By Summer Camp Registration Now Open
From dance to sports, aqua fun to leaderships, kinder kamp to tripping around Ottawa, children of all ages can experience the day camp adventure in hundreds of Parks, Recreation and Culture Services summer camps. Over 350 traditional and specialty day camps are available for a variety of age groups. Register your child now at ottawa.ca/summercamps.
Free PRESTO Smart Cards
OC Transpo riders will soon experience the convenience of using smart card technology with the official launch of the PRESTO card this summer. OC Transpo has successfully negotiated an agreement to distribute the first 200,000 smart cards for free starting on June 10, 2012.
The PRESTO system uses smart cards and readers, which are considered industry best practice because they enhance customer service and allow rapid boarding. Transit users will be able to go online to purchase, renew or load up their cards with per-use or per-month rides. PRESTO cards will be operational on most OC Transpo buses starting July 1, 2012.
Fire Hydrant Testing
Between May and September, City crews will open and flush fire hydrants at a very high flow rate to test their operation and flow capacity. As it is not possible to predict the exact date a crew will be in your neighbourhood, a flyer will be delivered to your home in advance of the testing to advise you of the upcoming work.
Although fire hydrant testing is a routine maintenance procedure, it may temporarily inconvenience residents in nearby homes. While hydrants are being flushed on your street, you are advised to turn off your taps for 20 minutes and not to do laundry or run the dishwasher. When work crews have left the area, turn on one of your cold water taps for a few minutes to flush out the pipes until the water runs clear.
Please visit ottawa.ca/firehydrants to find a list of neighbourhoods where the tests will be carried out, as well as daily updates about testing on particular streets. You can also call the City’s water information line at 613-560-6089 or the Client Service Centre at 3-1-1.
Emergency Preparedness Workshops
Are you, your friends and neighbours in the community prepared in the event of an emergency or disaster such as floods, severe weather and blackouts? The better-prepared people are for an emergency, the better the City of Ottawa can respond to that emergency. That’s why the City offers the Are You Ready Program, which utilizes a grass-root network of community leaders, agencies and individuals to help deliver emergency preparedness workshops.
Residents have the opportunity to volunteer as leaders of these workshops following training by City of Ottawa emergency preparedness experts. To become a volunteer trainer, you must attend a training session from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. on May 24 or June 20, 2012.
To inquire about booking a workshop for your community group or to register to become a volunteer trainer for emergency preparedness workshops, please contact the City’s Office of Emergency Management by phone at 613-580-2424 extension 28078 or by e-mail
at areyouready@ottawa.ca.
City of Ottawa’s Approach to Address the Emerald Ash Borer
In 2008, City Council approved a high level approach to address the impact of EAB on Ottawa’s forest cover. It was laid out in 5 steps:
- Regulation of wood movement and disposal;
- Tree removal;
- Selective tree injections;
- Proactive tree planting and replacement tree planting; and,
- Public Consultation/Outreach.
TreeAzin Injections
One element of the City’s EAB strategy includes tree injection as a mitigation measure to minimize the impact on our forest cover. Ash trees located on City property are thoroughly assessed to determine if they will respond well to TreeAzin injection. Some trees may be too infected to be treated, in poor condition due to other health factors, or simply in a poor location. To date, the City has injected over or 750 Ash trees and the program will expand this spring to 1500 Ash trees. The cost of this treatment is directly related to the size of the tree.
Residents have the option to inject City-owned trees located on their property, at their own cost, if it is deemed reasonable to do so. Please call my office and I will ask staff to determine whether your tree may be a candidate for injection and how to proceed before engaging a qualified contractor. TreeAzin injections should only be performed by a qualified professional and trees must be re-injected every two years, potentially for the life of the tree.
Broad Consultation
The City’s Forestry Services Branch has actively consulted with many groups, both internal and external. A “Made in Eastern Ontario Solution” was needed and this was addressed through the formation of a Regional Forest Health Working Group comprised of members from government departments, Conservation Authorities and forest industry representatives.
The City has also actively participated with EAB working groups across Canada and Ontario to provide advice and to seek expert advice from communities, such as those in southwestern Ontario who have dealt with the impacts of EAB longer than we have.
This spring, the City hosted two citywide EAB sessions, at Ben Franklin Place and at the Jim Durrell Centre. Stay tuned for details regarding an EAB Open House for River Ward residents.
Next Steps
The City estimates that there are 75,000 Ash trees on City streets. Thankfully, not all are infested at this time. For this reason, staff will continue to monitor, expand the injection program and expand the interplanting program to help ensure that the Ash tree is around for future generations in some form.
City of Ottawa Named Top Green Employer
A national competition, held annually by Mediacorp Canada Inc., has recognized the City of Ottawa as being among Canada’s Greenest Employers based on an evaluation of its workplace environmental programs. Among the initiatives that earned the City the recognition were:
- The “Ottawa River Action Plan”, consisting of 17 projects focused on reducing combined sewage overflows, reducing storm water impacts and improving wastewater treatment;
- The City’s “Energy Reduction Program”, which has helped the City reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by over 13,000 tonnes through a variety of energy-efficient upgrades, including lighting conversions, new building automation systems, and the installation of high efficiency boilers, furnaces and chillers;
- The recent conversion of over 20 per cent of the City’s 1070 traffic signals to energy- saving LED lighting, with additional conversions ongoing, and guarantee that all new and rebuilt intersections are equipped with LED lighting technology; and
- The implementation of a “Green Building Policy for the Construction of Corporate Buildings” which requires all new municipal buildings over 500 square metres to be built to Leadership in Energy and Environmental (LEED) “Certified” standard.
Safer Roads Ottawa Program
May Initiatives
During the month of May, the Safer Roads Ottawa Program will focus on motorists who run red lights and do not fully comply with stop signs.
April Results
The City of Ottawa laid 212 charges during April’s Safer Roads Ottawa Program. 112 motorists were fined for improper lane changes, while 100 tickets were laid for inappropriate usage of reserved lanes.