OC Transpo cutting daytime service in half

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Good morning!

It is just about that time of year again. Time to scramble and fight for a swimming lesson spot. The schedule for classes and other recreation activities went live this week.

Mark Aug. 13 and 15 on your calendars that’s when registration will take place at 9 pm. Good luck to you all.

We’ve got plenty to get to today, including service cuts to the LRT and the knock-on effects of more policing in the ByWard Market.

Let’s get to it.

— Robert Hiltz, Lookout managing editor

PS - If you find this newsletter valuable, please consider forwarding it to your friends. New to the Lookout? Sign up for free.

Wednesday: 28 🌡️ 21 | 🌦/⛈️

Thursday: 30 🌡️ 21 | ☀️

Friday: 30 🌡️ 21 | 🌤

TRANSIT

OC Transpo cutting daytime LRT service in half

What happened: OC Transpo announced it would be cutting LRT service between 9 am and 3 pm in half. Trains will run every 10 minutes starting Aug. 26, instead of every five minutes.The agency said service will continue every five minutes at peak rush hour periods.

The reasoning: In a memo to council, acting transit general manager Richard Holder explained the move was to “balance our resources while meeting the travel needs of customers.”

“The change in frequency will allow Line 1 to continue to offer sufficient capacity to meet off-peak ridership volumes. This change will be closely monitored and, should there be an increase in ridership, adjustments can be made.”

At city hall: Knoxdale-Merivale Coun. Sean Devine wrote in his newsletter that council wasn’t informed of the decision ahead of time. He criticized the move, warning it could lead to a death spiral, and said the transit agency should at least wait until October to see what fall travel patterns look like before deciding to cut service.

“To cut LRT Line 1 service in half just when students are heading back to school in September, just when federal workers are mandated to be in the office more frequently, is a wrongly motivated and short-sighted decision, at best.… OC Transpo may be paying more attention to their performance metrics than they are to the rider’s experience,” Devine wrote.

Union response: Noah Vineberg, the president of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 279 which represents OC Transpo drivers, said the cut would cause “significant service disruptions for riders.”

“As transit workers, we aim to provide the public with the best service we possibly can, this new proposal makes it harder to do that,” Vineberg said.

OC Transpo has been hoping a federal return-to-office order would boost ridership but the reaction from some public service unions suggests the decision to roll back service wasn’t going to help. Nathan Prier, president of the Canadian Association of Professional Employees, said, “Decreasing frequency is not the way to get people back on the LRT.”

SPONSORED BY PUPPETS UP!

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Puppets Up! International Puppet Festival features world-class puppet artistry and performers that’ll keep your kids entertained all day.  

The festival takes place from August 10-11 in the beautiful town of Almonte. The schedule is jam-packed with things for the whole family:

• Some of the best puppet performers from around the world

• A puppet parade on Saturday and Sunday

• A kids' craft tent where they can create their own puppets

And don’t worry parents, there’s even more for you, including a vendors’ marketplace, food court and shady areas to relax with your kids. 

Forget the complicated weekend planning. Puppets Up! has enough events to last the entire day. 

But you’ll need to hurry, tickets are going quickly. Get your day pass before they sell out.

OTTAWA BY THE NUMBERS

🏥 $41.8 million: The amount the Quebec government was fined by the feds for allowing patients to be charged out of pocket for medically necessary health care. [Montreal Gazette]

🏘️ 107,266: That’s the number of short term rentals that that could be turned into long-term housing, in a new study from Statistics Canada. The total number of these units increased 60% from 2017-2023. [Vancouver is Awesome]

🏢 85%: The increase in the number of “own-use evictions” in Ontario since 2020, where landlords file to kick out a tenant so they or a family member can use the unit, often dishonestly. [CBC]

POLICING

Increased ByWard police presence pushing vulnerable people elsewhere

What happened: The increased police boots on the ground in the ByWard Market is having some effect, but it’s perhaps not ideal. Somerset Coun. Ariel Troster said the increased policing is “pushing more vulnerable people into Centretown.”

“There have been more people gathering using drugs in public, and there have been some flights and some aggression happening among people who often don't have another place to go,” she said.

You can watch Troster’s Instagram video talking about the issue and her meeting with Mayor Mark Sutcliffe here.

Meeting with the mayor: Troster said she’d raised these concerns directly with the mayor, who she said took them very seriously. Ultimately, she said what was needed was more support for people experiencing homelessness and addiction was help.

“We do want police to come in the case of a public safety emergency, but we also want to make sure that we have the right resources to help people who are struggling, and to make sure that we're not shuffling them, just from one neighbourhood to another,” she said.

Dig deeper: Last week the Lookout reported on the challenges facing businesses in the ByWard Market and two moms who lost their sons to overdoses and how they’re trying to keep other parents from going through the same heartbreak.

OUTSIDE DOWNTOWN

🌪️ Researchers confirmed that a tornado touched down last week just south of Perth. The category EF1 storm had winds that reached 150 km/h, and cut a path nearly 40 km long. [Northern Tornadoes Project]

📚 OCDSB trustee Alysha Aziz, who represents Kanata, said she will resign her seat for personal reasons. [Ottawa Citizen]

🚒 Two people were taken to hospital with minor injuries after a major fire at a Stittsville home. The home was heavily damaged, with the cause of the fire under investigation. [CTV]

⚠️ Two adults and a youth were arrested for allegedly throwing rocks off a train bridge at cars on 416 near Richmond Road. One vehicle was seriously damaged. [CTV]

🏥 An unknown number of employees at the Renfrew Victoria Hospital received interest-free loans from the hospital. The hospital is under investigation for possible financial irregularities. [Ottawa Citizen]

🚨 In Mont Tremblant a driver in his 20s is facing charges of hit and run causing death and impaired driving after a pedestrian was struck and killed. [CBC]

HOUSE OF THE WEEK

Today’s home is an end-unit townhome in the Chateauneuf neighbourhood. It has three bedrooms, plenty of interior upgrades, including hardwood and quartz counter tops, and a finished basement.

Check the listing to see the price.

House of The Week is a home selected by the Lookout team and is not a paid advertisement. All ads are labelled as such. If you’re a realtor who wishes to feature your home in our newsletter, please contact our sales team.

GIG LISTINGS

Listings are provided by OttawaGigs.ca, the best place to discover live music in Ottawa. Check out Ottawagigs.ca for full listings across the city.

Songwriters Circle, Thursday 7:30 pm: An evening of live performances and intimate discussions as several local artists share the stories and creative processes behind their work. At Live! on Elgin, 220 Elgin Street. Tickets $15 adv. $20 on door.

OTTONYC, Thursday 7:30 pm: Ottawa-Toronto-New York jazz quartet present their original compositions, jazz standards, and some lesser-known R&B.  At Montgomery Scotch Lounge, 750 Gladstone Ave. Tickets $10.

NIIVI, Friday 8 pm: 2-spirit Inuk artist from Nunavik performing folk-punk songs in English and Inuktitut, including their new single. At Art House Cafe, 555 Somerset St W. Tickets $15.

Lyle Odjick & the Northern Steam, Saturday 9 pm: High energy blues-rock with their own foot stomping sound. At Irene’s, 885 Bank St. Tickets $12.

NØ MAN, Saturday 9 pm: Washington-based punk, bringing their politically-charged, furious, modern hardcore sound. At House of Targ, 1077 Bank Street. Tickets $15.

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

1. Sports photographer at the Social Planning Council of Ottawa

2. Fundraising volunteer at Helping With Furniture

3. Medical appointment driver at The Glebe Centre

4. Kart club race marshal at Lombardy Raceway Karting Club

5. Garden volunteer at Friends of the Experimental Farm

Have a volunteer listing you’d like to share? Send it to [email protected] with “Volunteering” in the subject line.

THE AGENDA

☔️ All the rain we’ve had this summer is contributing to the more frequent high-humidity days. There has been about 50% more rain than normal this year. [CTV]

🏥 CHEO announced a 10-year plan to expand its emergency department, mental health services and more. The expansions are expected to cost $818 million. [CHEO]

🌾 Repairs to the doors and roof of the Aberdeen Pavilion are expected to keep the space closed until at least 2026. Farmers and other producers are worried for their futures because the market at Lansdowne Park is a significant source of revenue. [CBC]

🪧 Workers at the Children’s Aid Society of Ottawa reached a tentative agreement with the provincial government after more than three weeks on strike. [CTV]

🗳️ Former city councillor and CJOH host Carol Anne Meehan announced she would be seeking the federal Conservative Party nomination for the Ottawa West-Nepean riding. [Ottawa Citizen']

📦 Shoppers Drug Mart agreed to provide free menstrual products to students for another three years. The deal is worth about $8 million. [CBC]

🚁 The province is spending $134 million on police helicopters, including one for the OPP in the Ottawa area. The provincial government said the helicopters are to crack down on car thefts. [CTV]

⚖️ Convoy leader Pat King was facing rearrest for allegedly breaching his bail conditions during an online stream. King’s trial on mischief and other charges last week, with a verdict expected in the fall. [CBC]

COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHTS

• Keep an eye out around the city for one of several fire hydrant water fountains, which are back for another year. [City of Ottawa]

• Get the wine selection that the LCBO just doesn't have by ordering with Savvy Company. Their Sommeliers curate only the best wine from Ontario. Learn more. [Sponsored]

• Fall swimming registration opens Aug. 13, and other rec programs Aug. 15. You can check the fall schedule now. [City of Ottawa]

• Porter Airlines will offer direct flights to Las Vegas from Ottawa starting in November. [CTV]

• Want to have your announcement featured? Learn how here.

CITY HALL INSIDER

Liveable Cities: What's the state of pedestrianization in Canada?

Cities and urban residents are facing a range of challenges, chief among them the rising price of land (which can be both boon and curse, as can be seen in Vancouver), aging infrastructure coupled with massive funding deficits, and creeping privatization of the public realm. 

Core to the question of what we want our cities to be like is, how do we create more livable communities? How can we create spaces and neighbourhoods where people can live and grow with their families and friends in relative ease and comfort?

One of the philosophical shifts in city building that’s gaining more attention in North American cities — particularly during and following the pandemic — is the idea of pedestrianization. A quick search to define the term yields a narrow set of results, emphasizing a lack of cars. 

OTTAWA GAMES

Congrats to the 73% of you who knew that the funding gap for OC Transpo is expected to be $8.6 billion in 30 years.

Do you know where today’s Ottawa guesser is? Reply with your name and the correct location of the photo. The first five people to reply correctly will be mentioned in the next newsletter.