Monthly Meeting
March 2, 2015
Attendees:
- John Sankey, President
- Christine Johnson, Vice President
- Peter Foulger, Treasurer
- Peter Brimacombe, Secretary
- Riley Brockington, Councillor
- Marilyn Koch
- Glenn MacCrimmon
- Al Gullon
- Sue McCarthy
- Ijeoma Udechukwu
- Brian Wade
- Marc Rivard
- Iga Dzikiewicz
- Vlad Tonkykh
John Sankey: Presented the agenda and asked for approval.
Motion: To approve the February minutes. Moved by Christine Johnson, seconded by Sue McCarthy, approved.
Brian Wade: He continues to recruit more members into the community garden project.
Councillor’s Report
Riley Brockington: The Ward Office in the Community Centre is open on Fridays. Sarah Barber is his assistant.
The Library Kiosk in the Community Centre is an automated machine. It’s broken but it’s under warranty and should be fixed soon.
Paul Landry Park: Most of the ash trees have been cut down because they are threatened with disease. They will be replaced in the autumn.
He attended an appreciation breakfast for rink operators. The City is offering free indoor skating because it is so cold.
Traffic Calming: He is looking at extending the kind of traffic calming that exists on Owl Drive. Once the snow plowing operations are over, meter sticks are put up in the center of the road to tell drivers to be more careful. He is looking at a stretch of Uplands Drive near Rhapsody Lane and on Paul Anka Drive between McCarthy and Uplands.
Peter Brimacombe: He drives along Paul Anka. The greatest risk is young children running out from between parked cars. When he can, he drives down the center of the road, straddling the centre line but this kind of driving would be impossible if there were meter sticks put up on the centre line.
Vlad Tonkykh: How many accidents are there along this stretch?
John Sankey: There have been 12 accidents near the Metro Plaza but we don’t know the kind of accidents. The Provincial Guidelines recommend that there be a 1 meter separation between parked cars and moving cars. Obviously this would be impossible if there were meter sticks in the centre of the road.
Ijeoma Udechukwu: She takes the bus which goes down Paul Anka. It’s so tight. Meter sticks would make it worse.
Iga Dzikiewicz: There is a big park right beside Paul Anka where children participate in sports activities. Right now the parents park on Paul Anka but there should be a separate parking lot.
John Sankey: The City could arrange with Metro Plaza to provide parking.
Al Gullon: People are not paying sufficient attention to their driving for the dangers. Shared Space is an internationally recognized program to put the onus on drivers to be responsible for the safety of everybody. This program can be put in place for very little cost. He would like to make a presentation to City staff. Where can he do it?
Riley Brockington: His sense is that there is no appetite for meter sticks along Paul Anka between McCarthy and Uplands.
Christine Johnson: There is no speed limit actually posted along that stretch even though the default limit is 50 km/hour.
Riley Brockington: He met with the National Capital Commission (NCC). The Southern Corridor is a big parcel of land south of the railway tracks that stretches from the Airport Parkway to Riverside Drive. McCarthy Road runs through it but there are no buildings on it. There is a wooded section beside McCarthy Road called McCarthy Woods. The NCC has no plans to develop it.
He met with the Chief Executive Officer of the Airport Authority Mark Laroche. They talked about the extension of the O Train to the Airport and how it will be funded.
Some residents complained about small planes flying over their houses.
He conducted a safety audit of the Airport Pedestrian Bridge.
He went to a breakfast for International Women’s Day.
Canada Post plans to discontinue door-to-door service in our area and instead bring in community mail boxes. It has proposed locations. Round 1 deals with the home-owners whose houses are directly behind them and round 2 deals with the general community.
Cahill Drive renaming: Cahill Drive is two separate roads, not connected. To avoid confusion by first responders such as fire and ambulance one of roads needs to be renamed. On the road east of Bank Street there are 250 residences but on the road west of Bank Street there are 350 residences. Because the road east of Bank Street has fewer residences, it should be renamed.
Speed boards on McCarthy Road: Because of the cold the batteries on the speed boards are wearing out in a few days instead of a few weeks.
Iga Dzikiewicz: She lives on Paul Anka between Hunt Club Road and Uplands Drive. Along the street there is only 2 meters between the driveways. There’s not enough room to park a car and when people do park they block her driveway. She would like to see a No Parking sign.
Riley Brockington: This is simply a bylaw enforcement issue. Call 311.
John Sankey: And make sure you get a log number.
Treasurer’s Report
Peter Foulger: He presented the Treasurer’s Report. He received $40 for memberships in February and cheques from the Newsletter sponsors. He is still waiting for a cheque from the City to pay for part of the cost of the new projector. He has made inquiries and thinks the cheque will be here soon.
Newsletter
Sue McCarthy: The March issue was her first as Editor. Thank you to Christine Johnson and John Sankey for their help. There were more offers to write articles than there was space.
Christine Johnson: She heard that people enjoyed the Newsletter.
Paul Landry Park
Christine Johnson: Last meeting we talked about how to attract volunteers who would clean up Paul Landry Park.
John Sankey: He has enlisted the support of the Ottawa Stewardship Council and the Ottawa Nut Growers. These two groups would specify the kind of trees to be planted but the plans have to be revised because of the wholesale removal of trees on the site.
Motion: To approve the expenditure of $30 towards the printing and distribution of flyers advertising the volunteer meeting on April 13. Moved by Christine Johnson, seconded by Sue McCarthy, carried.
Community Festival
Sue McCarthy: She met with Kevan Shantz, Director of Recreation at the Hunt Club/Riverside Community Centre. They talked about a community festival at the Community Centre and the kind of events they could have. There could be karate and dance demonstrations. The idea is to showcase our community spirit!
Christine Johnson: There needs to be publicity to bring in the people.
Ijeoma Udechukwu: The South East Ottawa Health Centre has a once-a-year event. It is very successful!
It was decided that Sue McCarthy would be the lead.
South East Ottawa Health Centre
Ijeoma Udechukwu: The South East Ottawa Health Centre would like to make a presentation on voter participation in elections: Federal, Provincial and Municipal. Voter turn-out in our area has been dropping. There was general agreement to host a presentation on voter participation.
Next meeting: Monday April 13 at 19:00