The LRT is a ‘risk to safety’

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Good morning!

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Weather Report

Friday: -8 🌡️ -16 | 🌤/❄️

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Monday: +3 🌡️ -15 | ❄️/🌧

TRANSIT

Transportation Safety Board says LRT unsafe without fixes

What happened: The major flaws in the LRT mean the system is “a risk to safety,” a letter from the federal Transportation Safety Board (TSB) to the city said. While the city has begun an intensive program to monitor the status of the various train parts that have failed, the underlying causes have not been fixed. The letter was sent to the city two weeks ago, but only released Wednesday.

City’s response: Renée Amilcar, head of transit services tried to assure council and the public the system wasn’t a risk. “The O-Train is safe. If for any reason we believed that the train wasn't safe, we would not operate it,” she told the LRT sub-committee, according to CTV.

• "We have thoroughly reviewed the letter and ensured that the enhanced system safety measures currently in place align with the TSB suggestions. … I can assure you that all the measures are in place … to ensure a safe and reliable train system.”

What’s wrong: The TSB hasn’t been able to pinpoint a single cause of the failures. The problems are centred on the cartridge assemblies — a series of components that connect the wheels to the axles, with the bearings and axles failiing.

Temporary solution: To monitor the health of the cartridges the city and Rideau Transit Maintenance — the private company that runs and maintains the LRT system — said intensive maintenance and monitoring has to take place to prevent more critical failures. Parts that have run less than 175,000 km have to be inspected every 7,500 km. Those that have run longer have to be inspected every 3,750 km.

• “This additional maintenance task is labour intensive and time-consuming for a component that should last over 1.2 million km,” the TSB wrote.

Amilcar told council these maintenance inspections are not sustainable long-term. Through certain curves, the trains are running slower than planned to hopefully reduce damage to the system.

The data: Looking at the data from the new maintenance procedures have revealed a few patterns. Cartridges are lasting between 64,140 km and 233,042 km, with an average life of 140,219 km. Maintenance crews have had to replace 63 cartridges on drive wheels, and only five on non-drive “trailing” wheels.

• “The root cause of the cartridge assembly failures cannot be attributed to a single component. It is likely that the combination of the newly designed [trains], and a more powerful drivetrain may play a role in the failure of cartridge assemblies.”

Initial findings: After the derailment trains were pulled out of service to inspect the cartridges like the one that had failed and caused the first derailment. An inspection found 17 bearing assemblies that were loose beyond acceptable limits and could have eventually failed, the TSB said in its report.

• “To date, other than ongoing cartridge assembly free play monitoring, no concrete steps have been taken to resolve the safety deficiency identified in the” Rail Safety Advisory letter to the city sent Sept. 27, 2021 in response to the first derailment.

More oversight: The LRT sub-committee voted yesterday to have city staff report on how they use so-called “delegated authority” on the LRT project, the Ottawa Citizen reported. Previous councils had delegated power to staff to make decisions without consulting council. Notoriously, this was used to lower system testing criteria, allowing it to be certified. The motion will go to the full council Feb. 22.

OTTAWA BY THE NUMBERS

🚬 75: The number of years Comerford’s Cigar Store was open. It closed Jan. 31 for the last time. [Ottawa Citizen]

💸 $626.3 million: The loss Ottawa’s Shopify reported, in US dollars, in the fourth quarter of last year, despite an increase of revenue of 26 percent. [The Canadian Press]

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HOUSING

Rental construction booming, but still lags demand

What happened: The number of rentals built in Ottawa is at its highest level in decades, but is not keeping up with demand. Last year there were 2,707 rental starts, almost all of them apartments, according to CMHC data.

Trends: But in the latest rental report from the federal housing insurer, the vacancy rate for Ottawa dropped to 2.1 percent in 2022 from 3.4 percent in 2021. Migration appears to have returned to pre-pandemic levels, and students have returned to post-secondary schools, putting increased pressure on the market. At the same time, over the last 10 years, the number of residents aged 25 to 44 who are renting has risen to 46 percent from 39.

Rising rents: Rent has gone up at an alarming rate. Overall it is up 4.8 percent for a two-bedroom apartment in the last year, but it’s gone up 17 percent over the same period for new tenants. Anyone looking to either move or get into the rental market is being particularly squeezed.

The turnover rate in apartments dropped to 16.8 percent from 20.1 percent. That rate now is below the 2020 rate at the height of the pandemic, at 17.9 percent.

Nationally: It’s part of a nationwide trend, CBC reported. Across the country, the number of purpose-built rental buildings is at levels not seen in years, but still demand is higher. The concern now is that because of high interest rates and inflation, developers will rethink building new projects.

• There is some relief for builders of apartments, the CMHC offers low-interest loans and longer term mortgages for developments that meet certain affordability criteria, according to CBC.

THE AGENDA

💥 More than a dozen families were able to return to their homes in the Orléans subdivision devastated by an explosion on Monday. [CTV]

⛸️ A 2005 report for the NCC forecast the Rideau Canal’s skating season would shorten as the effects of climate change set it, projections that have proved true. [CBC]

🩺 To attract doctors, the eastern Ontario town of Mamora is offering a $281,000 bonus from multiple levels of government if physicians promise to stay several years. So far, no one has taken them up on it. [CTV]

🚨 Homicide police are investigating the death of an 18-year-old who was shot in the Riverview neighbourhood. [CTV]

💨 For months, a family in Clarence Creek is still waiting on their insurance company to settle their claim for derecho storm damage, and they’ve been forced to live in an RV next to their destroyed home while they wait. [CTV]

🔥 There was a serious barn fire at the Rideau Carleton Raceway this week, fortunately no people or animals were injured. [CTV]

🚔 A gymnastics coach who worked in Ottawa and Kingston has been charged with multiple counts of sexual assault, exploitation, and other crimes for offences against girls between the ages of 14 and 17 from the years 2014 to 2022. [CBC]

🏥 As Ontario LTCs complain of being gouged by private nursing agencies, the Quebec government tabled a bill to limit the use of private agencies in the health system. [CBC]

🚫 A staff member at the federal Collins Bay Institution in Kingston has been charged for allegedly smuggling drugs into the prison. [CBC]

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It’s a safe, warm place at their pet community centre for dogs under 40 pounds to play and meet other pets in a supervised and fun setting.

• Details: Every Wednesday at 7 pm, 2200 Montréal Rd, Gloucester. Tickets are $35 or by a card for 6 visits for $150. Contact the team to book a spot.

You might even make a new human friend as well!

EVENTS

What to do this weekend

Arts

💃 Salsa Fever, Saturday 5 pm: Learn to salsa dance in a fun night to connect with like-minded neighbours. At the Minto Recreation Complex, 3500 Cambrian Rd. Tickets start at $25.

Music

❓ Mystery Night at Red Bird, Sunday 7:30 pm: It’s a mystery show, but Red Bird promises whoever’s playing has toured the world and won plenty of awards for singing, songwriting and producing. At 1165 Bank St. Tickets $31.

Kids/Family

❄️ Winterlude, until Monday: The final weekend of the city’s winter festival is upon us. Plenty of events are going on across town, with tons to do on the Monday Family Day holiday. Free and paid events.

🎶 Big BANG Festival, Saturday and Sunday: For kids five and up, a festival of sounds. Musical performances, workshops, activities for the whole family and much more all at the NAC. Free and paid activities.

General

🎣 Harbour Harvest 2023, Sunday 8 am: A charity ice-fishing derby benefiting the Ottawa River Keeper, 116th Nepean Griffin Troops, and Ottawa Community Immigrant Services Organization, with plenty of prizes and brunch. At the Nepean Sailing Club. Ice updates will be sent out today, but it’s expected to be okay. Tickets $7.

🏛️ Heritage Day, Tuesday noon: The city is celebrating the return of Heritage Day after a few years’ absence. This year’s theme is “recovering and connecting Ottawa’s heritage” and will commemorate the events of the last few years, and celebrate the organizations that kept the city connected. Ceremony is at City Hall, where there are also several heritage exhibitions. Admission is free.

Culture

🏳️‍🌈 Winter Pride Drag Show, Sunday 8 pm: The capstone of the Winter Pride festival featuring the Hot Glue Gun Girls of Canada’s Drag Race Season 3. Tickets start at $31.

Other

💥 Turkey-Syria Earthquake Fundraising Dinner, tonight 6pm: Help raise money for families devastated by the multiple earthquakes in Turkey and Syria. Put on by the Northern Lights Educational Services at the Turkish Cultural Center 335 Michael Cowpland Dr. Reserve a spot.

🏆 The 2023 Ottawa Awards, Saturday 7 pm: An awards show for the best of the city. A night of networking, dancing and more. Tickets start at $108.

☃️ Winter Whispers in the City, Sunday: Take a guided walk through the Mud Lake forest to re-centre and recharge. Meet at the Britannia Coffee House. Tickets $25.

CAPITAL EATS

What happened 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.

🇹🇷 In Orléans, there’s a great Turkish restaurant, perfect for meals with big groups with diverse diet needs. Fantastic humus and “perfectly grilled, moist and tender beef, lamb and chicken” are all on offer.

🍷 Looking for a throwback wine this weekend? Why not give this rosé with a long pedigree a try.

🏝️ (Insiders) Ottawa’s new Tiki spot has fabulous drinks, and fantastic food. You do not want to miss this new addition to the Market.

COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHTS

• Are you one of the 20 percent of homeowners who hasn’t completed your Vacant Unit Declaration? You’ve got until midnight on March 16 to fill it out.

• Dozens of residents wrote their love letters to the closed Rideau Canal [Ottawa Citizen]

• Pothole filling season has started. You can report potholes for filling here, or call 311.

• The Adventure Report is looking for donations of camping gear so it can lend it out to others through the summer as part of the Camp Kit program. [Reddit]

• Good news pizza lovers, Tim Hortons pies have arrived in town! [CTV]

• PC brand One-year-old Canadian Cheddar was recalled for possible listeria contamination.

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

TOP PHOTO

Today’s photo comes from reader ​​Wendy Sexsmith, who sends this great photo of a sunset out her back door.

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

OTTAWA GAMES

Congrats to Sandra, Gord, and Adam, who all knew this week’s OttawaGuesser was on Laurier Street in Gatineau near Place du Portage.

Today is Ottawa Wordle day. Think you can figure it out? Play now.

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