The following highlights some of the key activities taking place, as well as staff’s commitment to keeping Council informed throughout the year.
Keeping the City Moving
Public Works maintains over 13,000 lane kilometers of roads and over 2,600 kilometers of sidewalks and pathways. As the snow began melting, crews were dispatched to fill potholes around the city. Crews use a cold patch and warm mix asphalt to temporarily create a smoother and safer driving surface until asphalt plants open and staff can access regular asphalt. While staff proactively monitor roads to identify major potholes, it is appreciated when residents support our operations by reporting potholes in their communities. Potholes can be reported online and will be triaged and addressed on a priority basis.
As soon as the weather and local conditions permit, grading of Ottawa’s more than 500 kilometers of gravel roads and maintenance of roadside ditches begins. Crews mitigate potential flooding by opening ditches, culverts and catch basins where required. More information on city-wide ditch maintenance was shared in a memo to council in April.
Other maintenance operations are also underway, including asphalt, concrete, and ironworks repairs. As temperatures consistently remain above zero, city-wide street sweeping will be fully deployed. Concentrated street sweeping operations are currently in progress in urban neighbourhoods with year-round on-street parking.
Following the completion of street sweeping, the pavement marking program begins. Existing pavement markings are refreshed annually, including intersections, longitudinal roadway lines, cycling facilities, and traffic calming measures. Crews prioritize various locations with irregularities and safety concerns, along with cycling facilities and pedestrian crossovers, followed by high-volume roads and intersections, then lower-volume streets.
Keeping the City Clean & Green
Spring lawn reinstatement focuses on repairing areas confirmed as damaged by winter operations equipment. Lawns are repaired using topsoil and seed – not sod – and staff leave behind maintenance instructions for property owners in the form of a door knocker. Residents may report lawn damage online as soon as possible to be added to the Spring Maintenance List.
Cleaning and litter pick-up has resumed across the city, in parks, Business Improvement Areas and the ByWard Market. This includes an increase in resources and patrolling of the ByWard
Market and Rideau Street area during the spring/summer seasons and peak periods to improve overall cleanliness. In these areas and across the city, staff are also coordinating the removal of
graffiti, which can be reported online or via 3-1-1.
Soon, our parks and greenspaces, roadsides, shorelines and more public spaces will see community-minded volunteers performing registered litter cleanups through the
Cleaning the Capital spring campaign. As previously shared with Council, registration opened on March 27th, with cleanups happening between April 15 and the end of May.
As more people get out and get active, staff get busy collecting waste in City parks, too. Currently, 55 parks have three-stream waste receptables for garbage, recycling, and organics. The service
will expand and information shared on the 48 new locations that will come online in 2026. Seasonal bins will be returned to their respective parks as soon as the weather permits.
Along with many other planting programs, the Plant Your Place! program is back this year, giving residents an opportunity to receive a free tree. Spring tree planting begins in the last week of April, running until late June, weather permitting. Forestry Services’ proactive approach to replacing trees in the right of way, which launched last year, will continue in 2026. Weekly tree watering takes place from May to September. Other tree maintenance activities continue all year and include tree pruning and the removal of dead or hazardous trees.
Tree stumping operations will begin in early May and continue through the fall. Forestry inspection staff continue to respond to service requests for City trees that include assessing storm damage, monitoring tree and forest health, and enforcing the Tree Protection By-law.
The Wild Parsnip Management Strategy includes mapping wild parsnip infestation levels, raising public awareness, and applying herbicides at select locations. A memo providing an update on the strategy and a map of the spray areas will be circulated to members of Council in the coming weeks.
Keeping the City Active & Safe
The reinstallation of traffic calming flex stakes typically begins by mid-April and should be completed by mid-June with installation of new locations to follow. The installation of bicycle lane
delineators should be completed by mid-May once pavement markings have been refreshed. Damaged or missing flex stakes or bicycle lane delineators can be reported online or via 3-1-1. The City offers several options for parking bicycles, including ring-and-post racks at various locations throughout the city, seasonal on-street bike corrals, and twenty-four public secure bike lockers at four locations.
As temperatures climb, the number of pedestrians, cyclists and motorcycle users on Ottawa roads also rises. As part of the Road Safety Action Plan, the City will continue to implement education,
enforcement and engineering initiatives to improve and promote road safety for all road users – especially vulnerable road users (cyclists, pedestrians and motorcyclists). Visit the Road Safety Action Plan page to learn more about how to keep our roads safe.
Additionally, the seasonal traffic signal maintenance program occurs from April to October. This program deploys staff to inspect, clean and repair traffic signals at over 1,200 intersections, flashing beacons, and school zone flashers across the city to maintain reliability.
Seasonal transition activities also include the preparation of ball diamonds, the installation of volleyball nets and seasonal docks and the activation of sports field lighting controls to support
outdoor recreation amenities, such as skate parks, tennis and basketball courts. It is tempting to get active after a long winter, but residents are reminded to please stay off sports fields and ball
diamonds until they officially open. Playing on a field saturated by snow melt or April showers can be dangerous to participants and damage the field. Such damage could jeopardize further
scheduled use of the field.
Many spring park maintenance activities are already underway and will continue over the coming months, including the removal of rink boards and temporary lights, playground and park
inspections, litter clean-up in parks and the activation of water services for garden plots, fountains, spray pads, wading pools and irrigation systems and the grooming of public beaches. More
communications will be coming throughout the spring and early summer to provide timely details on ongoing summer park maintenance services.
Supporting Residents’ Spring Cleaning
Solid Waste Services manages the collection, transportation, processing, and disposal of waste from both curbside homes and multi-residential properties, including leaf and yard waste. During
peak season, leaf and yard waste collection is extended until 8 pm. Starting March 30, as part of the new collection contract, leaf and yard waste must be set out separately from the green bin in
brown paper bags or an acceptable reusable container labelled ‘leaf and yard waste’. Acceptable containers are outlined in the SWS Bylaw. Separately setting out leaf and yard waste from green
bin organics provides the City the flexibility to more cost effectively process the leaf and yard waste at our composting pad at the Trail Waste Facility Landfill.
At our composting pad, leaf and yard waste material is converted into potting soil. For residents who are eager to get back to their gardens, starting in the spring, potting soil is available for
purchase at the Trail Waste Facility Landfill while quantities last. Please visit Ottawa.ca for updates on availability.
The City will host up to fifteen Household Hazardous Waste events from April 19 to November 9 that includes piloting a brand new series of walk-up events, which provide a way for residents to
dispose of corrosive, flammable or poisonous materials for free. A memo was recently shared with Council detailing each event. However, residents don’t have to wait for a Household Hazardous
Waste event; the City’s Waste Explorer identifies retailers where many items can be returned daily.
The team is working towards several waste reduction and reuse events including the popular repair cafes, drop and swaps for household and clothing items. More info including the dates will be
shared shortly.
As always, residents can receive curbside collection reminders and alerts by e-mail or phone by signing up at Ottawa.ca/Collectioncalendar.