Electric bus pilot shows real promise

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Good morning!

I hope that most of you near the Ottawa River have been able to keep yourselves, and your homes dry. The good news is that the water is expected to start dropping this week. And, fortunately, the weather forecast for the next while is nice and dry, so we won’t be seeing it come back up.

Today we’ve got news about electric buses — believe it or not, the city has done some due diligence testing them — and news on how a proposed garbage bag tag system would work if the city decides to go ahead with it.

Let’s get to it.

— Robert Hiltz, managing editor

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Weather Report

Monday: 18 🌡️ 2 | ☀️

Tuesday: 18 🌡️ 2 | ☀️

Wednesday: 22 🌡️ 9 | ☀️

WEEKLY LOOKOUT

🪵 Ice storm cleanup: City crews continue to fan out across the city collecting and chipping tree debris from the ice storm a few weeks ago. A city memo from last Friday said about 20 percent of roads had been cleared.

🌷 Tulip Festival: The annual festival of flowers kicks off on Friday for 10 days of outdoor beauty.

🏛️ City manager: The shortlist of candidates to be the next permanent city manager will be presented to council Friday. The previous manager, Steve Kanelakos, abruptly resigned just days before the LRT inquiry was published, which questioned whether he was truthful with council and the public. [Ottawa Citizen]

TRANSIT

Electric bus pilot shows zero-emission vehicles work

What happened: An OC Transpo pilot program to try out four electric buses has gone quite well, CBC reported. The buses performed the same duties as a regular diesel bus over the last year.

Route lengths: The buses could run for 10 hours and more than 200 kilometres. The current fleet has “met or surpassed the range and efficiency data,” the Ottawa Citizen reported.

• The efficiency of the buses drops in colder weather when electric heaters need to be turned on. They have a small diesel generator to run the heating system when temperatures are particularly low.

More buses: Later this year or early next year, another 26 electric buses are expected to enter OC Transpo’s fleet. The timing will depend on the Toronto Transit Commission, who will pick a bus fleet first. Ottawa decided to follow Toronto’s procurement plan, rather than run a parallel program.

One driver complaint: Drivers were pretty satisfied with the buses. The one issue that stuck out was the steering wheel was much smaller than what they’re used to on the other fleet buses, CBC reported.

Lessons learned? The buses were taken on several winter tests to see how they performed in bad weather. During the major snowstorm in January, with some 50 cm of snow falling, buses started and stopped on roads and hills with limited plowing and no salt. OC Transpo has also run buses with containers of water to simulate a full load of passengers to test their efficiency.

• One of the major issues with the LRT testing was the lack of winter testing. Because of the rush to get the system into service, many failures were discovered once the LRT was already online, leading to horrible delays and frequent problems.

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OTTAWA BY THE NUMBERS

🚴‍♂️ $1,808,060: The record amount the CN Cycle for CHEO raised this Sunday for the hospital’s oncology department, beating last year’s record of $1.4 million. [CTV]

🔼 $23,000: The average raise PSAC members will see over the length of the tentative new agreement following the public service strike. [CTV]

TRASH

How the city’s proposed bag-tag system will work

What happened: Hoping to encourage green bin usage, city staff proposed a bag tag system to discourage curbside garbage, CTV reported. Green bin and recycling pickup would be unlimited for the year.

• Similar plans are in place across the region, including in Carleton Place, Kingston, and Gatineau.

How it would work: Next year, each household would get 55 tags for the year. Each bin or bag put out on garbage day would need a tag to be picked up. If a home runs out of tags, each additional tag would cost $3. A bin can be as large as 140 litres, and only the top bag would need a tag.

• “A garbage item could be a garbage bag, container, or bulky item.… Households can put several smaller bags in containers up to 140 litres with no need to purchase additional bags or tags,” the city told the broadcaster.

Goal: The province has set goals for the city to eliminate 70 percent of food waste from regular garbage by the end of the year. The city is at about 60 percent right now, CTV reported. The city expects the garbage collected to drop by 19 percent in the first year and 28 percent after five years.

Dump life: The Trail Road facility is expected to be full between 2036 and 2038. It could take as many as 15 years and cost between $300 million and $450 million.

The plan goes for an initial vote at the environment committee June 5, and the full council will vote on it June 14.

NEW LOCAL JOBS

Check out the new open positions in Ottawa.

1. Environmental health and safety specialist at Shirley Parsons

2. Procurement officer at NAV Canada

3. Administrator to the oppression prevention and human rights bureau at the Public Service Alliance of Canada

4. Performance analyst at NSERC

5. Resolution officer at Canadian Transport Agency

THE AGENDA

⚖️ The video of Ottawa police Const. Gorin Beric stepping on a man’s head and neck for more than two minutes was ordered released by a judge. Beric is on trial for assault for allegedly using excessive force. [Ottawa Citizen]

🌊 Water levels on the Ottawa River are expected to drop off this week after they levelled off over the weekend. The river rose more than expected in Carleton Place overnight Friday, and Gatineau has told residents to keep mitigation measures like sandbags in place. [CTV]

⚠️ A train derailment near Kingston led to an acid leak that was “limited” enough not to threaten public safety or drinking water. [CBC]

🥅 Toronto’s The Weeknd is the latest celebrity to attach himself to a group bidding for the Ottawa Senators. [Ottawa Sun]

📚 The French Catholic school board, Conseil des écoles catholiques du Centre-Est, had a pilot plan to run a four-day school week turned down by the provincial Education Ministry. [CBC]

🪙 It’s official, King Charles III will replace Queen Elizabeth II on Canadian coins and the $20 bill. [CBC]

👑 Celebrations of the coronation in Ottawa were a subdued affair Saturday, with speeches from the country’s poet laureate and Indigenous leaders. [Ottawa Citizen]

🍽️ The CEO of the Ottawa Mission said his own addiction, and 15 years of sobriety, have shaped his time as the head of the charity. [CBC]

🥫 The food bank in South Mountain, south of the city, had its building and entire stock of food ruined by a fire. [CTV]

EVENTS

What to do this week

Music

🎸 The Legendary Don Ross at Music@Melrose, Thursday 7 pm: A concert finger-style guitarist extraordinaire Don Ross in concert, with wine, beer, and cheese as well as a chat with the artist after his set. At Music@Melrose, 213 Melrose Ave. S. Tickets $45.

Sports

🚲 Bring Your Bike Out of Hibernation, Thursday 6 pm: Get your bike ready for summer, with a guided workshop teaching you all the ins and outs of spring bike maintenance. At the Ottawa Tool Library, 877a Boyd Ave. Tickets start at $40.

Kids/Family

🧸 Ottawa Children’s Festival, Thursday to Sunday: A showcase of theatre, dance, music and more aimed at young audiences. At the Canadian War Museum and LeBreton Flats Park. Tickets start at $10.

Film

🎬 Film, Television and Animation Career Fair, Wednesday 4 pm: Learn everything about the local entertainment job market from professionals in the industry. Aimed at anyone looking to start a career in film and television. At the Lansdowne Park Horticulture Building. Registration is free.

Other

🌱 The Walrus Talks It's Happening Now, Thursday 7 pm: How do we cope with the arrival of climate change? A panel discussion of where we are and what we can do next. At the National Gallery of Canada, 380 Sussex Dr. Tickets $23.

📚 Mental Health Supports at the OCSB, Thursday 7 pm: An overview workshop of all the mental health supports available at the Ottawa Catholic School Board. At 570 W Hunt Club Rd. Free tickets.

COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHTS

• Two 91-year-old women are setting the standard weekly at a CrossFit gym in Kanata. [CBC]

• Making your own pasta is good, but here’s where you can have it taught by a local master.

• After a year closed for renovations, part of Westboro Beach has reopened, much to the delight of local residents. [CBC]

• The tulips are in full bloom around the city for the annual Tulip Festival. [Reddit]

• The Humane Society wants cat owners to spay and neuter their pets and keep them indoors to cut down on homeless cats this summer. [CTV]

• The starting line for the record-breaking CN Ride for CHEO was a sight to behold. [Reddit]

• Another new mural is going up in town, this one at Preston and Eccles. [Reddit]

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

TOP PHOTO

Reader Beverly Berry sends in this great sunset photo of a cloud that looks more than a little “like a flying saucer.” Taken on the Ottawa River Deschenes Rapids.

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

OTTAWA GAMES

Congrats to everyone who got Friday’s Ottawa Wordle, the answer was TWEET, as in the city will stop tweeting live bus route cancellations.

The city is looking to bring in bag tags to cut down on the amount of garbage going to the dump. How much do extra tags cost? The first five people to write in with the correct answer will get their names mentioned in the next issue.

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