What a great weekend to get outdoors, but take caution as this week promises to be a very hot one. Follow Ottawa Public Health tips on how to stay cool. Councillor Gower’s notes for this week include a new publication that will be handy if you are new to Stittsville or have lived here for some time – Welcome to Stittsville Newcomer’s Guide – make sure you get a copy. He also provides an update on the city’s draft zoning by-law. Check out the Councillor’s website at the link provided below to view all the photos from the Welcome to Stittsville Multicultural Festival – another successful and well-attended event. Other topics he touches on are: grass cutting on the right of way beside your property; a traffic count at Stittsville Main and Brae; the Stittsville Front Porch Concert Series; property tax deadline; green spaces; Crossing Bridge Sign revitalization; pathways; sidewalks; and the Trans Canada Trail. Also, if you require assistance, get in touch with the Councillor’s office.
Welcome to Stittsville Newcomer’s Guide
We’re very excited to launch our new Welcome to Stittsville Newcomer’s Guide. It’s designed to help people who are new to Stittsville during their first few days, weeks, and months in our community.
You can download a copy at glengower.ca/welcome/ … or you can pick a copy in person at our ward office at CARDELREC (1500 Shea Road).
The guide will be useful for people who are moving from another country, another province, or even from another neighbourhood in Ottawa. The booklet includes a range of information on topics such as housing, healthcare, education, employment, city services, and more.
The booklet was written and produced by my team, and was developed based on a recommendation from the Stittsville Diversity Committee. The committee is made up of representatives from various cultural groups, and is focused on identifying challenges and barriers faced by immigrants and multicultural groups, and taking action to promote a more welcoming and inclusive community.
An update on the City’s draft zoning by-law
One of our big projects at City Hall during this term of council is to update our city-wide zoning by-law. The existing by-law is over twenty years old and has to be updated to match our new Official Plan, approved in 2021.
It’s a mammoth undertaking and City staff are giving residents a lot of time and opportunities to ask questions and weigh in. Similar to the Official Plan process, your feedback will shape the final version of the by-law.
What can you do?
- You can see the full text of the draft by-law plus a “before-and-after” interactive zoning map at engage.ottawa.ca
- Please take our survey for Stittsville residents. Tell us which topics you’re interested in. We’ll be hosting some workshops this fall and your feedback will help us focus on the topics you’re interested in.
- And a virtual city-wide information session about the draft zoning by-law on Thursday, June 20 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Photos from the Welcome to Stittsville Multicultural Festival
What an incredible afternoon! Over 75 organizations and hundreds of people participated in the third annual Welcome to Stittsville Multicultural Festival on Saturday, June 15. The event featured music, food, dance, art, fashion and culture from around the world. Thank you to everyone who took part!
You can see photos of the event on my web site at glengower.ca.
A huge thanks to all of the volunteers who helped to make this event a success, and thank you to Juliana and Aline from my team for co-ordinating this incredible event! And thank you to our event sponsors: CocoMutts, Nobility Performance, Guardian Compounding Pharmacy, Jameel Insurance, and Orr Motors.
Resident responsibilities for cutting grass in boulevards
The right-of-way (ROW) is the City-owned portion of land that includes roadways, shoulders, sidewalks, and boulevards beside your property. In accordance with the Use and Care of Roads By-law, residential owners are responsible for maintaining the ROW, including cutting grass along boulevards at the front or side of their homes. You can find more information here…
Data from our traffic count at Stittsville Main & Brae
On May 9, our team did a traffic study at the intersection of Stittsville Main and Brae Street. We wanted to see how long it took for vehicles to turn out of Brae Street onto Stittsville Main during the morning rush hour. We’ve posted a summary of the data, tracking how long each vehicle waited to turn right or left onto Stittsville Main Street, including time in line and time at the stop sign. Read more…
Stittsville Front Porch Concert Series on Thursday, June 20
One of my favourite Stittsville events takes place during the evening of June 20th on front porches all over Stittsville. The Stittsville Front Porch Concerts is an opportunity to enjoy free live music in your neighbourhood. There are nearly 40 locations participating this year, with money raised going to The Royal Ottawa Place, a long-term care home located on the grounds of the Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre. Thank you to Sarah Blakely for organizing this year’s event!
Property tax deadline
The City reminds residents the payment deadline for their final property tax is Thursday, June 20.More info…
Share your feedback on Ottawa’s green spaces and great places
With over 100 recreational facilities and 1,300 parks spanning more than 4,300 hectares of parkland, Ottawa is full of green spaces and great places for our community to enjoy. We’re currently reviewing the Parks and Facilities By-law and your input is essential to ensure that these spaces and places remain green and great for everyone. Read more…
Fundraising for the Crossing Bridge Sign revitalization
The Crossing Bridge Residents’ Association is raising funds to revitalize the sign at the neighbourhood entrance. Plans include: low maintenance landscaping, hedge pruning and beautification of the existing sign. Postcard Perfect has graciously offered to donate a full day with a landscaping crew/equipment. If you are a Crossing Bridge resident, please consider donating to this project. Details here…
Westwood pathways
Work should be wrapping up this week on the three new pathways connecting Westwood to the Trans Canada Trail at Angelheights, Putney Park, and Finsbury. A signalized pedestrian crossing will be installed at Abbott and Talltree in July.
Hazeldean Sidewalks
There are some minor repairs required on the sidewalk near the Hazeldean Bridge over the Carp River, just west of Terry Fox. There may be some minor disruptions for pedestrians while the repairs are completed in the next few days.
Trans Canada Trail maintenance
The Trans Canada Trail will be closed between Jinkinson and Dwyer Hill from June 24-28 for annual maintenance.
Cloverloft & Lazy Nol repaving
Work is progressing well and should be wrapped up by end of month.
Get in touch! Écrivez-nous!
If we can help in any way, please email me at glen.gower@ottawa.ca or leave a voicemail at 613-580-2476. Please call 3-1-1 if you require immediate assistance. – Councillor Glen Gower
With respect to the newcomers guide, when we part of the township, a similar guide was provided to everyone each year and it also included the names and contact information for all or most of the local sports. recreational, and service groups etc. It would be most welcome to include this information in this guide and make it available to everyone.
It was a great resource and used often in our house back then!!