More speed cameras would make Ottawa’s roads safer

Good morning!

Spent yesterday afternoon seeing a cult classic movie some of you may have heard of, a niche little thing called “Jurassic Park” at the Mayfair Theatre. I never did see it on the big screen the first time around (too young, too scared) so it was a real treat to give it a viewing this time around.

As an added bonus, the screening was a fundraiser for the Ottawa Rowing Club to help open up the club and the sport to more people in the city. If you missed the screening but would like to donate, you can find a link here.

A quick bit of housekeeping: In last Friday’s issue of the newsletter, the links for The Agenda were inadvertently omitted. You can find the full Agenda from last week at the bottom of this newsletter, this time with links! Apologies.

Let’s get to it.

— Robert Hiltz, managing editor

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Weather Report

Monday: 27 🌡️ 16 | 🌦/⛈️

Tuesday: 30 🌡️ 16 | ☀️

Wednesday: 25 🌡️ 14 | 🌦

WEEKLY LOOKOUT

🏛️ City council: The full council meets Wednesday, where they’ll get a private briefing on the legal situation of the LRT. Because it’s being held behind closed doors, no details are being provided to the public.

TRAFFIC

More speed cameras would make roads safer

What happened: Speeding drivers are a major cause of road fatalities, according to a new comprehensive report from the provincial government. Put together by the Ottawa Fatal Collision Review Committee, the report suggests increasing the use of speed cameras and setting speed limits on the basis of safety for all road users, not just road design.

“The increased use of automated speed enforcement should be further promoted and implemented on roads where speeding is pervasive. This technology is a more effective and cost-efficient tool to support traditional enforcement strategies,” the report said.

• The report covers road fatalities between 2017 to 2020. The board’s panellists were made up of local police, city officials, and provincial representatives. You can read the report here on the Ontario government’s website.

Councillor response: Coun. Laine Johnson told the Ottawa Citizen a decline in road safety was like a “snake that eats its own tail.” As roads become less safe, more people opt to drive instead of walk or bike, meaning more traffic, and less safety — and so the cycle repeats.

“It’s not rocket science.… But, if you decide that safety is important to you and you think that one of the city’s central responsibilities is to get people around the city safely, then you can extrapolate from some of that that, in fact, fewer people in their cars at any given time will create more safety,” Johnson said. “Less volume, less congestion and better safety.”

Some interesting findings:

• The share of fatal collisions were lower than expected inside the Greenbelt, while outside it was much higher. Crashes in rural areas make up only nine percent of all crashes, but 39 percent of the fatal crashes;

• Fatal collisions were overrepresented in the warm months from April to September, and more fatal collisions happen in the evening or overnight;

• People over the age of 55 were overrepresented in those killed by crashes, while people between the ages of 16 and 19 were overrepresented in fatalities of occupants of vehicles;

• Drivers with licence for larger vehicles were overrepresented in fatal collisions, while drivers on learner’s permits were underrepresented;

• Perhaps unsurprisingly, 70 percent of the drivers involved in fatal collisions were male.

Safety inspections

What happened: With crashes involving commercial vehicles at a more than 10-year high, the provincial Ministry of Transportation started a six-day safety blitz on highways across the province, CBC reported.

Charges: Last year there were 9,110 crashes involving transport trucks and other large vehicles, the OPP told the broadcaster, accounting for about 12 percent of all crashes on provincial roads. Of the 2,858 charges laid last year, 1,078 (38 percent) were given to drivers of the other vehicle in the collision. The remaining majority were given to the commercial drivers.

OTTAWA BY THE NUMBERS

🎪 166: The number of years the Beachburg Fair has been running south of the city. [CTV]

🎙️ 30,000: The approximate opening-night crowd for Bluesfest headline Shania Twain, a 30-year record for the festival. [Ottawa Citizen]

🚨 23.5%: The rise in hate crimes reported in Ottawa so far this year compared to last year. There have been 221 reports of hate crimes so far this year, compared to 377 in all of 2022. [CTV]

⚠️ 19: Ottawa emergency services responded to this many overdoses over the weekend. The state of the patients is unknown. [Ottawa Citizen]

HEALTHCARE

Ottawa Hospital wants out of city land deal to have for-profit care home built

What happened: City staff want council to approve a plan that would see the Ottawa Hospital pay $12.9 million on a slice of former city land so a for-profit long-term care home could be built, CTV reported.

The deal: The hospital bought the land at the Riverside Campus for $1 (one dollar) in 2005. Part of the deal was that it could only be used for non-profit health care uses, otherwise the city would reclaim the land.

The proposal: Now the hospital wants to lease that land to the for-profit company Schlegel Villages Inc. to build a nursing home with 256 beds, plus another 270 units of for-profit seniors residences, all run for profit, a report by city staff states. To get out of the covenant, city staff propose a deal where the hospital would pay $12.9 million, what the city estimates the land would be worth.

• During the 75-year lease, The Ottawa Hospital, as the owner of the land, would still collect the value of the lease from the new care home complex.

The catch: Since this wouldn’t technically be a sale of city land, and instead an agreement to change a contract, the final use of the $12.9 million is unclear. If it was a straight sale, a percentage of the money would go toward affordable housing and parkland. Instead, the money would be held by the city and likely given back to the hospital when the city and the hospital agree on a funding plan for the expansion of the Civic campus, the report said.

NEW LOCAL JOBS

Check out the new open positions in Ottawa.

1. Organizational development advisor at the House of Commons

2. Policy and strategy analyst at International Development Research Centre

3. Talent management specialist at the City of Ottawa

4. Planning officer at the Office of the Auditor General of Canada

5. Learning and leadership development advisor at The Ottawa Hospital

THE AGENDA

🥅 The Ottawa Senators traded away forward Alex DeBrincat to the Detroit Red Wings for forward Dominik Kubalik and prospect defenceman Donovan Sebrango. The Sens also received a conditional 2024 first-round pick and a fourth-round pick. [Twitter]

🪖 A memorial service for the RCAF pilot killed in a helicopter crash was held Friday at Garrison Petawawa. Capt. Marc Larouche, 53, and his co-pilot Capt. David Domagala, 32, were killed when their Chinook helicopter crashed into the Ottawa River… [CTV]

⚓️ …The salvage effort to retrieve the crashed aircraft is a complex one, as the wreckage lies in about 70 feet of water. [CTV]

🚰 The water in Casselman, just east of the city, is browner and smellier than ever. Levels of manganese are periodically well above safe limits. The town’s mayor said it will cost $54 million to find a new source of water. [CBC]

🔌 Hydro Ottawa workers are still on strike, with no end in sight. Negotiations between the workers and their utility have stalled and have not resumed. [Ottawa Citizen]

🏛️ The CN Bank building, a 123-year-old heritage brick building near City Centre, may be at risk. The Orange Art Gallery said their lease will not be renewed by the landlord, and there are no plans for a new tenant. [Ottawa Citizen]

🏥 A Kingston man waited in a Montreal hospital waiting room for 15 hours with severe abdominal pain before his parents decided to drive him to a hospital in Kingston for treatment. The man’s appendix had burst and he spent 10 days in hospital, much of it in ICU. [CBC]

⚖️ The City of Kingston is heading to court today to get legal permission to clear an encampment of about 35 people near a social support centre. The city doesn’t have enough shelter beds to house the people in the city without homes. [CBC]

💐 Janet Ferguson died of a heart attack at the age of 47. Feguson’s daughter Kayla was killed in the Eastway Tank explosion in 2022, she was only 26. [CBC]

🚐 For reasons that aren’t exactly clear, an RV in decals looking like a presidential bus for noted American crank RFK Jr. was driving through New Edinburgh playing the Buffalo Springfield song Stop Children What’s That Sound. [Twitter]

MEMBER DRIVE

Last week of our biggest membership discount

If you’ve been on the fence about becoming a member and supporting local news, now’s the time.

There are eight 50% off discounts remaining, where you get both our Insider memberships.

You also invest in local news at this critical time where Facebook and Google are cutting off access to media, which will disproportionately impact small local publications like ours.

Become a member today, unlock the best our city has to offer and support independent media before the discount disappears.

EVENTS

What to do this week

Music

🎷 Bluesfest, until July 16: The city’s biggest music festival continues. With performances this week by the Foo Fighters, The War on Drugs, Ludacris, Charlotte Cardin, and The Smile. At LeBreton Flats. Pass prices vary.

🇵🇱 HAŃBA! (Folk-Punk from Kraków Poland), Wednesday 8 pm: It’s folk, it’s punk, it’s from Poland, with a little bit of working-class political activism of the early 20th century. At House of TARG, 1077 Bank St. Advance tickets $20.

Kids/Family

🌭 Vegan BBQ at Vincent Massey Park, Saturday 1 pm: Head on out for a toss of a frisbee and some fun in the sun, plus a free Beyond Meat sausage and soft drink. At Vincent Massey Park. Free!

General

🚲 Bike Maintenance Workshop, Thursday 6 pm: The Ottawa Tool Library and Ottawa Outdoor Gear Library are teaming up for a workshop on how to keep your bike in tip-top shape. At the Ottawa Tool Library, 877a Boyd Ave. Tickets $45.

Market

🏷️ Hintonburg Night Market, Thursday 4 pm: Head on out to Hintonburg for plenty of great eats with live entertainment, and of course plenty of local vendors. At 1088 Somerset St. W. Free!

Parking Lot Pop-Up, Saturday 10 am: Find unique and fashionable, art, fashion, home decor, collectables, and more at this market put on by Vintage Pop-Up 613. In the parking lot of Churchill Senior Rec Center, 345 Richmond Rd. behind Cloud Forest Coffee and Pokoloko. Free to attend!

Culture

😂 Sugar Sammy - You’re Gonna Rire 2, Friday and Saturday: The Montreal comedian’s bilingual show comes to the city. At the Museum of History. Tickets start at $60.

😹 A Very Fine Improv Show, Monday 7 pm: A fun night out on a Monday night. Five different improv groups perform while you sip some fine beverages. At LIVE! on Elgin, 220 Elgin St. Tickets $11.

COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHTS

• Ottawa’s Michael Woods won the ninth stage of the Tour de France. [The Associated Press]

• Engineering students from Queen’s have been helping out at the Sandy Pines Wildlife Centre to get injured animals back on their feet. [CBC]

• Starting QB Jeremiah Masoli was injured in his first game back after a year on the sidelines. The Redblacks lost 21-13 to the Tiger-Cats. [CTV]

• Leanne Cusack and Joel Haslam said goodbye to CTV after nearly 35 years each at the station. [CTV]

• Meet Charles Akben-Marchand, who has been watching over bikes at Bluesfest for 16 years. [CBC]

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

OTTAWA GAMES

Congrats to everyone who got the answer to last week’s Ottawa Wordle. The answer was NANCY, in honour of my late stepmother, who always enjoyed a good wordle.

For today’s Quiz, we want to know how much did the city sell land near the Riverside Campus to The Ottawa Hospital for in 2005? The first five people to write in with the correct answer will get their names mentioned in the next issue.

LAST FRIDAY’S AGENDA

Because the links were inadvertently omitted for this section in last Friday’s newsletter, we’ve attached the whole section again, this time with links!

🏛️ The city’s finance committee voted to dissolve the Crime Prevention Ottawa advisory group, and instead fold it into a broader advisory committee. Its $1.2-million budget will be put toward the city’s community safety plan. [CBC]

🚧 Next Thursday, July 13, at 8 pm the 417 will be closed for the replacement of the Bronson overpass. Eastbound it will be closed between Carling and Metcalf, and westbound between Metcalf and Rochester. The highway is scheduled to reopen 6 am Monday, July 17. [Ottawa Citizen]

🔬 Investigators at the OPP used a fresh DNA sample and forensic genealogy to identify Tennessee woman Jewell Parchman Langford as the Nation River Lady, who was found dead in 1975. [CBC]

⛴️ The province is unwilling to commit to a schedule for the new Wolfe Island ferry, and won’t say how long a round trip will take on the new all-electric ship. [CBC]

⚖️ The driver accused of killing a pedestrian on Richmond Road in the spring is facing two new charges of trafficking and counselling to obstruct justice. He was charged with dangerous driving causing death after the collision. [Ottawa Citizen]

🚨 An Ottawa man was charged with terrorism and hate propaganda charges for his alleged role in a neo-Nazi organization. [CTV]

🪫 The city’s rural affairs committee approved a zoning amendment to restrict where in the city large-scale renewable energy like turbines or solar farms can be installed. In line with the city’s official plan, turbines can’t be put on agricultural land, and battery storage facilities are limited in size. [City of Ottawa]

📱 An online influencer from Gatineau was arrested and charged with mischief for allegedly posting videos of fake crimes to gain more followers. [CTV]