The summer is quickly passing by, but the work doesn’t stop for Councillor Gower. This week he is sharing some safety notes that apply to e-scooters and e-bikes that everyone on the road should be aware of. The Ottawa Safety Council also offers programs for road safety training for children and parents called RoadSMARTS – see more details below. In early August, Councillor Gower is meeting with Ottawa’s Chief of Police, Eric Stubbs, and wants to hear your feedback so he can bring it to the Chief’s attention. He also shares information on the Transportation Master Plan, Ottawa Alert, a Zoning By-law Amendment for 1650 Shea Road, the Johnwoods sidewalk renewal and the Palladium Drive stormwater pond maintenance. Have you purchased your ticket for the Stittsville District Lion Club’s ‘Travel Lottery’? Councillor Gower did this past week. As always, get in touch with the Councillor should you have any issues that he and his team can help you with.
Rules for e-scooters and e-bikes
We’ve been seeing a lot of questions lately about the rules for e-scooters and e-bikes. They’re a great way to get around, however there’s not a lot of awareness about the rules. Hospitals are reporting an increase in injuries, especially from kids on e-scooters. So here’s a quick summary of the rules in Ontario.
E-scooters:
- E-scooters can only be used by riders 16 years of age or older.
- Maximum operating speed limit is 20 km/h.
- Riders under the age of 18 must wear a helmet.
- Each scooter is only allowed a single rider at one time and e-scooters are not permitted to operate on a sidewalk or on NCC pathways.
E-bikes:
- E-bikes can only be used by riders 16 years of age or older.
- When operating an e-bike, all users need to wear a bicycle helmet or motorcycle helmet.
- E-bikes can go no faster than 32 km/h on a roadway and must follow the same rules of the road as other cyclists.
- Any modification to an e-bike, such as removing the pedals or adapting the power source, classifies it as a motorcycle, which requires an M-class licence, insurance and registration.
For more info visit ontario.ca
Road safety training for kids
The Ottawa Safety Council has a great program called RoadSMARTS that includes free road safety training for kids and parents. Topics including cycling, walking, sharing our roads, booster seat safety and preparing to walk places alone. There are videos and activities for individuals, as well as lesson plans and presentations for teachers. Click here to check it out…
What feedback would you like me to share with the police chief?
Early in August, I’m meeting in Stittsville with Police Chief Eric Stubbs. It’s a regular check-in that he does at least once a year with every local councillor, and I use the meeting to share feedback that I’m hearing in the community. Traffic enforcement, police response times, car thefts, racism and hate incidents, visibility of police in our community… these are all topics that have come up in the past.
This year, I want to hear from you about what’s on your mind when it comes to policing in Stittsville and across Ottawa. Click here to take a quick survey. I’ll share the feedback and themes with the chief during our visit next month.
Also, Ottawa Police have released their 2024 crime report, with details about Criminal Code of Canada offences reported to the Ottawa Police Service, with comparisons to five-year averages. You can see the results here: Crime Trends by City Ward. For Stittsville, click, on “Ward 6” and then download the PDF for the summary.
In general, the data for Stittsville shows a 12% decline year-over-year in overall calls for service. Some categories have seen a decrease, while others have decreased. The crime rate is down overall, with an 8.7% decrease in violent crime but a 2.0% increase in non-violent crime. Notably, car thefts are down from 70 in 2023 to 33 in 2024.
I encourage residents to read through the data and share any questions with me. Another useful resource if you are interested in crime and police activity in our area is the Ottawa Police Crime Map, updated daily.
Transportation Master Plan
Wednesday at City Council, the main topic on the agenda is approval of the Transportation Master Plan, including major capital projects for transit, road, cycling, and pedestrian infrastructure. There are many much-needed projects for Stittsville included in the first phase, and I want to thank Stittsville residents for all your feedback over the past few months.
My focus is on how we can get moving faster on the recommended projects. In 2022 the sustainable mode share was 43%, but the planned investments in the TMP would only get us to 48% by 2046. We need to be more aggressive in our investments in transportation, especially transit, in order to keep our city moving effectively and efficiently. I’ll be introducing and supporting motions that will help to get us there faster.
Stay informed during emergencies with Ottawa Alert
The City of Ottawa and the Ottawa Police Service can now send emergency information directly to your personal devices with Ottawa Alert. In an emergency, guidance and recovery information will be sent through Ottawa Alert to subscribed residents, businesses and visitors. Receiving timely emergency information on our phones, computers or other devices is the best way to stay informed and to be prepared, which leads to better safety outcomes for you.
Be prepared and register online at alertable.ca or download the app from the Apple Store or Google Play store. Visit Ottawa Alert for more information, including how to sign up and what to do when you receive an emergency notification.
1650 Shea Road: Zoning By-law Amendment application
The City of Ottawa has received a Zoning By-law Amendment for the property at 1650 Shea Road, located northwest of the intersection Fernbank Road and Cosanti Drive. The applicant is proposing to build 118 back-to-back townhomes. The proposed amendment seeks to increase the number of attached dwellings for townhomes from ten to 12; and increase the number of townhomes in a row from five to six. More information…
Johnwoods Sidewalk Renewal
At the end of July, the City of Ottawa will begin a construction project for the renewal of the Johnwoods Street sidewalk. The work will include removal of the existing asphalt pathway located on the west side of Johnwoods Street, between Alon and Hazeldean. The pathway will be replaced with a new 2.0-meter-wide concrete sidewalk to enhance accessibility for all users and to improve pedestrian navigation within the community. The project should be complete by the end of September. More info…
Palladium Drive Stormwater Pond Maintenance
Crews will be doing maintenance on the stormwater ponds at 630 Palladium Drive over the coming months. Work includes constructing an access road, removing sediment from the ponds to dry, and then hauling the sediment to the landfill and reinstating the site. More info…
Lion on the Beach Travel Lottery
I bought my ticket last week for the “Lion On the Beach” Travel Lottery, a fundraiser for the Stittsville District Lions Club. (Ottawa Licence M837064). Tickets are $150 each and are valid for 12 draws to places all over Canada and around the world, including the Dominican Republic, Paris, Cuba, Costa Rica, and more. A limited number of tickets are available, visit stittsvillelions.com for more information and get yours today!
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, or submit a request online at ottawa.ca/en/311. – Councillor Glen Gower
This new report identifies ebike/escooter dangers and recommends data gathering and better regulation across Canada.
I wish it had recommended we have ebike regs like the UK, EU and Australia, but it does not have any particular suggestions to directly address dangers of ebikes & escooters. It does have a useful bibliography.
https://atlantic.caa.ca/sites/default/files/2025-07/caa-micromobility-in-canada-12d.pdf
“More broadly, this report identifies important gaps in legislation, regulation and implementation to provide a framework for policy makers at Federal, provincial and municipal levels and road safety advocates. This knowledge can increase understanding about the use of these mobility options as well as provide direction regarding issues that warrant attention to optimize the safe implementation of these mobility options.
…
Some opportunities to help address gaps and build a national framework for these devices, as well as guide the implementation and use of them in the Canadian context are shared below for consideration.
> Establish a provincial/territorial working group comprised of government representatives, industry partners and other key stakeholders.
> Review Federal regulations to strengthen definitions of permitted devices which can be brought into Canada and used on our roads.
> Encourage education to promote the safe use of devices.
> Support the enforcement of road rules to reduce risks for all road users.
> Pursue research to fill gaps in knowledge and data collection / coding to answer key questions and inform policy decisions and safety frameworks.
> Identify qualifications for vendors who provide shared services or sell devices.
> Educate consumers about insurance implications of e-bikes & e-scooters.”