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New Edinburgh News
FEBRUARY 2008
Downtown Parking – Charges, Extended Hours and New Paid
Parking Areas
During the 2008 City Budget debate last December, Councillors
Rob Jellett and Maria McRae moved an ‘omnibus’ motion dealing
with numerous user fee and service charge increases. The basis
for these revenue options were to be found in Appendix “A” of
the summary document entitled “Transmittal Report”.
Specifically, regarding ‘parking charges’ several options were
advanced:
Option 11: Charge for on-street parking into the evenings
(until 9pm) from Monday to Friday in commerical areas only.
(Expected additional revenue $1.275 Million)
Option 12: Charge for on-street parking on Saturday
(8am-9pm) & Sunday
(8am-5:30pm) in commercial areas only. Requires a capital outlay
of $85K for vehicles and equipment. (Expected additional revenue
$0.665 Million)
Option 13: Introduce Pay and Display machines for
on-street parking
citywide to replace parking meters. Requires $5.2M of capital
outlay. This proposal and the corresponding projections assume
that the proposals for paid parking on weekday evenings and
Saturday/Sunday have been taken. (Expected additional revenue
$0.480 Million – much more in subsequent years)
Option 14: Increase on-street parking rates to $3.00/hr
from current $2.50/hr.
This proposal and the corresponding projections assumes that the
proposals for paid parking on weekday evenings, Saturday/Sunday
and Pay & Display have been taken. (Expected additional revenue
$0.755 Million)
Option 15: Introduce on-street paid parking to the
Westboro, Old Ottawa
South, Hintonburg and Beechwood commercial areas. Requires
$1.288M of capital outlay. This proposal and the corresponding
projections assumes that the proposals for paid parking on
weekday evenings, Saturday/Sunday and Pay & Display have been
taken. (Expected additional revenue $0.795 Million)
It will be clear that many of these options are linked, that is,
their implementation was logical only with other options.
Councillor Leadman and I introduced an amendment that would have
delayed the implementation of Option 15 for one year. This would
have allowed for proper study of the merits or otherwise of
introducing parking where it does not now exist and would have
provided the consultation that normally accompanies such a major
change. Such was the appetite for additional revenue around the
Council table that, even though no consultation had occurred in
any of the proposed new areas, the amendment failed on a vote of
7 – 17.
Proper consultations ought to have occurred before many of these
Council decisions. This is particularly true for Options 11, 12
and 15. It is now becoming evident that there are unintended
consequences in these cases. The application of these measures
will be discussed at a special meeting of Transportation
Committee on February 6, 2008. In the meantime, application of
increased rates and extended hours has been delayed until March
1st.
Ottawa Talks - Lansdowne Park Future
Once again, the future vision of Lansdowne Park is up for public
debate. This time, you can count on a lot more people having
much more to say about what should or shouldn’t be included on
this historic site. Much has been suggested over past months and
years, and the diversity and passion behind these ideas has far
from diminished. Where else would you get an assortment of
visions ranging from gondolas to farmers markets, football, and
condos?
Although the timing of starting such a process might be another
issue for debate, the recent infrastructure issues with the
south side stands sounded a warning that has proven to be the
opportunity to revisit Lansdowne Park’s current and future role.
Neighbouring residents might feel they should have priority in
providing input to what happens in their own backyards, but we
have to remember that this is a huge public asset that benefits
the entire National capital area - and this could be a last
chance to get it right.
Over the course of the next 12 months, the City will host a
design competition to entice the best creative talent to help
create a bold, new vision for the 40-acre site. Tight timelines
will mean a tight public consultation process. However, by using
a web-based discussion forum called “Ottawa Talks”, the City
expects that a far greater number of people will be able to make
their voices heard.
The initial process began with an Open House on January 22 with
an outline of the competition process, timelines, and public
input process. There will a second facilitated workshop on
February 26 to open discussions on site development issues and
gather input on the suggested Guiding Principles for Design. It
is these Principles that are key to instructing the design teams
as they develop their vision.
This may be the last kick at the can to be heard. If you have an
opinion - and who doesn’t? - mark the next few weeks in your
calendar and take the time to state your views. All events are
being held at the Civic Centre in Salons A and B. The February
26 workshop will be held from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Visit ottawa.ca/designlansdowne
to register for the workshop online and add your name to the
contact list. You can also voice your opinions anytime online
starting January 22, on "Ottawa Talks” - a web-based discussion
forum.
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.
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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