Locals demand better bike safety

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There’s a whole lot to get to today, including the latest on bike safety, a new name for the parkway, and of course the best events going on this weekend.

Let’s get to it.

— Robert Hiltz, managing editor

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Weather Report

Friday: 27 🌡️ 19 | ⛅️

Saturday: 27 🌡️ 18 | 🌧

Sunday: 29 🌡️ 19 | 🌦

Monday: 27 🌡️ 19 | 🌧

CYCLING

Dozens rally for better bike safety

What happened: Early Thursday, members of the community gathered at Gladstone and Rochester to demand safer cycling infrastructure in the area, CBC reported. They came to the same spot where a cyclist was hit by a dump truck driver and critically injured last week.

• The street is listed as a truck route in the city, but is also listed as a major cycling corridor.

History repeating: Nicole Grindell’s son was struck and killed at the same intersection 20 years ago. She said she was “shocked” that nothing had changed in the intervening decades.

• “When I saw that mangled bike on the corner that was exactly on the same corner, it shook me.… So many people in that community were impacted because of my son's passing. I can't imagine that this is still going on and nothing is being done to protect the cyclists and even the drivers,” she told CBC.

Council action: Coun. Ariel Troster had a motion passed later that morning at the transportation committee asking staff to prepare a feasibility study to add protected bike lanes along Gladstone in the area. The motion, which was carried unanimously, also asked staff to evaluate removing Bronson, Gladstone, and Preston from the designated truck routes; and to see what changes can be immediately made to the traffic signals at the intersection to make it safer.

• Earlier in the meeting, Coun. David Brown asked staff to report back on how much a review of the city’s truck routes would cost. A comprehensive review of the routes has functionally never been done by the amalgamated city of Ottawa. (A 2005 review was done to harmonize the routes with the newly joined municipalities of the region.)

Bike share return?

Bring it back: Coun. Shawn Menard had a motion passed asking that council endorse a study to bring back bike sharing in the city. The study would be completed by 2025, and suggest options for a system that would best suit the city.

OTTAWA BY THE NUMBERS

🎁 99: The number of drone flights dropping contraband last year at Kingston’s Collins Bay prison. [CBC]

🐲 1,000: The number of zongzi, a sticky rice dumpling, Ottawa’s Yan Song is making for the Dragon Boat Festival this year. [CBC]

🍞📈 $50 million: The size of a fine the Canada Bread Company will have to pay for its part in the national bread price fixing scandal. Canada Bread was owned by Maple Leaf Foods during the years it admitted to rigging the price of bread with other Canadian companies. [CTV]

NATIONAL INDIGENOUS HISTORY MONTH

NCC votes to rename SJAM parkway

What happened: The NCC board voted to rename the Sir John A Macdonald Parkway parkway the Kichi Zībī Mīkan, meaning “Great River Road” in the Algonquin language.

• The official unveiling of the new signs will be in September.

Why the new name: The Ottawa River Parkway was renamed in 2012 in honour of Macdonald, Canada’s first prime minister. Macdonald was instrumental in setting up the Residential School system, which ripped Indigenous children away from their families in an attempt at forced assimilation. The NCC said the renaming was part of its commitment to living up to the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

“This name was selected through an Algonquin naming and engagement exercise, reflecting the longstanding and important relationship of the Algonquin Nation to the Ottawa River along which the parkway runs,” the NCC said in a statement.

• “Indigenous languages and place names carry stories and cultural references, and this provides an opportunity for meaningful reconciliation and a way to honour the history of the region,” NCC CEO Tobi Nussbaum said in a statement.

Possible arena at LeBreton

Extending the deadline: The NCC also announced it had extended the deadline for the Ottawa Senators to complete the due diligence on a possible new arena on LeBreton Flats, with the commission controls, CTV reported.

A year ago, the team signed a memorandum of understanding for the construction of the new arena. The NCC hopes to get a long-term lease signed by the fall. The commission extended its initial 12-month deadline for the team to make a decision because of the recent purchase of the Sens by Michael Andlauer.

THE AGENDA

🪖 The bodies of the two missing crew members of the helicopter that crashed in the Ottawa River were found. The pilot and co-pilot were found dead after an intensive search after the CH-147F Chinook helicopter went down near the Petawawa Garrison on a training mission. [CTV]

🚑 Twenty years after a coroner’s inquest recommended the city upgrade its paramedic dispatching system to better triage calls, a new system is finally being put into place. The recommendation was made after 75-year-old Alice Martin died in 2004, who waited 20 minutes for an ambulance to arrive when she was having a heart attack. [CBC]

📲 OC Transpo is discontinuing its own smartphone app and has now partnered with the app Transit. All OC Transpo riders now have free access to the upgraded Royale service on the app. [CTV]

🔥 The Ministry of Natural Resources is looking to identify the individuals who left a fire unattended in a no-burn zone on Centennial Lake. The unattended fire lit the wildfire in the region which forced dozens of people from their homes. [CTV]

�� The intense wildfire season this year is likely to push up insurance premiums across the country, according to one of the biggest providers in the province. [Ottawa Citizen]

🐻 Sightings of a black bear in the Stittsville area continue. Police said they are keeping an eye on the bear, and hope to be able to safely relocate it. [CTV]

⚖️ Three former members of the Metis Nation of Ontario have been charged with fraud for the alleged misappropriation of $90,000. The three are expected to appear in a Napanee court in July. [Ottawa Citizen]

🚒 No one was injured when the cab of a garbage truck burst into flames in Barrhaven. The driver tried to put out the flames with a fire extinguisher, but firefighters were needed to put down the blaze. [CTV]

😷 Next week the program offering free COVID tests will end. This concerns some experts because a possible fall surge could be harder to detect, with people forced to pay for testing. [Ottawa Citizen]

SPONSORED BY SUMMER SOLSTICE INDIGENOUS FESTIVAL

Weekend plans? Check out The Summer Solstice Indigenous Festival

Free programming continues all weekend long at Mādahòkì Farm! Don't miss Amanda Rheaume, World Champion Hoop Dancer Scott Sinquah, lively Métis jigging, movie screenings and more!

It's fun for the entire family, including community mural painting to visiting the resident farm animals, which include the rare and endangered Ojibwe Spirit Horses. See all the events here.

Grab a free shuttle from Algonquin College. No parking at site.

EVENTS

What to do this weekend

Arts

🎭 Jekyll & Hyde The Musical, Friday and Saturday 7:30 pm: You know the story, now see it in the bold and dynamic musical. At the Carleton Dominion-Chalmers Centre, 355 Cooper St. Tickets $42.

Food

🧀 Wine and Cheese Night, Saturday 5:30 pm: A night of wine, food and great entertainment. Realtor Tyler Posadovsky is hosting this fundraiser for Parkinson's disease through the Boxing 4 Health organization. At Jabulani Vineyard, 8005 Jock Trail. Tickets $28.

Kids/Family

🐑 Sheep Shearing at the Log Farm, Sunday 9 am: A once a year event where all the sheep are shorn, with discussions about sheep, wool, and sheep handling. Every ticket also gives access to the rest of the farm. Shearing demonstrations from 10 am to 2 pm. At the Log Farm, 670 Cedarview Rd. Tickets $13.

Market

👗 Summer SupportHER Sale, Friday to Sunday: The annual sale of designer fashions to support. All Women Empowered Suite of Programs at Dress for Success Ottawa. At Dress for Success, 200 Catherine St. Register for weekend walk-ins, early access Friday for $33.

🧩 Ottawa Puzzle Swap/Sell Meetup Market, Saturday 1 pm: Bring your puzzles to swap and sell at this local meetup up. Buy and trade to feed your puzzle cravings. At the RA Centre Clarke Hall, 2451 Riverside Dr. Tickets $5.

Culture

🌍 ACAO Celebrates Canadian Multiculturalism Festival, Saturday 11 am: The African Canadian Association of Ottawa is hosting the festival of local artists, children's games, drumming and cultural performances, fashion and authentic food. At Vincent Massey Park. Attendance is free.

🇧🇷 Festa de São João 2023, Saturday 8 pm: A night celebrating Brazilian culture, featuring Luciano Lu & Zé Fuá Band. Dress up in São João style. At Queen St. Fare 170 Queen St. Tickets $17.

🍔 Jami Omar Annual Family BBQ and Bazaar, Sunday 12 pm: Come on out Sunday for a great day with the family with food and plenty of vendors. At 3990 Old Richmond Rd. A $5 ticket gets you a burger, drink, and ice cream.

CAPITAL EATS

This week in food

Every week our team at Capital Eats scours Ottawa for the best places to eat, drinks to try and events to attend. Here’s a breakdown of all the biggest stories

🇲🇽 A local couple fell in love with Mexico, and wanted to bring back some of the best the country had to offer. So they started this local tequila brand you won’t want to miss.

👩‍🌾 Ottawa has an abundance of farmers’ markets, here’s our food editor’s guide to some of the biggest.

(Insiders) 🍻 This brewery is only open two days a week, but it’s making world-famous brews. Check out this gem, just outside the city.

(Insiders) 🍷 Summer calls for rosé. This delicate, dry, and delicious wine is one you’ll want to pick up for the patio this season.

(Insiders) 🍺 This year’s Orléans Beer Fest was a smashing success. Here are some of the top vendors you’ll want to try for great local suds.

COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHTS

• Keep your eyes on your change for a new toonie honouring Indigenous people now in circulation. [CTV]

• Free events all weekend long at The Summer Solstice Indigenous Festival. Don't miss Amanda Rheaume, World Champion Hoop Dancer Scott Sinquah, lively Métis jigging, movie screenings and more!*

• Next month the Herb and Spice Shop Wellington will close its doors after 50 years in business. [CTV]

• Do you know these people? Someone found an old camera with film in it and is hoping to identify the subjects. [Reddit]

• Ottawa will once again host the World Junior Hockey Championship, with the international tournament coming to the city in 2025. [CTV]

• The Moon and Venus are close together in the night sky, making for some spectacular photos. [Reddit]

• Want to have your announcement featured? Contact our partnership team for more info.

*Sponsored content

TOP PHOTO

Today’s photo of the National Art Gallery comes courtesy Chris Watson Santerre, who said: “My hobby in retirement is taking pictures, mostly in black and white.”

Do you have a photo you’d like to share with the Lookout community? Send it in!

OTTAWA GAMES

Congrats to Diane, James, Koosha, Chantal, and Leanne who all knew this week’s Ottawa Guesser was Faircrest Park, on Smyth Road across from the General Campus of the Ottawa Hospital. Well done!

Do you think you can get this week’s Ottawa Wordle? Play now!

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