Speed cameras seem to be working

Sponsored by

Good morning!

Well, it’s hard to believe, but this will be my last newsletter* for the Lookout. It’s been quite the ride.

I want to once again thank all of you readers and subscribers for making this such an enjoyable experience over the last, gosh, nearly three years. We've all come a long way. (If you missed my announcement on Monday, you can read that here.)

I wish my colleagues all the best as they take the Lookout forward. They’ve been a fantastic team, and I can’t wait to see what they do next.

But as always, there’s plenty to get to.

So one last time, let’s get to it.

— Robert Hiltz, Lookout managing editor

*With the exception of a small story I’ve written up that will end up in a future Insider.

Editor’s note: In last Friday’s issue of the newsletter, non-binary artist KJ Forman was misgendered. Their pronouns are they/them. The Lookout regrets the error.

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

Wednesday: 29 🌡️ 15 | ⛈️

Thursday: 29 🌡️ 15 | ☀️

Friday: 28 🌡️ 18 | 🌤

TRAFFIC

Evidence builds that speed cameras slow drivers down

What happened: The city said more drivers are following the speed limit in zones with photo radar as the cameras spread across Ottawa, CTV reported.

The metrics: The city considers two main metrics when it looks at speeding. The first is the 85th percentile speed, which measures the speed 85% of drivers are at or below. The second is the percentage of high-end speeders who are travelling 15 km/h or more over the speed limit.

• Looking at eight speed cameras that have been in place since 2020, the number of high-end speeders has dropped to about 1% or below, from 2020 highs between 3% and 12%, according to CTV.

New and improved: One of the city’s newest and busiest cameras, along King Edward through Lowertown, has led to a dramatic drop in speeds since the camera was installed in March until the latest data available in June. The 85th percentile speed has dropped to 42 km/h from 46 km/h, and high-end speeding has dropped to 1% from 2.9%.

Out of province: A thin majority of the speeders ticketed by the King Edward camera are from Quebec, CTV reported. Coun. Tim Tierney said 51% of the vehicles given speeding tickets by the camera come from out of province. He said of all the city’s 40 cameras, about 22% of tickets are to vehicles with out of province plates.

It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s the OPP: Provincial police will be doing speed enforcement from the air this weekend, as they look to crack down on speeding, impaired driving, distracted driving and driving without a seatbelt, the OPP said on Twitter.

The force also said there have been too many fatal collisions involving motorcycles this year, and said in many cases the motorcycle riders were not at fault. They encouraged drivers to pay attention to where vulnerable riders are on the highway, as most of the fatalities did not occur at intersections.

SPONSORED BY TELUS

Get the speed and reliability you need with TELUS PureFibre Internet

You deserve internet you can rely on. Internet that lets you play, stream, create, learn, browse and connect with less lag worries and multiple users.

That’s TELUS PureFibre® Internet - soon to become widely available across Ottawa-Gatineau to help Canadians meet growing bandwidth demands for their connected homes and applications.

Canadians trust TELUS to deliver internet at the speed of light. Conditions apply, learn more at Telus.com/PureFibreOttawa

OTTAWA BY THE NUMBERS

🛞 $575 million: The total investment Good Year will use to expand a plant in Napanee. The federal government is providing as much as $44 million, and the province another $20 million. [CBC]

🌊 155,700: The amount of raw sewage and rainwater, in litres, that poured into the Ottawa River after last week’s major rainfall. So far this year, 51.6 million litres have overflowed from the city’s storm and sewage system into the river. [CTV]

🍺 57%: The approximate percentage of convenience stores in the province that have received a licence to sell alcohol. Most of those that have gained approval already have a lottery licence. Starting Sept. 5, corner stores will be permitted to sell beer and other booze. [CityNews]

OUTSIDE DOWNTOWN

🚧 The state of emergency in Chelsea was extended until at least next week as the town deals with the aftermath of last week’s heavy rains. Multiple roads were washed out outside of the town’s centre. [CBC]

👦 Parents in Barrhaven got an unexpected surprise when My Gym announced it was shutting down in its current location because of “unforeseen circumstances.” The gym cancelled all of its camps and classes until Aug. 23 and said it can’t continue in its current space. [CTV]

🏢 Students at Algonquin College and Carleton University are struggling to find affordable housing as the new school year approaches. [CTV]

🚨 A Milanos on St. Laurent was vandalized with swastikas and other racist graffiti, and had some of its windows smashed over the weekend. The police hate crime unit is investigating. [CBC]

💐 Residents in Napanee mourned the death of the “innocent, friendly” Walter Lasher, who was killed after a fire was allegedly set in his home. A 31-year-old man has been charged with first-degree murder and arson in the case. [CBC]

⚖️ An Ottawa man pleaded with a judge not to send him to jail, and instead impose house arrest, after he pleaded guilty to hitting and killing a Brockville man four years ago following an altercation. The Crown is seeking a two-year jail sentence and a five-year driving ban. [Ottawa Citizen]

CITY HALL

Ford, Trudeau say they’re willing to work with Ottawa on funding, but offer no details

What happened: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier Doug Ford offered verbal support for the city after Mayor Mark Sutcliffe made dire warnings about the state of transit funding, but had little concrete to offer, CTV reported.

Crisis communications: Sutcliffe has warned property taxes could rise some 7% to fill an OC Transpo budget hole, projected at nearly $40 million this year. He’s gone so far to say that the Stage 2 rail extensions under construction may not make sense to operate once they’re completed because it will cost too much.

So, the mayor has mounted a public campaign to get other levels of government, the feds in particular, to pay their “fair share” to the city. Sutcliffe said the federal government is short changing the city tens of millions of dollars in payments in lieu of taxes.

The response: Neither Ford nor Trudeau would offer any guarantees for new money. But both said they were happy to continue discussions in ways they can help Ottawa out.

• “The federal government will always be a partner of municipalities going forward particularly a municipality that is so geographically important to the federal government as Ottawa.… We look forward to working with Mark,” Trudeau told reporters.

• “We have a great relationship with Mayor Sutcliffe and made a new deal with him. We're in, if the federal government's in, they're the largest employer in the region, so I'll leave it at that.… We'll talk to Mayor Sutcliffe and work with the federal government,” Ford said.

HOUSE OF THE WEEK

This week’s house is an interesting mid-century-ish home in Faircrest Heights. With four bedrooms, four bathrooms, and two offices, it’s got plenty of space. Most importantly, it has a downstairs wood stove. What’s not to like?

Check the listing to see more.

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.

Conway the Machine, Wednesday 7 pm: Key figure in the resurgence of grimy New York rap known for his gritty bars and menacing delivery. At the Rainbow Bistro, 76 Murray St. Tickets $35.

BADBADNOTGOOD, Thursday 8 pm: Toronto-based jazz ensemble known for blending '70s soul-jazz, alternative hip-hop, and experimental electronica. At the National Arts Centre, 1 Elgin St.  Tickets $45.  

Alex Fernz, Friday 8 pm: Post-punk with a lo-fi blend of synthwave and alternative rock, featuring catchy yet quirky melodies. At House of Targ, 1077 Bank St. Tickets $15. 

Kyra Johnston, Saturday 8 pm: Toronto-based folk artist bringing heartfelt melodies to life with captivating storytelling and her dynamic vocal range. At Art House Cafe, 555 Somerset St. W. Tickets $15.

Rum Ragged, Sunday 5 pm:Red Bird presents a folk festival with Rum Ragged, Daniel James McFadyen and Mia Kelly. At the Ottawa Tennis and Lawn Bowling Club, 176 Cameron Ave. Tickets $59.95.

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

1. Volunteer driver at the South-East Ottawa Community Health Centre

2. Budgie bird care at Carleton Lodge LTC Home

3. Game-day assistant at Ottawa Power Wheelchair Hockey League

4. Community pantry coordinator at Ottawa Paw Pantry

5. Butterfly run event support at Roger Neilson Children's Hospice

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

THE AGENDA

🎤 Premier Doug Ford joked that overflow patients in the healthcare system could go to a new animal hospital for CAT scans and MRIs. Ford was speaking at the ribbon cutting of the vet hospital in Toronto. [CityNews]

🅿️ Parking rates rose in several areas of town this week to $4 as the city tries to adjust rates based on demand. The rates in some neighbourhoods went down to encourage more people to use paid parking. The city may adjust rates up or down by $0.50 as they see how usage changes. [CBC]

⚠️ Watch out for fake QR codes stickered onto city parking meters. The codes take users to a fake site. The city does not use QR codes on its PayByPhone meters, and staff are working to remove the stickers when they find them. [CBC]

🏘️ The city is considering a bylaw to prevent renovictions. Even if it opts for one, it will come too late for these tenants. [Ottawa Citizen]

💥 A fuel truck hit the barrier on the 417 between Bronson and Rochester, damaging the centre median and causing huge delays Tuesday morning. It took crews until the afternoon to repair the damage. [OPP/Twitter]

🛂 The Canadian Air Transport Security Authority recieved dozens of complaints for the poor behaviour of screening officers. The complaints accuse staff of rude and invasive behaviour when dealing with passengers. [CBC]

🚔 Police are warning residents of a scam where a person will ask for help paying for a cab ride with a debit or credit card, and then have their PINs stolen. [CTV]

⚖️ Final arguments began this week in the trial of convoy leaders Tamara Lich and Chris Barber. The two are facing multiple charges including mischief and obstruction and could face up to 10 years in prison if convicted. [CBC]

🚨 On Monday, a person was found dead in the Rideau Canal. Police are investigating. [CTV]

COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHTS

• Happy news as a Centretown resident was reunited with her dog Teddy, who was taken in a break-and-enter last year. The dog was found when a driver ran a red light in Wyoming. [CBC]

• You can eat local foods and produce year-round! We deliver the best of what our region has to offer to your door. Sign up today! [Sponsored]

• Not sure if you’re up for the nudist experience? A naturist park near the city has an orientation day this weekend. [Ottawa Citizen]

• Sure, you’ve seen photos of Ottawa. But have you seen photos of Ottawa in infrared? [Reddit]

• The aurora borealis was pretty spectacular over the city this week. [Reddit]

OTTAWA GAMES

Congrats to the 59% of you who knew that there were 2,400 people who entered the job market last month looking for jobs, which pushed the unemployment rate in the city up slightly to 6.3% from 6%.

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.