St. Arnaud has not published his email address, so we were unable to contact him for the interview. If you know Mr. St. Arnaud’s contact information, please pass it along. |
 Jane Scharf
Read our interview with Ms. Scharf, a citizen’s rights advocate for more than 30 years and the only woman candidate. Find out more about Ms. Scharf on her website, or contact her on twitter at @janescharf. |
 Charlie Taylor
Read our interview with Mr. Taylor, first time mayoral candidate currently completing his Bachelor of Journalism degree at Carleton. Find out more about Mr. Taylor on his website, or contact him at Twitter at @Mayorcharlie. |
 Jim Watson
An interview by Kym Shumsky, blogger at Relishing.ca, as part of her 100 strangers series. Find out more about Mr. Watson on his website, or contact him on Twitter at @JimWatsonOttawa. |
 Samuel Wright
We have sent out our interview questions to Mr. Wright, and hope to hear from him soon! You can find out more about Mr. Wright on his website, or contact him on Twitter @Sam4mayor. |
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SNIPPETS FROM THE WEEKLY NEWS REVIEW
September 27, 2010
In election news, the Citizen’s Randall Denley reports that two councillors (the only two so far?) have released platforms that offer a broad and comprehensive approach to city issues. These are David Chernushenko in Capital Ward and Jennifer Robitaille in Orléans. Read about their very different ideas for the city here. On the mayoral front, the front runners in this election are taking their private conversations to the public. All I can say is that I’m really looking forward to our October 5 debate where real issues will be discussed.
September 20, 2010
“Political Promises” is a series by the Ottawa Sun’s Susan Sherring featuring some of the leading candidates’ bait to attract voters. Check out Doucet’s, O’Brien’s, Watson’s, Haydon’s and views on taxes, transit, leadership and more. The qBik Creative Blog, on the other hand, is comparing how the candidate’s are using social media. They’ve so far published posts on O’Brien, Watson and Doucet.
I often love reading The Bulldog’s rants. The Citizen’s Ken Gray is smart and well-informed (maybe he should run for mayor one day?). Most recently, he wrote about losing an ally against the LRT when Jim Watson declared he was favour of the project. Whoever ends up winning this election, I’m curious to see how close to reality Ken Gray’s assessment of the future of the LRT is.
September 12, 2010
This past week marked the true launch of the 2010 Ottawa mayoralty race. Candidates Watson, Doucet and O’Brien began unveiling their platforms. Jim Watson promised fiscal responsibility and Clive Doucet promised to put off plans for an LRT tunnel as the campaign for mayor of Ottawa on Tuesday. O’Brien said if re-elected, he would work to establish an arms-length transit commission like Toronto’s to take the business of running the service off council’s plate as well as personally propose a tax-freeze budget if the city agrees to a number of cost-cutting measures.
Subsequently, O’Brien formally asked for councillors to endorse his budgetary plan. Most recently, Watson released what he calls a comprehensive integrity platform that would include, among other things, a council code of conduct.
In other noteworthy elections news, Andrew Haydon, now 77, was a late entry in the race for mayor. Haydon announced his candidacy the last possible day a candidate could declare. He’ll be running on an anti-LRT platform, proposing to bolster bus rapid transit. Also of note, Zaphod’s owner Eugene Haslam will be running for council in Capital ward.
Do you remember “Our Ottawa”, the group that was set up to endorse new blood in at city council? They’ve thus far only endorsed three candidates, Bob Brocklebank in Capital ward, Bruce Webster in Rideau-Golbourn and Sheila Perry in Rideau-Rockliffe, but are planning to endorse more candidates between now and October 25.
September 7, 2010
Back in April, we had reported about the Open Data Hackfest. The event was a success and the city got behind the idea of making more data available and creating useful apps. Now, the city expects to launch an open data contest in September, offering $50,000 in prizes to people who create applications designed for mobile devices, computers, websites and other software platforms.
Last Wednesday, Rideau-Rockcliffe councillor Jacques Legendre presented a 10-point motion in front of the city’s transportation committee aimed at making Ottawa a more cycle-friendly city. About 60% of the proposal was approved by the committee…not failure but not success either for councillor Legendre. View the committees meeting minutes, which includes the 10-point proposal, here.
Click here for more.
Below is some of our past coverage of issues that will likely feature in the upcoming election.
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Here’s some of our favorite resources for knowing what’s going on in city politics. If you know of any other good blogs or sources of information, please let us know in the comments and we’ll be sure to add them!
| General information and news |
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| Public Transit |
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Screen shot from the-o-dot, Ottawa's newest blog.
“Bridgehead Opens New Location Inside Existing Location“, “New Ikea Store Delayed; Missing Allen Key Blamed” and my personal favorite, “Larry O’Brien Reveals He Is Actually Lex Luthor”. These are some of the headlines featured in the-o-dot, Ottawa’s newest comedy blog. Written by the mysterious Tommy Talker (some investigative blogging may be in order), the-o-dot combines the wit of The Onion with an insider’s knowledge of the Ottawa scene.
Although the blog only started this July, it has already amassed a hilarious collection of articles. Yuppie mecca Westboro seems to be a popular target, as are the typical bugaboos of life in the national capital: roadwork, obnoxious parents and hog weed, as mentioned in the following post:
The dangerous weed plant stormed into the branch at the corner of Bank and Rideau Rd. at approximately 3:15pm. Demanding the teller hand over $2000 in cash, the plant threatened to “Give everyone a rash and maybe put sap in someone’s eye” as reported by staff teller Kelly Langois who was confronted by the huge plant. “I was scared but remained calm. The thing was about 8 feet tall and had a raspy voice. I could tell it was out of control and desperate.” Wielding its toxic leaves at the staff members, it grabbed a bag of undisclosed cash and ran out to a waiting car.
The is definitely something we wish we thought of first! The-o-dot is hilarious and without a doubt worth checking out!
