River Ward City Councillor Maria McRae's Report to Hunt Club Community Organization 3 May 2010

Hunt Club Community Pathway Environmental Study Update

The Ministry of the Environment has no record of any Part II (bump up) order requests and therefore the City can proceed to the next step of this project.

City staff are now in the two-stage Request for Quotation/Request for Proposal (RFQ/RFP) engineering consultant selection process. The RFQ closing date is May 6, 2010. Following the RFQ closing date, staff will review the submissions and put together a shortlist of engineering consultants for the RFP Stage.

Official Opening of the Expanded Hunt Club-Riverside Park Community Centre

I am pleased to invite you and your neighbours to attend the Official Opening of the Expanded Hunt Club-Riverside Park Community Centre. Please join residents of our community, City of Ottawa staff, local school principals, teachers and staff and other special guests, for a complimentary B.B.Q, music, cotton candy and tours of your expanded and renovated Centre. Your Centre offers one-stop shopping for many programs and services.

Event details are as follows:
Date: Friday, May 7, 2010
Time: 5:00 to 8:00 p.m.
5:00 to 5:30 p.m. Formal Ceremony and Ribbon Cutting
5:30 to 6:30 p.m. B.B.Q.
5:30 to 8:00 p.m. Enjoy the music, tour your Centre, have fun!
Place: Hunt Club-Riverside Park Community Centre, 3320 Paul Anka Drive

Annual Community Safety and Crime Prevention Meeting

I welcome you to join me at my Annual Community Safety and Crime Prevention meeting:
Date: Monday, May 10, 2010
Time: Visit Displays 6:30 to 7:00 p.m.
Presentations and Q&A 7:00 to 8:30 p.m.
Location: Hunt Club/Riverside Park Community Centre, 3320 Paul Anka Drive

You will have the opportunity to address community safety and crime prevention issues that are important to you and to learn more about services available to you.

Fire Hydrant Testing

This summer, the City of Ottawa will be testing fire hydrants to ensure they are working properly. The fire hydrant testing initiative is an ongoing program that is performed each summer. It takes two years to complete testing of every one of Ottawa's 18,299 fire hydrants. Between May and September, fire hydrants will be tested in the central/east and the south/west areas of the City. Flushing water through the hydrants at a very high flow rate checks their operation and flow capacity.

Due to weather and some hydrants that may need repair, it isn't possible to predict the exact day a crew will be in your neighbourhood. However, a flyer will be delivered to your home to advise you that testing will be done on your street in the near future. The City's water information line at 613-560-6089 will be updated daily with the streets that will be tested on that day.

Although fire hydrant testing is a routine maintenance procedure, it may temporarily inconvenience residents in nearby homes. Discharging water at a high flow rate during testing disturbs sediments in the water distribution system. As a result, during and immediately after testing, brown or rust-coloured water may temporarily flow out of your taps. It is important to remember that discoloured water is not harmful to your health, however, since it can stain clothing and linens, it's best to purge it out of your water system.

Hydrant testing can also reduce regular water pressure. Reduced water pressure should only be intermittent while the hydrants are being tested. Your water pressure will return to normal when the testing is complete.

While hydrants are being flushed on your street, it's advisable to turn off your taps for about 20 minutes and not do laundry or run the dishwasher. When work crews have left the area, turn on one of your cold-water taps for a few minutes to flush out the pipes until the water runs clear.

OC Transpo Rack and Roll

On April 18, 2010, OC Transpo introduced the return of Rack&Roll service for cyclists. Bike racks will be installed on more than 350 buses, so cyclists can ride the bus and take their bike with them. Nine routes, 12, 85, 95, 96, 97, 99, 101, 106 and 118, are designated Rack&Roll routes, which have bike racks on most trips.

Integrated Road Safety Program (IRSP)

May Initiative
Speeding and running or rolling through stop signs is the focus of this month=E2=80=99s Selective Traffic Enforcement Program (STEP). STEP is a monthly initiative operated by the City of Ottawa Integrated Road Safety Program (IRSP). In 2008, 1,671 reportable collisions occurred at Ottawa stop sign-controlled intersections. These collisions resulted in one death and 456 injuries - 17 of them life-threatening.

Speeding is also a serious issue on Ottawa roads. In 2008, exceeding the speed limit or travelling too fast for road and weather conditions resulted in 3,592 reportable collisions, resulting in nine deaths and 990 injuries (55 of those were serious).

Firefighter Summer Camp for Girls

Camp Female Firefighters in Training (FITT) is a weeklong day camp for young women between the ages of 15 and 19 that runs August 16 to 20, 2010. It is operated in partnership with Ottawa Fire Services and Fire Service Women of Ontario =E2=80=93 a non-profit association of career and volunteer women from across Ontario.

Qualified members of Ottawa Fire Services will teach the young women basic firefighting training as well as team building, basic pump and ladder operations, auto extrication and how to use a self-contained breathing apparatus.

The cost of the camp is $150. Participants will require steel-toe boots and an OHIP or another provincial health insurance card. Applications are available on-line to be downloaded, completed and mailed to the return address that is provided on the form.

Camp FITT provides young women an opportunity to experience first-hand what it takes to be firefighter =E2=80=93 including physical fitness, being a team-player and possessing a strong work ethic. And more importantly, it provides them the self-confidence to explore a career in one of the most reputable public service professions in the world, firefighting.

For more information on Camp FITT, feel free to visit www.ottawa.ca.

Pedestrian Safety Evaluation Program

On April 28, 2010, City Council took a step to further improve pedestrian safety at Ottawa intersections. The Pedestrian Safety Evaluation Program, a three-year pilot project aimed at minimizing the frequency and severity of preventable collisions involving pedestrians, was approved by Council and will review approximately 23 intersections for pedestrian safety.

Community engagement will be a key component in all phases of the program as City staff assess safety issues and risks at identified intersections. Donald Street and the Vanier Parkway; and Carling Avenue and Holland Avenue will be the first intersections reviewed. Funds are already allocated within the Safety Improvement Program Capital Budget.

Half-price Parking for Motorcycles and Scooters

Motorcycle and scooter enthusiasts can once again park for half of the regular parking price at Ottawa City Hall, 110 Laurier Avenue West (enter from Laurier Avenue or from Elgin Street at Nepean Street) and 70 Clarence Street in the ByWard Market. The motorcycle and scooter parking area in the ByWard Market, which officially opened last year, has a separate entrance with a Pay and Display machine and 31 motorcycle/scooter-sized parking spaces. Spaces at the City Hall parking garage are not configured specifically for motorcycles and scooters, however visitors to City Hall, or those accessing the many restaurants and attractions nearby, can take advantage of the half price fee.

The convenient half-priced parking is intended to encourage use of smaller, fuel-efficient forms of transportation.