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MANOR PARK CHRONICLE
JANVIER
2008
Eastbourne Petition
In early December, my office received a petition regarding the
Eastbourne corridor. The stated intent of the petition is to
modify the “traffic use of Eastbourne to local traffic only”. To
this end, the signatories of the petition make three requests:-
• that Eastbourne be closed at the 5 corner junction that is
Eastbourne, Braemar & Ava (or at Thornwood);
• that the speed limit on Eastbourne Avenue be reduced to 40
km/hr; and,
• that school buses be prohibited from using Eastbourne unless
picking up children actually residing on that street.
Such a change would require careful reflection before it could
go forward and will necessarily involve the surrounding
community. At the very least, I expect that the Community
Association will be considering the matter in the new year.
At this stage, I will simply point out that a street closure may
have unintended consequences such as increased traffic on
adjacent corridors as well as potentially longer response times
for emergency vehicles.
The request for a changed speed limit on Eastbourne may be
better dealt with through a report, to be considered in 2008,
whereby the “unposted” speed limit on all residential streets
would be changed to 40 km/hr from the current 50km/hr.
Finally, I will be asking if the City has the ability to
restrict school buses as proposed, short of actually closing the
intersection to all vehicles. As a first step, I have referred
the petition to staff for analysis.
Comprehensive Zoning By-law moves forward
The harmonization of all former municipal zoning by-laws into
one Comprehensive Zoning By-law is intended to make zoning
information more easily understood and thereby better guide
development in the municipality. One final public meeting on the
new Zoning By-law will take place at the end of March 2008,
followed by Council adoption of the new By-law in May 2008.
City surpasses corporate greenhouse gas emissions target
The City of Ottawa has surpassed its corporate greenhouse gas (GHG)
emissions target. Council received a study of 2004 levels of air
contaminants and greenhouse gases which concluded that the
City’s emissions are down 24 per cent, surpassing the target of
a 20 per cent reduction below 1990 levels. As a corporate
entity, the City emitted just over 75,000 tonnes of GHG in 2004.
The largest sources of emissions were from City facilities (53
per cent) and fleet (28 per cent). The biggest reductions came
from waste management, which showed a 71 per cent reduction in
emissions through landfill gas conversion, as well as water and
sewage operations at ROPEC where co-generation efforts resulted
in a 68 per cent decrease. Other contributors of note include
energy efficiency initiatives for streetlights, traffic lights
and corporate buildings.
The City also has a commitment to reducing the community’s GHG
emissions by 20 per cent below 1990 levels by 2012. The study
shows that although there are still four years remaining to
reach that goal, there has been a five per cent increase in
community emissions, mostly due to the building and
transportation sectors. Greenhouse gas emissions from the
transportation sector increased by 15 per cent, due to an
increased number of vehicles and a consumer shift from cars to
vans, SUVs and light-duty trucks. These larger vehicles (i.e.
vans, SUVs & light-duty trucks) emit up to 40 per cent more GHG
per kilometre than do cars. On the positive side, the community
waste sector saw a decrease of 44 per cent due to landfill gas
recovery and diversion initiatives like recycling, composting
and the Take it Back! program.
The City will be setting new corporate GHG targets in 2008.
Smartcard transit fare payment system approved
Council approved plans to join the Greater Toronto Area Fare
System (GTAFS) project to make its goal of Smartcard technology
a reality by 2010. Participation in this project will bring
significant savings for the City, reduce implementation risk and
make good use of resources already committed to the GTAFS by the
Ministry of Transportation of Ontario (MTO). Council approved
increasing the budget from $15 million already in the 2007
budget to $21 million, although the actual cost will be less
than $15 million due to a $7 million subsidy from the Province.
The City will also be looking for additional money from the
federal government to help with the costs of integrating the OC
Transpo and STO card systems.
Season's Greetings
I also take this opportunity, on behalf of my family and myself,
to extend to all, Best Wishes for Health, Prosperity and
Personal Serenity in 2008.
Meilleurs vœux
Je profite de cette occasion pour vous souhaiter mes meilleurs
vœux pour une année 2008 remplie de santé, prospérité et
sérénité.
Jacques Legendre
Councillor, Rideau-Rockcliffe
You can communicate with me at (please include a telephone
number):
City of Ottawa
110 Laurier Avenue West
Ottawa ON K1P 1J1
Tel: 580-2483, Fax: 580-2523
E-mail:
jacques.legendre@ottawa.ca
Web Site:
www.rideau-rockcliffe.com
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