Mayor argues to open Wellington Street

The mayor wants Wellington to reopen to cars, maybe temporarily, but the feds want to keep it closed.

Good morning!

Well, my wife was a little horrified that I told you all our (fake!) Christmas tree was still up because we liked the light it gave off. Fortunately, our nightmare has now come to an end, as the lamp we ordered to replace it has arrived, and the tree can go back into the storage locker for another year. 

And it wouldn’t be a Friday in January if there wasn’t a storm coming. Environment Canada issued a weather advisory that ends this morning. It’s expected there will be about 10 cm of snow overnight, at times heavy. If you’ve got to travel early today, take it slow, visibility might not be great.

Let’s get to it.

— Robert Hiltz, managing editor

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Weather Report

Friday: -3 🌡️ -5 | ❄️

Saturday: -1 🌡️ -4 | 🌤

Sunday: 0 🌡️ -5 | ❄️

Monday: -2 🌡️ -10 | ❄️

CITY HALL

Should Wellington reopen to cars?

Wellington and Metcalfe

Robert Hiltz/Ottawa Lookout

What happened: Mayor Mark Sutcliffe and suburban Coun. Tim Tierney want to reopen Wellington Street to traffic in front of Parliament Hill. The bylaw that closed the street after the convoy occupation expired at the end of the year, and they want to see traffic flow again CBC reported.

Tierney chairs the transportation committee and said next week they would vote on whether to reopen the street. He favours returning traffic to the street, and said it is ugly in its current state.

  • “Unless there's a really good reason for it to be closed in the short term, that we should consider reopening it. … If we're going to close the road to traffic, it should be because of a bigger plan that we have for Wellington and for downtown Ottawa, not because the convoy happened for three weeks in 2022,” Sutcliffe told CBC

Odd timing: Just last month, a parliamentary committee released a report recommending the strip of Wellington be brought under federal jurisdiction and permanently closed to vehicles, citing safety reasons. Earlier this week, the city announced it was launching a study of the traffic effects of keeping it closed, and said the closure had not caused the transportation network to fail, CTV reported.

Local MP reaction: Yasir Naqvi, who represents the downtown Ottawa Centre riding, said to CBC he was opposed to opening it, even temporarily, when the city and the federal government were having active conversations about transfering

The Lookout’s view: If Parliament is going to buy the land to close it, why go through the trouble of re-installing infrastructure like traffic lights, only to tear them out again? While the temporary barriers might not look great, traffic isn’t any sort of improvement. Besides, with essentially no north-south traffic above Queen, walking through downtown has become much more pleasant, particularly on Sparks.

Local politics quick hits

Electric buses: The federal government announced it would provide $350 million to the city to cover part of the cost of the purchase of 350 new electric buses. The full cost of the buses has not yet been announced, but is expected during the budget process playing out over the coming weeks.

Same old secrecy? Earlier this month, the Ottawa Police Board appointed its interim chair. The meeting took four minutes to make the appointment and the public was not given any notice the decision would be made, the Ottawa Citizen reported.

  • The appointment wasn’t announced in a press release for several days, once the media and local civic group Horizon Ottawa noticed the appointment. Citizen columnist Mohammed Adam wondered if Sutcliffe had already given up on his promises to undo the secrecy of the Watson administration.

SJAM renaming: The name of the Sir John A Macdonald Parkway will be changed to an Indigenous name later this year, after the NCC consults with Indigenous groups, CTV reported. Sutcliffe was one of the two men who came up with the idea to name it after Macdonald in the first place, according to Press Progress’s Luke LeBrun. It’s a stance he disavowed last year in a column in the Citizen.

OTTAWA BY THE NUMBERS

📈 14%: The rate at which rent prices increased in Ottawa in December when compared to November. That’s more than double the rate of inflation. The average monthly rent for a one-bedroom apartment is now $1,956. [CTV]

🪙 $1: The cost of a promotional fare to fly on Porter Airlines' first flights between Ottawa and Pearson Airport in Toronto. [CTV]

🏢 326: The number of units in a proposed complex of four six-storey buildings on Tenth Line Road in Orléans approved by the planning committee. [OBJ]

END OF AN ERA

Rideau Street McDonald’s to close this year

That McDonald's

Google Maps

What happened: The Rideau Street McDonald’s will close in the spring when the lease runs out on the location at the end of April. Open since 1985, the franchise is moving on, CTV reported.

Bad reputation: The restaurant is notorious for late-night altercations. It’s on the edge of the market and for many years was open 24 hours. When the bars let out late at night, the restaurant fills up. Police are frequently called. Last year, they received 150 calls to go to the location — which dropped significantly from the 800 police received in 2018.

  • In 2019, Ottawa’s police chief sent a letter to corporate headquarters about the frequent problems at the location. McDonald’s lowered the hours to 6 am to 10 pm.

Unforgettable: Famously, the McDonald’s was the location for a video of a fight (bad) that featured a man inexplicably pulling a baby raccoon out of his sweater (iconic).

THE AGENDA

🌆 Former mayoral candidate Catherine McKenney launched, with local economist Neil Saravanamuttoo, a new non-profit organization CitySPACES to advocate for better urban policy.

🚨 Many motorists are driving around with expired plates. Even though the province eliminated the fees, you still need to renew your licence plate every year. [CTV]

🏟️ The NCC said negotiations with the Ottawa Senators are still on track, and they expect to have a lease for a new LeBreton arena signed by the fall, even with the ongoing sale of the team. [CTV]

🏬 The Bay will be opening Zellers outlets in some of its stores, including the ones at the Rideau Centre and St. Laurent Shopping Centre. Another will open in Gatineau. There’s no timeline for when the brand will return. [Ottawa Citizen]

🎤 A coalition of local activist groups want a tour stop of Jordan Peterson’s at the Canadian Tire Centre to be cancelled. [Ottawa Citizen]

EVENTS

Your weekend guide

Arts

🎨 Art Battle Ottawa, Saturday 7 pm: A live painting competition, as artists battle through three 20-minute rounds. The audience gets to vote for their favourites, and there’s a silent auction to take home a piece yourself. At the Arts Court, 2 Daily Ave. Tickets $24.

Sports

🤼 C*4 Wrestling presents GO!, tonight 7:30: Their first wrestling show of the year, head on out to the Preston Event Centre, 523 St. Anthony’s St., for a night of mayhem and spectacle. Tickets start at $33.

🏃‍♀️ Mill Street Millers Run Club, Sunday 11 am: A runclub for all levels. Head to the Mill Street Brew Pub, 55 Wellington St., for one of three distance runs, 3K, 6K, or 12K, then enjoy a free Mill Street beer after the run. Free to sign up.

General

🩻 uOttawa Healthcare Symposium, Saturday 9am: A day of inspiration and information on the history and future of the healthcare industry, geared toward students. Online and at the Desmarais Building, 55 Laurier Ave. E. Pay what you can.

🚍 Kanata Transit Forum, Saturday 2 pm: Ottawa Transit Riders are hosting a forum to talk transit in the western suburb. Head on out and share your concerns about transit, and what you’d like to see from OC Transpo. Tickets are free.

Culture

💃 New Year, Still Queer, Tonight 7:30 pm: A trans and non-binary drag event and celebration at Beyond the Pale Brewery, 250 City Centre Ave. Tickets $17.

Other

👷 Ottawa Home and Remodelling Show, Thursday to Sunday: Vendors, speakers, and a few familiar faces. Everything you need to plan that home remodelling. At the EY Centre. Tickets $14.

💍 Capital Wedding Show, Saturday and Sunday, 11 am: A bridal registry, plenty of prizes, and dozens of vendors for all things wedding, from dresses and suits to catering and jewelry. At the Ottawa Conference and Event Centre, 200 Coventry Rd. Tickets start at $18.

CAPITAL EATS

The week in food

Shrimp balls dim sum

Shrimp balls dim sum. Ralf Joneikies/Ottawa Lookout

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. 

🥤 A local producer has found a way to make sweet and delicious non-alcoholic drinks without the use of sugar.

🥣 This Filipino restaurant is a great place to go for sharing. You don’t want to miss the deep-fried pork hock, or the bulalo soup. 

🍷 Dipping into the past with a new feature Retro Reviews, Ralf looks at a wine whose name once included the phrase “meat wine.”

🥡 Continuing his tour of Chinese restaurants, Ralf goes to one he’d long neglected, and comes away quite impressed.

COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHTS
  • Keep an eye out for Duckie, a parrot who escaped her home in Barrhaven. [Reddit]

  • Brooke Henderson returned to the course this week for the start of the LPGA Tour season. [CityNews]

  • The Sens gave Daniel Maloney a heck of night with Make a Wish Foundation, as he skated on the ice with the team…

  • …a game they won in overtime, much to everyone’s delight. [Sportsnet]

  • Don’t forget to keep your catch basins clear after today’s snow. [Reddit]

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

TOP PHOTO
Good dog!

William Beddoe/Ottawa Lookout Reader

Today’s photo comes from William Beddoe, who sends in this great shot of a very good dog. “Perfect winter sunshine with a happy dog (my golden retriever rescue, Kima) enjoying herself in the snow,” he said.

Do you have a photo you want to share with Lookout readers? Send it our way!

OTTAWAGUESSER
A bridge with some trees and a bright blue sky. Cars pass by.

Google Maps

It’s a special two-for-one games day, because we inadvertently left the OttawaGuesser out of Wednesday’s issue. This one should hopefully be an easier one than last week’s (sorry again about that). Let us know where you think this is! The first five people to respond get their names mentioned in the next newsletter.

OTTAWA WORDLE

It’s time once again for your weekly Ottawa Wordle. Good luck!

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