Construction Season, New Parking Rules & More

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It was great having a little piece of home downtown at City Hall on June 1st at the Mayor's Annual Rural Expo. Thanks to all those who participated!  

It was great having a little piece of home downtown at City Hall on June 1st at the Mayor's Annual Rural Expo. Thanks to all those who participated!  

Over the next few weeks and months, several construction projects may affect your daily commute. Road resurfacing projects will be undertaken on Rideau Valley Drive South, Potter Drive, and Barnsdale Road, between Twin Elm Road and Moodie Drive. Microsurfacing projects will also be undertaken along certain parts of Fourth Line Road, Eagleson Road, Dwyer Hill Road and Old Richmond Road. These were approved in early 2018 with the allocation of an additional $10M for road projects. Rideau-Goulbourn is the recipient of $2M of those funds. Finally, Gallagher Road, between Mackey and Malakoff, will receive its final treatment as part of the rural road upgrade that commenced last summer.

The replacement of the McBean Street bridge will commence shortly. The project has been awarded to Aecon. This massive project is expected to be carried out over the next 18 months. There will be impacts to traffic, specifically for heavy vehicles and buses. I will be providing a more detailed update on this project in the Richmond Hub shortly.

The sewer works along Martin Street are ongoing. As a part of this project, a Road Close Authorization has been granted for Fortune Street from Martin Street to Royal York Street. The road is scheduled to be closed from Friday, June 22nd to Wednesday, August 15th. On behalf of Richmond Village Ltd. (Caivan), Ottawa Greenbelt Construction Co. Ltd. will be undertaking the replacement of a sanitary trunk sewer. Notification signs will be posted. There will be a signed detour. Local and emergency vehicle access will be maintained.

Additional construction projects scheduled for this summer include the following replacements/rehabilitations:

  • Ashton Station Road Bridge
  • Munster Road Bridge (south of Jock Trail)
  • Old Richmond Road Bridge (south of Fallowfield Road)
  • Various culverts along Dwyer Hill Road, Longfields Drive, Roger Stevens Drive, Joy’s Road, Donnelly Drive, Eagleson Road, Rideau Valley Drive North

If you have any questions about these projects, please let me know.

Need new garbage, recycling bins? It just got easier!

As of June 4th, 2018, residents of Ottawa who require a new blue, black, or green bin will no longer need to request a Canadian Tire coupon to receive new bins. A new delivery service is being implemented that will simplify the process for residents to obtain recycling containers. Recycling containers will be delivered directly to the resident’s home.

Residents can now request a new recycling container by:

  • Making an online request for new bins. Once a request has been received, the bins will be delivered to the resident’s home within five (5) business days.
  • Contacting 311 to make a request for new bins. Once a request has been received, the bins will be delivered to the resident’s home within five (5) business days.
  • Visiting a City Client Service Centre (CSC) and requesting the bins. The CSC will create a service request to have the bin delivered to the resident’s home within five (5) business days.

The new delivery system will address the issue where residents had concerns about transporting the bins due to size. The service will also address and meet the requirements for the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act.

Residents who previously received coupons for the replacement of their bins must redeem their coupons on or before June 30th. After June 30th, the coupons will no longer be valid.

New, Relaxed Parking Rules in Effect

Following the approval of the Traffic and Parking By-law Update 2017 report by Council on September 13th, 2017, the Traffic and Parking By-law (No. 2017-301), and corresponding set fines approved by the Ontario Court of Justice are now in effect as of June 1st, 2018.

As part of the approved report, a significant change in the new by-law relates to the long-standing 3-Hour Parking Rule, as it applies to weekends and statutory holidays. Under the previous by-law, on weekends and statutory holidays, motorists would only be allowed to park for three consecutive hours (between 7:00am and 7:00pm), on streets where there are no parking limit signs. As of June 1st, 2018, on weekends and statutory holidays, motorists are now able to park for up to six consecutive hours (between 7:00am and 7:00pm) on streets where there are no parking limit signs.

KOTR Evening of Information

On June 20th, the Kars on the Rideau Public School Parent Council invites parents to an evening of information on supporting their children during the middle and tween years to maintain healthy lifestyles. This session is aimed at parents of children in grade 4 to 8.

This session is presented in collaboration with the City of Ottawa’s Public Health unit and Rideauwood Addiction and Family Services. Speakers will be present from both agencies discussing a number of issues, including the use of cannabis, vaping and opioids.

This session will take place at the school between 7:00 pm and 9:00 pm. Participants are encouraged to register as space is limited. You can do so at the following link: www.eventbrite.com/e/an-evening-of-information-tickets-46664058455.

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If you have any comments, questions or concerns, please feel free to email me at [email protected] or contact me by phone at 613-580-2491. For information on Rideau-Goulbourn issues, please visit RideauGoulbourn.ca.

ARAC & Additional Infrastructure Improvements

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Photo from the ward: This photo was submitted to the MVCA's 'Going to the Dogs' photo contest. Dude, a 3 year old Bernese Mountain Dog, loves David Bartlett Park, especially in the winter!

Photo from the ward: This photo was submitted to the MVCA's 'Going to the Dogs' photo contest. Dude, a 3 year old Bernese Mountain Dog, loves David Bartlett Park, especially in the winter!

To begin this week, I would like to thank residents for taking the time to attend the open house last week for the proposed roundabout at the intersection of Barnsdale Road & Prince of Wales Drive. The feedback was quite positive to the rationale and design. Construction is tentatively scheduled to start in 2019 pending budget approval. Staff will now move to detailed design. For more information, please visit www.rideaugoulbourn.ca/barnsdaleroundabout. Any comments may be sent to Kunjan Ghimire via email at [email protected] or by phone at 613-580-2424, ext. 21685.

While at the open house, many residents also asked about the intersection of Prince of Wales and Bankfield Road. You may recall that I had been working on a plan for 2018 to implement turning lanes on Bankfield Road. Through further discussion and examination, staff have come back with a more comprehensive plan that also brings in the required upgrades to the First Line Road and Bankfield Road intersection. The plan is still being finalized and I will share that when it is available. What we are now looking at are new turning lanes in all directions at Prince of Wales and Bankfield in addition to signalization of the First Line Road intersection. Staff are currently working toward a spring 2019 timeline for construction.

Previously, the City approved plans for a roundabout at Prince of Wales and Bankfield as well as a realignment of First Line Road into a new roundabout 300m south of Bankfield on Prince of Wales. While still the plan for the future, it simply is not affordable in the short term. Through the next Development Charge By-Law review, staff will recommend these projects for inclusion in that by-law so that all future development in Manotick is paying into the plans for those improvements.

Agriculture & Rural Affairs Committee

The March 1st meeting of the Agriculture & Rural Affairs Committee has only two items on the agenda. Both affect Rideau-Goulbourn. The main item will be the Engineer’s Report on the Cranberry Creek Municipal Drain, in North Gower and Kars. The second item is an amendment to the Zoning By-Law for the Caivan development at 6350 Perth Street in Richmond. That report just fixes the various zoning boundaries within the development to align with the blocks and lots within Phase 1 of the subdivision.

The Cranberry Creek Municipal Drain item dates back to 2012 and beyond. After a very wet spring in 2012, landowners on this Municipal Drain (MD) raised concerns about the maintenance of it. As of approximately 1991, the MD actually lacked a pump and dyke system that allowed it to operate as per the approved Engineer’s Report. In essence, the MD has not been properly functioning since that time.

The drain itself was originally constructed in 1895 but the pump and dyke were installed following an updated Engineer’s Report in 1969. That system remained in place for over two decades but it was considered insufficient based on the volume of water it could handle. An updated report in 1991 recommended upgrades to the pump and dyke at that time but it was not accepted by Rideau Township and the landowners at that time. As mentioned above, the matter resurfaced nearly six years ago leading to our current report.

In September 2014, the City appointed Robinson Consultants to update the Engineer’s Report and bring forward a plan to have the MD function as was intended and also to clean it out to its original depths. This report brings that forward. Landowners assessed by this MD received the Engineer’s Report in recent weeks which outlines the proposed works as well as the assessment values. Being a significant watershed, there are many properties affected by these drainage works.

While the Cranberry Creek MD Engineer’s Report comes to our Committee for approval, it is actually the Drainage Act that outlines the process. I understand that the assessments can create undue burden on affected landowners and I have committed to doing what I can to find some financial assistance to lower those assessments. That work will likely continue right through into April when this matter returns for the Court of Revision process.

The purpose of the Agriculture & Rural Affairs Committee meeting will be to discuss the Engineer’s Report. Andy Robinson, Drainage Engineer, will be presenting to the Committee. For those wishing to appeal assessments, that opportunity comes during the Court of Revision, which is scheduled for Monday, April 23rd at the Alfred Taylor Recreation Centre in North Gower.

The Thursday, March 1st meeting of ARAC takes place at 10:00am at Ben Franklin Place.

2018 Additional Infrastructure Improvements

During the 2018 Budget deliberations, City Council was made aware of a $10M surplus, which was then directed to infrastructure renewal. At the Finance & Economic Development Committee of February 5th, staff brought forward a report on how the $10M would be spent in 2018. I am pleased to report that nearly $2M of that amount will be spent in Rideau-Goulbourn.

Approved at the February 14th meeting of City Council, the report includes pavement preservation projects on Eagleson Road (Perth to Brophy), Old Richmond Road (Fallowfield to Hope Side Road) and Dwyer Hill Road (Fallowfield to Highway 7).  The report also includes the resurfacing of Potter Drive and the portion of Barnsdale Road, between Moodie Drive and Twin Elm Road. On that, I have asked staff to take a second look and determine whether it would be more beneficial to resurface a portion of Barnsdale Road east of Moodie Drive instead. They are currently looking into that.

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If you have any comments, questions or concerns, please feel free to email me at [email protected] or contact me by phone at 613-580-2491. For information on Rideau-Goulbourn issues, please visit RideauGoulbourn.ca.

First ARAC Meeting of 2018 & Other Updates

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ARAC.jpg

The first few months of 2018 promise to feature busy agendas for the Agriculture & Rural Affairs Committee, including many items that affect our Rideau-Goulbourn ward. The first meeting of the year is coming up on Thursday, February 1st at our usual time of 10:00 am and our usual location of Ben Franklin Place. Agenda items for this meeting include:

Zoning By-Law Amendments

  • 2403 Huntley Road
  • 4534 Loggers Way
  • 5130/5208 Ramsayville Road
  • 4139 Moodie Drive
  • 2026 William Hodgins Lane
  • Manotick Area-Specific Development Charges
  • Cassidy Municipal Drain Improvements

The two local zoning by-law amendments are 2403 Huntley Road and 4139 Moodie Drive. 2403 Huntley Road is a property on the northeast corner of Huntley and Fallowfield Road, directly across from Karter’s Korner. 4139 Moodie Drive is halfway between Barnsdale Road and Brophy Drive and adjacent to the proposed Alottawata Water Park.

The 2403 Huntley Road application seeks to rezone the property from Rural Countryside to Rural Commercial in order to increase the commercial uses on the property. However, the uses will be limited to amusement centre, artist studio, convenience store, office, personal service and retail store. During consultation with residents along Kimini Drive, the use of gas station was raised as a concern and will continue to be prohibited on this property.

The applicant on 4139 Moodie Drive is Proslide Technologies, also the proponent for Alottawata. This application seeks to permit ‘research and development centre’ as well as ‘office’ as permitted uses on the property. The intent is to build an R & D centre and office building to support the water park project. The neighbouring property, 4221 Moodie Drive, is already zoned for a water park. The proposed facility will facilitate the design and testing of new water rides and emerging technologies.

The report on Manotick Area-Specific Development Charges just cleans up something that was missed when the charges report was approved a few years ago. Unfortunately, two development areas were not included at that time. The affected addresses are 1086 Antochi Lane and 5721, 5731, 5741 Manotick Main Street. The approval of this report will ensure that development on these properties is charged the appropriate amount regarding connection to the existing water supply and sanitary service.

Full reports on all of the above items are available online at Ottawa.ca.

Planning Advisory Committee

The City is establishing a Planning Advisory Committee (PAC). The mandate of the PAC is to advise on the Planning, Infrastructure and Economic Development Department’s policy priorities and its annual work plan and may also include other matters as they arise.

Several positions are available including two members from the rural area of Ottawa. They will join counterparts from the urban and suburban areas as well as specialists in the fields of architecture, planning and landscape architecture. The PAC will also include the Chairs of Planning Committee, Built Heritage Sub-Committee and the Agriculture & Rural Affairs Committee, which happens to be me. Members of the Planning Advisory Committee will be required to prepare for and attend meetings. It is anticipated that the PAC will meet twice per year.

For more information on eligibility, roles and responsibilities and the application process, please visit ottawa.ca/volunteer or contact Eric Pelot at 613-580-2424, ext. 22953 (TTY: 613-580-2401) or by email at [email protected].

Barnsdale Road & Prince of Wales Drive

In a recent column, I announced plans for a roundabout at the intersection of Barnsdale Road & Prince of Wales Drive. An open house has now been scheduled to discuss this project and the proposed design.

Construction is tentatively scheduled to start in 2019 and is subject to change depending on availability of funding. At this open house, you will be able to:

  • Review plans displaying the recommended design;
  • Identify potential issues that may have not been addressed; and,
  • Provide comments on the recommended design.

The open house is scheduled for Thursday, February 15th from 7:00pm to 9:00pm and will be held at the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority building at 3889 Rideau Valley Drive. For more information, please visit www.rideaugoulbourn.ca/barnsdaleroundabout. Any comments may be sent to Kunjan Ghimire via email at [email protected] or by phone at 613-580-2424, ext. 21685. Comment on this open house should be submitted by Tuesday, February 20, 2018.

Winter Carnivals

No matter which part of Rideau-Goulbourn you live in, you are never too far away from a winter carnival. Shiverfest takes place in Manotick on Friday, January 26th and 27th and features a number of events including chili cookoff, curling, bingo and trivia. On the other side of the ward, the Munster Winter Carnival takes place on the same weekend. Munster will also feature a number of events aimed at families taking place at the Community Centre and Munster Elementary School. To learn more about these events, please visit our Rideau-Goulbourn website’s Events page.

The following weekend, North Gower will host its 56th Winter Carnival at the Alfred Taylor Recreation Centre. You can come out on Friday, February 2nd for the Kemptville Players Murder Mystery dinner theatre and then come back on Saturday for a full schedule including a pancake breakfast, bake sale, snowmobile rally, buffet dinner and talent show. Information on this will also be available on our events page.

Isle in the River Theatre Company

This year, ITR is going to do something a little different for Valentine's Day. They will be holding an Afternoon Tea at Vibration Studios (5488 Osgoode Main St.) on February 10th and 17th. ITR has selected Norm Foster's two act play Wrong for Each Other to entertain you.

“A chance meeting in a restaurant, after four years apart, sends a couple flashing back through the highs and lows of their courtship and marriage. It is a hilarious and often heart-breaking look at the rollercoaster ride of a relationship.”

Tickets are $28 per person (includes the afternoon tea) and are now on sale at www.itrtheatre.com or by calling 613-800-1165. There are only 50 tickets available per show.

As always for IRT’s Valentine's shows, proceeds will go to the Heart and Stroke Foundation. 

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If you have any comments, questions or concerns, please feel free to email me at [email protected] or contact me by phone at 613-580-2491. For information on Rideau-Goulbourn issues, please visit RideauGoulbourn.ca.

City of Ottawa's 2018 Budget

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2018 Budget.jpg

On December 13th, City Council approved the 2018 budget. This budget maintains the predictability of the previous seven budgets in that it focuses on priorities that matter the most and carries a 2% property tax increase. You likely heard talk of a proposed 2.5% increase but that was withdrawn following the announcement that the City had a surplus for the second straight year and $10M of that surplus would be dedicated to infrastructure renewal.

In Parks & Recreation, planning and consultation will be undertaken for improvements to Beryl Gaffney Park using the master plan for that plan and the $560,000 identified in the budget. Blue Rock Park, in Kars, will see improvements, as will King’s Grant Park and Richmond Lions Park and Gordon & Ivy Scharf Park in Manotick. New parks will be created in the form of Lela Scharf Park, Mud Creek Park and the Spring Pond Parkette, all in Manotick. Also in Manotick, a new park is planned for construction in the new Riverwalk development. Sarah McCarthy Park will be constructed in Richmond. The total funding commitment for these parks, using 2017 and 2018 budget dollars, is $1.7M.

When it comes to traffic improvements, planning is slated for the intersections of Prince of Wales Drive & Bankfield Road, Prince of Wales Drive & Barnsdale Road, First Line Road & Bankfield Road and Rideau Valley Drive & Barnsdale Road. Previously budgeted works are also expected to be carried out this year at Moodie Drive and Fallowfield Road.

The biggest issue across the City, and in every other municipality for that matter, is infrastructure renewal. For 2018, Rideau-Goulbourn will see the resurfacing of Rideau Valley Drive South as well as a small portion of Fallowfield Road around Moodie Drive. Another major renewal project for 2018 is the McBean Street Bridge. There will also be many culvert replacements throughout the ward. In cases like Rideau Valley Drive North, these culvert replacements are the precursor to full resurfacing. The previously mentioned $10M injection into renewal will be discussed early in the new year as recommendations are presented to the Finance & Economic Development Committee on how to allocate those funds.

In other areas, the 2018 budget adds 25 new Ottawa Police officers, 14 new paramedics, $100,000 for rural transportation to be distributed through service agencies, including Rural Ottawa South Support Services. This budget also sees increases to social services spending and increased transit to suburban growth areas as OC Transpo continues to prepare for the opening of LRT in 2018.

If you have any questions about any of the items listed above or anything else on the budget, please do not hesitate to contact me.

North Gower Client Service Centre

Please note that the Client Service Centre in North Gower will be closed on Thursday, December 28th and Thursday, January 4th. Normal hours will resume on Thursday, January 11th. With that said, I would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Onward and upward to 2018!

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If you have any comments, questions or concerns, please feel free to email me at [email protected] or contact me by phone at 613-580-2491. For information on Rideau-Goulbourn issues, please visit RideauGoulbourn.ca.

Looking back at 2016

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With 2017 and Canada’s 150th year-long birthday celebration merely days away, it’s time to look back at 2016 for a year in review. The past twelve months were busy with many issues directly impacting rural Ottawa. It was also a year for progress on several files and increased planning on many more.

2016 was a year of progress. More of Rideau-Goulbourn’s roads saw improvements with varying degrees of upgrades conducted on Bridge Street, Royal York Street, Ottawa Street, Moodie Drive, Mackey Road and Flewellyn Road. The village of Kars finally saw the end of construction on Rideau Valley Drive South and the end result was a main street that actually feels like a village main street. We reached a conclusion in our efforts to protect and promote Dickinson Square as a heritage district with the retention of the Carriage Shed and Dickinson House in City ownership. We also began construction on the new Remembrance Park on Dickinson Street, a beautiful addition to the Square. In North Gower, the Alfred Taylor Recreation Centre was the recipient of a new canteen building and new play equipment.

2016 was a year of controversy. City Council had many issues before it that were polarizing. In April, we brought forward a Vehicle-For-Hire By-Law creating a new policy in which ridesharing companies like Uber could legally operate within the City of Ottawa. At the same time, we loosened some of the regulations on the taxi industry recognizing the fact that, over the years, the industry had become over-regulated. In October, Council instituted a new Water, Sewer and Stormwater Rate Structure creating a system where the water and sewer rate budget can be managed in a more predictable manner with the aim of avoiding large rate hikes in the future. The new structure also balanced cost recovery of stormwater services across the City imposing a new fee on approximately 45,000 properties and lowering the fee on others. Earlier this month, Council approved an update to the Land Evaluation & Area Review which saw several changes to land designations, altering some from General Rural to Agricultural Resource Area and vice versa. Last, but not least this year, the City’s Public Library Board proposed a site for the future home of the Central Library. The new home is proposed to be at 557 Wellington Street, approximately 1.2 km west of the existing home at 120 Metcalfe.

2016 was also a year for community collaboration. The Remembrance Park became a reality thanks to the hard work of local residents and various community organizations, including the Manotick Legion. The preservation of Dickinson Square wouldn’t have been possible without Dickinson Square Heritage Management Inc., a group that represents over a dozen local organizations. The Manotick Arena Expansion is inching closer to construction thanks to groups like the Manotick Culture, Parks & Recreation Association. Community groups in Richmond have all come together to start planning the village’s bicentennial celebrations in 2018. Community organizations are what make our communities ever greater. My job would be impossible without them for which I am grateful. Whether it’s Burritt’s Rapids, Ashton, Fallowfield Village or any community in between, the countless local organizations work in partnership with my office, each other and the City to the benefit of all of us and that was never more obvious to me than in these past twelve months.

I hope that everyone had a pleasant Christmas and I wish you all a Happy New Year. See you in 2017!

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If you have any comments, questions or concerns, please feel free to email me at [email protected] or contact me by phone at 613-580-2491. For information on Rideau-Goulbourn issues, please visit RideauGoulbourn.ca.