5 Things on My Mind, as the Ottawa Winter Turns to Spring

KZM parkway, Lansdowne, outdoor stairs, winter salt, police board

1. Kichi Zibi Mikan Parkway Community Walk and Talk

Do you have ideas for improving the Kichi Zibi Mikan parkway along the Ottawa River?

Or thoughts on how we grow more community-led programming, such as the spectacularly successful urban winter trail network?

Of course you do! Join a community walk and/or talk organized by Parkways for People on March 17/18 and share those ideas.

Maybe you share my opinion that the parkway should be turned into a 2-lane road, like all the other parkways in the region, with the two lanes closest to the river used for active use. If we repurposed the eastbound lanes and the lane immediately to its north, could the Kichi Zibi Mikan parkway someday become a national urban park?

Register for the discussion on Eventbrite.

2. Lansdowne is not a done deal

This stadium and arena can be maintained in its current state for the next 40 years at an estimated cost of $1m/year, according to the City’s own report. Not to mention that we spent probably about $50m (the City won’t share the exact number) renovating this facility a decade ago.

The fight about whether this City spends half a billion dollars to tear down and rebuild a perfectly-ok stadium at Lansdowne is NOT a done deal. The City and other proponents want you to think it is, so that people will stop opposing us pouring money into a new stadium when that money could be spent on housing, transit or other pressing needs.

So what’s next in the decision-making process?

1- April 2. City Council’s Finance Committee will consider procurement recommendations for Lansdowne 2.0, and full Council will vote on the proposal on April 17. This might be a little technical, but anyone interested in speaking to Committee can do so by contacting melinda.aston@ottawa.ca and asking to be on the public delegations list. Docs will be available a week or two in advance on the Council agenda website.

2- June 10. The Auditor General will present her first audit — this one on the Lansdowne financials — at the City’s Audit Committee. I would encourage anyone to sign up and speak if you have concerns with the Lansdowne financials, by emailing melanie.blais@ottawa.ca.

2- Sometime later this year. City Council will vote on its final approval to proceed, when an updated “Class B” estimate is presented with more accurate costs for the project. The current estimate, of $419m for the stadium/events centre plus $19m for new underground parking, is a “Class C” estimate — which city staff have characterized as a ballpark estimate.

3. Winter stairs maintenance

The City took a step forward this year with its winter stairs clearing program, keeping the steps on the Flora and Corkstown Bridges open this winter.

But with climate change dramatically shortening our 2023-24 winter, we should be asking when these and other steps fully reopen. When with the barriers be removed? We’ve already missed out a couple of weeks of useable conditions; how many more weeks will we have to wait until the barriers come down?

4. Salt is holding back active transportation

Pass (on) the salt please, at Lansdowne Park.

Winter cycling is growing in popularity. Montreal has the data that if you provide separated bike lanes and clear them, people will use them year round. We talked about this in our sister publication, Fix Your City.

Fix Biking 7: 4+4 Essentials for Winter Cycling

This year, we have had a very mild and short winter. In Ottawa, there has been a few weeks already this February/March where anyone could be comfortable cycling — not just the winter enthusiasts.

But there is a problem: road salt. Salt kills bikes pretty quickly. And our bike lanes (and sidewalks as my dogs point out to me) are overflowing with salt.

There are salternatives! Edmonton, Calgary and Toronto are just a few of the cities testing out alternatives to road salt.

Road salt poses serious challenges to the local ecology and watershed, as the Ottawa Riverkeeper has been documenting. Salt is also a barrier to more active transportation in the winter, and in this shoulder season. No one wants to rust out their bike, but that is what can happen from riding even occasionally.

It’s time for Ottawa to get on board with testing salternatives.

5. Police Services Board

As a surprise to no one, I was not appointed to the Ottawa Police Services Board.

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It looks like this guy got appointed. Let’s give the new appointee the benefit of the doubt.

I look forward to seeing if he lives up to the title of “Citizen Appointee”. I truly hope he is not just another “Old Boys’ Club Appointee”.