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Traffic nightmare as 417, LRT to close
It's going to be a rough weekend to get around.
Robert Hiltz
24 Jul
Good morning!
Well, get ready for an even worse weekend of traffic. Starting Thursday, the 417 will close for a bridge replacement, alongside half the LRT. We’ve got all the details below.
Prepare yourself! It’s going to be a difficult few days trying to get around the city.
We’ve also got news about commercial real estate, gig listings, volunteer opportunities, and plenty more.
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: 24 🌡️ 17 | 🌦/⛈️
Thursday: 23 🌡️ 14 | 🌧
Friday: 27 🌡️ 14 | ☀️
ROAD WORK
417 to close from Thursday to Monday
What happened: Starting Thursday at 8 pm, the 417 will be closed eastbound between Carling and Metcalfe, and westbound between Bronson and Parkdale. The Preston Street overpass will be replaced. Work is expected to be completed, and the highway reopened, by Monday at 6 am, according to the construction contractor.
Much of the traffic will be detoured along Carling Avenue
City of Ottawa
City of Ottawa
You’ll be able to watch the replacement live on YouTube here:
Overlap: The timing is not ideal. Adding to the traffic woes will be the ongoing LRT maintenance shutdown. Trains aren’t expected to run between Tunney’s Pasture and Rideau stations until Monday. Trains are still operating between uOttawa and Blair stations.
OC Transpo
The worst day: Friday is expected to be particularly bad. Adding to the highway and train closures, there’s also a Redblacks game. “The peak impacts are expected between 3 and 11:30 pm,” the city said.
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OTTAWA BY THE NUMBERS
💰 $30 billion: The federal government announced a new 10-year $3 billion per year plan to boost transit capital funding. But transit services including OC Transpo are having difficulty funding the operations side of the budget, and it’s not clear how helpful the plan will be. [CBC]
📸 17: Construction notices have been issued for this many new speed cameras to be installed across the city. Another three are planned this year. [CTV]
OUTSIDE DOWNTOWN
🌊 In the city’s western suburbs, you may have noticed decreased water pressure because of a broken watermain on Stittsville Main Street. [CTV]
🐈 Towns outside the city, including Hawkesbury and Smiths Falls are struggling to keep up with the number of stray cats in need of care. Volunteers believe increased adoptions during the pandemic are to blame. [CBC]
🚙 The Gloucester-Southgate Ward has taken the prize this year for the most reported car thefts so far with 95, which is 10% of the city’s total of 929 stolen vehicles. [Ottawa Citizen]
🔍 Ottawa Police Services Chief Eric Stubbs said detectives are investigating a possible link between the shooting death of a man in Westboro earlier this month, and a shooting that killed two people at a wedding last September. [CTV]
🚨 Five people were taken to hospital after a collision between a motorcycle and two other vehicles Sunday on the 401 in Kingston. Two people, including the motorcycle rider, had life-threatening injuries. [CTV]
🚔 Over the weekend, police conducted a blitz to stop speeders in Barrhaven and Orléans. Eight drivers were hit with stunt driving tickets, including one person driving 181 km/h on Strandherd Drive. [Ottawa Police]
OFFICE SPACE
Commercial real estate market showing signs of improvement
What happened: The rising vacancy rate in the city’s commercial real estate market is slowing down, according to a new Avison Young report. Across the city, availability of office space decreased 0.3 percentage points from last quarter to 14.5%.
“Increased leasing activity in both the downtown and suburban markets has slowed the steady vacancy rise that has been observed since 2020,” the report said.
Suburban leaders: Offices in the west end are leading the way, with availability rates recovering much faster than elsewhere in the city.
“Tenants are once again committing to longer lease terms. After months of reevaluating return-to-office strategies, occupiers now have a better understanding of space needs moving forward. The softening of interest rates and the improvement of the business outlook are breathing a newfound confidence into the office market,” the report said.
Conversions: Many of the older buildings that were seen as suitable candidates for conversion to residential buildings appear to have been snapped up. Older buildings, known as “Class B” or “Class C” in industry terms, had seen vacancy rates drop at higher rates thanks to conversions pulling them off the commercial market.
“We expect this trend will taper off as there are limited buildings left that meet the rigorous requirements for residential conversion. Activity will continue to soften in the class B and C markets as leasing velocity is limited and tenants focus on high-quality, amenity rich buildings,” the Avison Young report said.
HOUSE OF THE WEEK
Realtor.ca
Today’s home is a three-bedroom end-unit townhome in Orléans. It features a finished basement, a four-piece ensuite and walk-in closet in the master bedroom, and a fully fenced back yard. It’s got plenty to offer a growing family.
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.
Ceippo, Wednesday 7 pm: Eclectic indie folk-punk blending raw, fast-paced tracks with introspective tunes. At Live! on Elgin, 220 Elgin St. Tickets $10.
Belfountain, Thursday 8 pm: Authentic, roots-inspired songwriting, blending alt-folk anthems and alt-country ballads. At Avant-Garde Bar, 135 Besserer St. Tickets $10.
Side by Side Weekend, from Friday: Indie weekender with a stacked line-up including Pony Girl, Indian Giver, and Sorry Snowman. At Club SAW, 67 Nicholas St. Tickets from $20.
Rachel Beausoleil Trio, Friday 7:30 pm: Multi-lingual Canadian jazz fusion artist performing in French, English, Spanish and Portuguese. At Montgomery Scotch Lounge, 750 Gladstone Ave. Tickets $15.
The Wilderness, Saturday 8 pm: Kingston rock sextet with a bond of brotherhood and a love for rock n' roll. At the Rainbow Bistro, 76 Murray St. Tickets $17.
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VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
Social media coordinator at Foodsharing Ottawa
3D printing instructor at The Door Youth Centre
Art in the park early years at the Centretown Community Health Centre
Webpage content creator at Transgender and Non-Binary Alliance of Canada
Front of house at the Odyssey Theatre
Have a volunteer listing you’d like to share? Send it to [email protected] with “Volunteering” in the subject line.
THE AGENDA
⚖️ Orléans-East Cumberland Coun. Matt Luloff is facing two impaired driving charges, seeming impaired and having an illegally high alcohol level after a test, according to court documents found by CBC. The councillor was arrested July 6, four days later he withdrew as the federal Conservative candidate. [CBC]
🍸 The president and CEO of the LCBO, George Soleas, also sits on the board of the Retail Council of Canada. The council has been lobbying the provincial government in favour of expanding private retail sales of alcohol, which experts said was a clear conflict of interest. [PressProgress]
🍾 Meanwhile, LCBO stores across the province reopened Tuesday after the end of the two-week strike, the agency’s first. The union voted to ratify the deal, including an 8% pay increase, over the weekend. [The Canadian Press]
👶 An Ottawa couple was shocked to find their application to become foster parents was rejected by the Children’s Aid Society of Ottawa because they were also undergoing fertility treatments. [CBC]
🚗 It’s been almost a year, but a local man has still not had his car fixed by a local Acura dealership. After being damaged in a storm — which set off all the airbags — the man brought it for repairs, the dealership said the necessary repair parts are not yet available. [CTV]
🚨 Two men were charged with assault in what police say was a hate-motivated assault on Canada Day. The two men allegedly hurled racial slurs at a family, then assaulted another man who was taken to hospital with his injuries. [Ottawa Police]
🔍 The arson unit is investigating after human remains were found inside a car that was on fire. The car was found on Speedway Road off Highway 7. [CBC]
⚖️ An occasional teacher at both the Ottawa Catholic School Board and the Ottawa Carleton District School Board was charged with sexual assault and other charges for incidents police say took place at schools. [CBC]
COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHTS
A woman would like to sell her possessions so she can give the proceeds to the Hawkesbury hospital foundation. It’s more difficult than she imagined. [Ottawa Citizen]
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]
One of the first spans across the Rideau Canal was demolished 112 years ago this month. [Reddit]
A cat who escaped her Montreal home eight years ago (!) was returned to her owners by the Ottawa Humane Society after she was found and her microchip was scanned. [CTV]
Looking to find out who’s going to the Olympics and Paralympics from the region? The Citizen has a short feature on all the local athletes heading to Paris. [Ottawa Citizen]
Easy tips and advice for personal finances with Dollarwise, a free newsletter. Try it out today and get control of your money. [Sponsored]
Want to have your announcement featured? Learn how here.
CAPITAL EATS
Nymark makes for sublime dining in an iconic setting
Chateau Montebello lobby. Ralf Joneikies/Ottawa Lookout
Capital Eats is written by our food editor Ralf Joneikies.
When the invitation came, it was impossible to say no. I’d never been to the Chateau Montebello and with its storied history, including a meeting of G7 world leaders in 1981, I was more than a little intrigued.
I and another food journalist from Montreal had been asked to sample the inaugural menu at Nymark, the Chateau’s newest restaurant. What I found would leave an impression.
OTTAWA GAMES
Google Maps
Monday’s was a tricky one. There’s still plenty of testing to be done, but the offical testing period, once it starts, will be at least 21 days. Congrats to the 33% of you who got that one right this week.
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.
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