Update from Councillor Cathy Curry
I received a very upsetting email from a resident whose dog was attacked during a walk. I want to remind residents that dogs must be kept on a leash and under control at all times when in public places in the City of Ottawa, unless they are on private property with the owner’s permission or within a clearly designated off-leash area, such as an official dog park or signed trail. Even in off-leash areas, dogs must remain under voice control and within sight of their owner. You would be surprised by the number of issues we hear about with dogs not under the control of their owners, jumping on people, attacking other dogs, etc. You do not always know how other dogs will react to your dog, how your dog will react to other dogs, or how your dog may interact with people they don’t know. A reminder that the City uses the Animal Care and Control By-law 2003-77 (https://ottawa.ca/en/animal-care-and-control-law-no-2003-77) to govern dogs of all breeds, and that the City also relies on the provincial Dog Owner’s Liability Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. D.16 (https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/90d16) as an enforcement tool.
With the Province no longer supporting the Automated Speed Enforcement (ASE) Program, many residents have been reaching out with questions and suggestions about what could replace the automated speed enforcement (ASE) cameras. One option that has been raised frequently is the installation of speed display boards to remind drivers of their current speed. City staff have advised that speed display boards are among the traffic-calming measures identified by the Province as eligible for road safety funding being provided to municipalities following the cancellation of the ASE program. City staff are continuing to work on a report outlining the impacts of the Automated Speed Enforcement Program, as well as options the City can consider to replace the program and continue promoting road safety in our communities. Thank you for your suggestions. Staff are looking at all options.
And, of course, I have had emails over the break where people have continued to share their high level of frustration with the transit service to Kanata North. The comments and questions sound like this:
“I spend almost 4 hours a day using transit to get to my job downtown everyday. This is unacceptable.”
“Can we not just get more frequent service on our Kanata bus routes?”
“Can’t we just get an express bus to Tunney’s? That would solve a lot of problems.”
“What about this on-demand bussing we keep hearing about? When is it coming to Kanata?”
“Why are there still empty buses riding around our Kanata streets? This seems like a waste of money.”
All of these questions and more will be answered at the Transit Information Night Presentation and Q and A that we are holding (with OC Transpo and Councillor Hubley and Councillor Gower) on January 26th evening. More on that below. Please put this in your calendar to attend.