Councillor’s Corner
Sep 5, 2021 - By Riley BrockingtonRiver Ward Update
Hunt Club-Riverside Park Community Centre Now Open
Our community centre fall opening hours:
● Weekdays (7:30 am – 9:30 pm)
● Weekends (8:30 am – 4:45 pm)
The weight and cardio room has re-opened and is available by appointment for one-hour time slots during the above times and days. Visit the City’s website and click on “schedules” to reserve your spot. Up to four people are permitted per time slot. The library kiosks have been loaded with fresh items and the holds pickup service has returned. Rentals of the community centre will be considered within the updated restrictions.
After school care will be provided in September. Registration has been heavy.
Ottawa Public Library
The Ottawa Public Library’s Bookmobile continues to make pit stops in Hunt Club every week, including every Wednesday from 3:30-5pm at 3310 McCarthy Drive and at 185 Owl Drive from 6:15-8pm.
Consultations
Curbside Waste Diversion
The City of Ottawa is engaging on options for the Solid Waste Master Plan, and curbside garbage collection is up first. Between now and Sept. 12, the City is seeking your input on 3 options to divert more garbage:
● Partial pay-as-you throw: Households would be allowed to place a set number of garbage items out for collection. Households with more than this limit would purchase garbage tags for each additional item. Recycling, organics, and leaf and yard waste would still be picked up without any tags and with no limits.
● Reduced item limits: Households would set out a reduced number of garbage items for collection. Anything above the limit would not be collected.
● Clear garbage bags with recycling and organics bans: Households would set out their garbage in clear bags. Recyclables and organic waste would not be permitted in the garbage.
Visit ottawa.ca/wasteplan to have your say by completing an online survey and signing up for virtual workshops.
Development
1026-1054 Hunt Club Road – Claridge Homes
Construction of the Foxview Retirement Community by Claridge Homes is just wrapping up and is scheduled to open in September. The 8-storey residence at 1026 Hunt Club Road near the Airport Parkway will feature 147 units. Claridge says it has set aside its plans for Phase 2 and it is not yet known if or when that will move forward. The City had been waiting for the company’s formal resubmission of its Phase 2 proposal for 1054 Hunt Club Road to address staff and community feedback. The company’s revised vision was to construct a 7-storey building with 77 rental apartment units with one and two bedrooms rather than an early vision of a 150-room hotel.
400 Hunt Club Road – Otto’s BMW Development Proposal
The zoning amendment application for 400 Hunt Club Road by Otto’s BMW has been lifted. This means that this application will not be heard at the Sept. 9 Planning Committee meeting. Otto’s has been considering plans to expand and lease lands from the Ottawa International Airport Authority to transform almost 4 acres of red pine forest into an employee parking lot and outdoor vehicle storage area. During separate meetings with the applicant and Airport officials, I have been very clear that suitable land is available in the vicinity that can yield a win to all parties. This must be reviewed. At the applicant’s request, the application was pulled from the meeting agenda to allow more time to review their application and consider different viable options. After this review, the applicant may choose to abandon their application for 400 Hunt Club Road or resubmit it and it will appear at a future Planning Committee meeting. This review will take a number of months to complete.
Thank you to community members who have been steadfast in their opposition to this application and who have mounted an unprecedented campaign that has brought an important focus on the value of urban forests. I applaud their efforts.
Riverside Drive at Hunt Club Road
Taggart Developments is kicking the tires again on this dormant file. I expect to learn more about their revised plans soon and will provide another update at the Sept. 13 HCCA meeting.
Parks & Greenspaces
McCarthy Park Basketball Court
Plans to construct a 15m x 28m regulation-size basketball court where the outdoor rink is in McCarthy Park at the Hunt Club-Riverside Park Community Centre are proceeding. The project will include a new asphalt pad, two removable uprights and new lighting. An accessible pathway will be added. The tender for the project closed August 5. Construction is expected this Autumn.
Uplands-Riverside Park
The lines of the basketball court in Uplands-Riverside Park in the Quinterra community, northwest of Hunt Club Road and Riverside Drive, are expected to be repainted this summer.
Reforestation Work
This fall, forestry staff will be doing tending and planting work in three areas of the ward where
ash trees were removed due to impacts by the Emerald Ash Borer.
● Paul Landry Park,
● the woodlot adjacent to the Airport Parkway and at the rear of Plante Drive and
● the woodlot adjacent to the Airport Parkway at the rear of Cromwell Drive.
Following the removal of ash trees impacted by Emerald Ash Borer, and subsequent reforestation work, tending and planting operations are now required to ensure the successful rehabilitation of these wooded areas. Operations will include the removal and treatment of invasive plants and other competing species to allow for existing and planted native trees to succeed in addition to large-scale tree planting. Typical reforestation species include: red, sugar, and silver maple, bitternut hickory, blue-beech, burr and red oak, poplar species, white pine, white spruce, hemlock, larch, and dogwood. Operations are planned to begin the week of September 27. I have connected the Forestry Department with a community association member who has been very active on the reforestation plan for Paul Landry Park.
Roads & Infrastructure
Fibre Optic Installations
Telecon has been contracted by Bell Canada to install fibre optic networking cable on the City’s right-of-way along Uplands Drive, Gillespie Crescent, Rich Little Drive, Vanhurst Place, Archer Square, Country Club Drive, Chase Court, The Masters Drive, Fox Hunt Avenue, Ratan Court, Rhapsody Lane and Huntwood Court. Currently underway, the anticipated completion date is November 10. The work will include directional boring, where trenching is required, to place new Bell conduit. New Bell service wire and new grade-level boxes will be installed.
Telecon is also installing a new Bell Canada fibre optic network along the City’s right-of-way on Vizard Street, Hackett Street, Welby Court, Singler Place, Chatsworth Crescent, Gillespie Crescent from Uplands Drive to Hackett Street, Uplands Drive from North Bowesville Road to Gillespie Crescent, and Foxrun Lane from Uplands Drive to The Masters Drive. This work will also include directional boring, micro trenching, hydro excavation and existing conduit infrastructure. The project, including restoration, is expected to be complete by the end of September.
Both projects were granted municipal consent earlier this year. For questions or concerns, please email Customer.care@telecon.ca or call 1-833-386-8227.
McCarthy Road Curve
I remain persistent in my pursuit to improve the overall safety of the McCarthy curve, between Plante and the train tracks. Speed and carelessness is the number one factor that causes most vehicles to leave the road. I remain very concerned for the safety of pedestrians on the east side sidewalk and I am working with City staff to possibly try a new feature in 2022.
Airport Parkway Widening
The first phase of the Airport Parkway widening project, from Brookfield Road to Hunt Club Road, has been initiated and a Request for Qualifications has been completed. Four consulting firms have been shortlisted and will be invited to submit proposals to undertake the design work. City staff anticipate awarding the engineering design contract this fall with the design work to be complete by the end of 2023. Construction is currently scheduled to start early in 2024 with substantial completion anticipated by the end of 2025. As part of the widening project, a southbound off-ramp to Walkley Road and a roundabout will be built. When the off- ramp at Walkley opens, there is a proposal to reduce the number of travel lanes from 4 to 2 between the Parkway and McCarthy Road. A new multi-use pathway will also be added on the west side of the Parkway from Brookfield to Hunt Club.
Hunt Club Road Resurfacing
The westbound lanes of Hunt Club Road, from the Airport Parkway to Paul Anka Drive, are expected to be resurfaced this year. The project’s tender closed August 3. Construction is expected to begin this fall and take approximately one month to complete. I anticipate receiving an update soon once the contractor finalizes their project timelines.
Stage 2 Trillium LRT Construction
Greenboro LRT Station
The platform duct bank has been poured. Underway now is construction for the new platform slab and installation of the platform stairs. Upcoming work will include the installation of structural steel for the existing platform.
South Keys Station
Work continues for the under-slab insulation, waterproofing and base slab pour. Crews also continue to work on the north wing wall. Construction has started on the north grade beam. Also ongoing is the installation of underground plumbing and waterproofing of the station. Upcoming works will include structural steel installation for the station, the south distribution approach slab, base slab for the station and the pedestrian tunnel.
Hunt Club Rail-over-Road Bridge
The rail and pedestrian bridge over Hunt Club Rail continues to take shape. Vertical construction in the median of Hunt Club Road continues in preparation for the installation of the bridge supports later this fall. Crews will also be working on the rail bed in the north and south approaches to the rail bridge.
Events
E-Waste Depots
I held two successful electronic waste depots this year, one on April 24 at the Hunt Club- Riverside Park Community Centre where more than 30,000 pounds of waste was collected. On August 21, I co-hosted an electronic waste drop-off event with Alta Vista Councillor Jean Cloutier at the Jim Durrell Recreation Centre, my second depot this year. Just over 32,000 pounds of electronic waste were collected.
Household Hazardous Waste Depots
Mark your calendar. Future dates for The City of Ottawa’s household hazardous waste depots: ● Sept. 12, 8 am to 4 pm: Tunney’s Pasture
● Sept. 26, 8 am to 4 pm: Trail Road Waste Facility, 4475 Trail Road
● Oct. 24, 8 am to 4 pm: Westbrook Snow Dump, 200 Westbrook Road
River Ward Newsletter
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Riley Brockington
City Councillor, River Ward
Conseiller municipal, Quartier Rivière 613-580-2486
