With the wintry weather arriving in our area, it certainly feels like the festive holiday season. The Parade of Lights was another year of great fun. “What a great crowd – I think that’s the most people I’ve ever seen lining the parade route,” stated Councillor Gower. “The iSiLIVE video coverage was also excellent. I had a senior message me to say that it was like watching the Rose Bowl Parade,” shared the Councillor. With a busy week ahead, he is sharing information that residents should be aware of.
Let it snow!
Winter has finally arrived! With all the snow in the past week, here are some reminders about what you can do to help ensure crews can clear snow as soon as possible from streets and sidewalks.
Winter parking bans
Between November 15 and April 1, the City may declare a Winter Weather Parking Ban for inclement weather including freezing rain or when Environment Canada forecasts an accumulation of snow 7 centimetres or more, or a range of snow which includes 7 centimetres or more for the Ottawa area.
When a winter weather parking ban is called, the City issues a special advisory to the local media and posts it on ottawa.ca. Vehicles without a residential parking permit that are parked on the street during a parking ban may be ticketed and towed.
You can sign up to receive Winter Parking Alerts by email or download the City of Ottawa App for your Android or iPhone.
Resident support is requested
Even if there isn’t a winter parking ban, you can support our operations by finding off-street parking options. If you can, please ask a friend or neighbour to share their laneway. When vehicles are removed from our streets, the Roads and Parking Services team can clear snow efficiently to create a wide-open roadway.
Please place garbage, recycling, and organic collection bins in your driveway and not on the road or sidewalks.
If you can, be a hydrant hero and shovel around your fire hydrant. An area of 0.5 metres (1 foot) around the hydrant allows Ottawa Fire Services to gain quick access to keep our community safe.
Winter parking restrictions
Some streets in Stittsville have parking restrictions in effect from December 1-March 31 to keep roads clear during the winter. These streets have “no parking” signs installed and restrictions are in place at all times of the day, seven days a week.
Thanks for your co-operation!
Take the Stittsville Winter Trail Network survey
Walking, biking, skiing in a winter wonderland. This scene is what a group of community volunteers hope to create in Stittsville.
They have been hard at work determining how to support the enjoyment of human-powered outdoor winter activities by providing a network of interconnected trails in Stittsville. Their mission is to create and maintain areas with trails that are connected by the Trans Canada Trail, and they want and need your input.
You are invited to complete this survey to help gauge support and determine direction for the project going forward: https://forms.gle/Bdy1MLLfeYJRY37p8
DECEMBER 21: Holiday Skate / Patinage de fêtes
Come join me and my team for a free holiday skate in support of the Stittsville Food Bank. It’s on Saturday, December 21 with two skates at 2:15 p.m. and 3:15 p.m. at CARDELREC. Registration is required.
O-Train Lines 2 and 4 open for weekday service on Monday, January 6
The City of Ottawa will open O-Train Lines 2 and 4 for weekday passenger service starting on Monday, January 6. Lines 2 and 4 are part of the O-Train South Extension that will extend Ottawa’s rail network from Bayview Station to Limebank Station in Riverside South and will include a link to the Ottawa International Airport on O-Train Line 4. Read more…
December 14: 40th Annual OC Transpo / Loblaw Holiday Food Drive
OC Transpo is holding its 40th annual OC Transpo/Loblaw Holiday Food Drive on Saturday, December 14, from 10 am to 5 pm at participating Loblaws, Real Canadian Superstore, Your Independent Grocer and No Frills stores across Ottawa.
In Stittsville, volunteers will be at Brown’s Independent on Stittsville Main Street and at the No Frills on Iber Road to collect donations for the Stittsville Food Bank.
Residential Boulevard Gardening Survey
Following resident and Council feedback, staff have been reviewing options to allow edible plants (fruits, vegetables, herbs) and readily moveable containers in residential boulevard gardens. There are several factors to balance including food security, the suitability of the boulevard for growing food, as well as operational and safety issues. Your opinion matters, and City staff value your insights. An online survey has been launched to get resident feedback on potential updates to the by-law. The survey is available at https://engage.ottawa.ca/residential-boulevard-gardening and will be open until the end of the year.
Ottawa Public Health encourages families to update immunization records
To attend school in Ontario, students need to be immunized (vaccinated) against nine vaccine-preventable diseases. Ottawa Public Health (OPH) has completed a review of student immunization (vaccine) records for students born in 2007 and 2017 (7 and 17-year-olds) for compliance with the Immunization of School Pupils Act (ISPA). Over 15,000 students have an incomplete immunization record meaning they could be missing important vaccines, or in many cases, their immunizations have not been reported to OPH. Ensuring immunization records are kept up to date with the local public health unit helps protect your child and the community from infectious diseases. More info…
Looking for your feedback on special event regulations
The City of Ottawa is considering updates to how we regulate and support outdoor special events, including events that occur on City roadways or that have expected attendance of 500 or more people at a time. (Indoor special events are not regulated through these by-laws.) Your input will help to determine which recommendations will be presented to Council for approval, which need more consideration, and which should not be included. Take the survey here…
Get in touch!
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.