Update from Councillor Cathy Curry
Parking Tickets – I learned from a Beaverbrook resident that parking tickets were being given out to contractors who had been parked on the street for more than three hours. Contractors, of course, are parked on many different streets in the flooded areas. I sent that information to Mayor Mark Sutcliffe and he contacted By-law to see what discretion the officers have given the flooding recovery ongoing in so many areas of Ottawa. By-law indicated that they will ensure that officers look into the individual situations, talk to contractors/residents, give warnings or use discretion before just automatically ticketing. I was so appreciative of this information. Truly, people who are dealing with the aftermath of the flooding don’t need additional stress.
Cutting the Grass on the Right of Way – I received an email from a resident who suggested I remind residents that it is their responsibility to cut the grass on the right of way (in most cases) in front of their houses. The City has a By-law that explains this responsibility. Perhaps some new residents or new homeowners are not aware? I included a photo here to provide an example of where it might not be understood that that grass will not be cut by the City of Ottawa. It is to be cut by the homeowner. If you are wondering about the right-of-way area in front of your house (and whether it is your responsibility), please write to me with your address and we will find out.
School Zone Speeding – A resident wrote to me who noticed that people were driving much faster now in areas where there had been a speed camera before. The two areas where we had them before were in front of All Saints High School and in front of Kanata Highlands Public School. I have noticed the same thing! The Province gave the City funds to put up bigger signs. Not all of them are up yet. However, with school starting very soon, please remember to drive the speed limit in school zones and watch very carefully for students crossing the street or riding their bikes to school.
Stop signs at Calvington Avenue and Clonrush Way/Sweet Pea Way – At one of our Park Chats at Arcadia Park, residents asked if we could get two more stop signs at Calvington Avenue and Clonrush Way/ Sweet Pea Way to make that intersection a four-way stop. In order to add stop signs, traffic staff have to do a study. The traffic engineers did a study and said that that intersection did not warrant four-way stop status. However, they did feel that more prominent pavement paint markings would make the two-way stop more prominent and obvious. They committed to getting that done very soon. And, we will continue to monitor this.