Date: Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Time: 6:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. - Visit Displays
7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. - Presentations and Q&A
Location: Hunt Club/Riverside Community Centre
3320 Paul Anka Drive
(corner of Paul Anka & McCarthy)
The following organizations will be in attendance:
Enter to win a ride-along with me and Police Chief Vernon White. Certain restrictions will apply.
The deadline for receiving comments is Wednesday, May 7, 2008 for inclusion in a discussion at the joint meeting of the Transportation and Transit Committees on May 21,2008. Please e-mail your comments to me at Maria.McRae@ottawa.ca.
The Tulip shuttle will run along the scenic canal route between Dow's Lake and downtown Ottawa. The shuttle will operate every 15 minutes from noon until 6 p.m. during the Tulip Festival weekends: May 3-4,10-11, and 17-18-19,2008. Passes, transfers, bus tickets, O-Train tickets and Smart Cards will not be valid on the Tulip Shuttle, and the Tulip Shuttle Ticket will not be accepted on regular OC Transpo service.
Free parking and hundreds of spaces will be available at OC Transpo Park & Ride lots, which have frequent Transitway service to downtown where transfers can be made to the shuttle. Festival-goers can also park at Greenboro Station and ride in comfort aboard the O-Train to Carling Station, then take a short walk to the tulips and the Tulip Shuttle at Dow's Lake.
For more transit information, call OC Transpo at 613-741-4390 or visit octranspo.com.
The experiences are a prelude to the Program's public awareness campaign on speeding. One or more personal accounts will be selected for composing community articles, story ideas and an opportunity to be the honorary chairperson for the spring/summer campaign.
I encourage you to send me a short account of your experience - telling how it impacted your life, lives of your loved ones and friends, and/or the way you drive. Stories can be sent via email to me at Maria.McRae@ottawa.ca.
Very often when traffic safety is discussed, it revolves around numbers and statistics. Every number is more than a figure. It represents a human life that touches so many other lives.
Last year, 40 individuals lost their lives from collisions on our roadways. In addition, 80 per cent of those collisions were attributed to aggressive driving - which includes speeding. This is the reason why we are focussing on aggressive driving this year. Some collisions make the headlines for a day or two, but the personal scars from injury and loss last a lifetime.
May Initiative
This month, the City of Ottawa's Integrated Road Safety Program (IRSP), through its
Selective Traffic Enforcement Program (STEP), is focussing on stop sign running and speeding.
In 2007, 1,666 reportable collisions occurred on Ottawa roads due to drivers failing to stop for
stop signs. These collisions resulted in eight deaths and 588 injuries - 27 of them life-threatening.
Speeding is also a serious issue on Ottawa roads. In 2007, 3,107 reportable collisions occurred on
Ottawa roads as a result of drivers exceeding the speed limit or driving too fast for conditions.
These collisions resulted in 17 deaths and 967 injuries - including 57 serious injuries. This STEP
initiative is part of a larger awareness and enforcement campaign that runs from May through
August.
Consistent with this month's focus of stop sign safety and speeding, drivers will be educated about pedestrian and cycling safety in May and June. In 2007, 327 pedestrians and 257 cyclists were injured in traffic collisions. Ottawa students in grades 3 and 4 will be promoting the key message Safe Roads = Safe Kids for Safe Kids Week, the week of May 26, 2008 to June 1, 2008. Students created illustrations on ticket envelopes that the Ottawa Police will hand out to remind drivers of the importance of obeying speed limits, stopping for stop signs and crossing guards and to take extra caution in school zones.
Tennis nets are currently being installed at facilities across the city and it is expected that all courts should be open and operational by May 15, 2008 (weather permitting). Meanwhile, the City would kindly ask all residents to remain off of municipal tennis courts until Surface Operations has had the opportunity to finish cleaning and restoring these facilities.
Access to ball diamonds has been postponed until Monday, May 12, 2008 due to excess snow and water on fields and ball diamonds. Access to sports fields is not permitted prior to Thursday, May 15, 2008. Organizations with official City contracts can use the facilities, only on the dates specified in their contracts (weather permitting).
Thank you for helping to keep Ottawa's fields in good condition.
Registration is year-round and trees will be available on a first-come, first-served basis, while quantities last. The spring 2008 distribution is full. Registrations are now being accepted for the fall 2008 distribution in October. Once the registration for fall 2008 is complete, residents may register to receive a tree that will be available in spring 2009.
Residents who have registered to receive a tree for the spring 2008 distribution are reminded to pick up their tree at the location and time indicated on their registration letter.
The TREE Program is a four-year initiative, which began in 2007, that aims to enhance the City of Ottawa's urban and rural forests through the planting of 100,000 trees. In addition to the residential tree distribution, the TREE program offers the Community Tree Planting Grant program and opportunities for residents and community groups to suggest locations for new trees on City property. This program empowers residents, businesses, community groups and schools to participate in planting trees to increase and maintain the city's forest cover and combat climate change.
The Plan includes nine priority areas that will guide decision-making and strategic investments, shape partnerships with community groups, and reflect the values of residents and City Council. Highlights of some of the objectives contained in the plan include:
The need for a City Strategic Plan was first identified in the Ottawa 20/20 Growth Management Strategy approved in 2003, which establishes a vision for Ottawa's future. The City Strategic Plan establishes direction on how to achieve priorities within the context of Ottawa 20/20.
Please call 613-580-2486 to reserve your ticket(s). Space is limited.