Today's letters: Ottawa has flaws but basically, it's a great city

Saturday, June 1: The nation’s capital is better than living in Toronto, but the streets are in sad shape, readers say. You can write to us too, at [email protected]

Published Jun 01, 2024 • Last updated 6 hours ago • 10 minute read

The ByWard Market in Ottawa in early May. The city boasts lots of activities. Photo by Tony Caldwell /POSTMEDIA

Ottawa: a collection of towns and villages

Re: Ottawa, a ghost town? Then why are all those people enjoying themselves so much? May 28.

Cheers to columnist Bruce Deachman for reminding us what a great city we live in, with almost too many choices of things to do.

We are a city of cities, towns and villages since amalgamation. As our councillor newsletters inform us, there are many activities to enjoy without travelling downtown, giving us the opportunity to meet our own neighbours.

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That said, yes, downtown Ottawa needs more family-friendly affordable housing with essential services within walking distance. Some buildings not suitable for conversion to apartments might be better demolished (with salvageable components re-purposed to keep them out of landfill) and the land used for community gardens and parks. Move shelters and other social services out of the ByWard Market so it does not become a ghetto of the most ill people. Work with the federal and provincial governments to create a guaranteed liveable basic income so not so many people struggle with the indignity of life below the poverty line.

But, citizens, take time to enjoy our beautiful towns-in-a-city. Sign up for your councillor’s newsletters to find out all the fun things going on around you.

Carolyn Herbert, Nepean

Yes, but maybe repair the streets

All ideas about Ottawa are interesting. However, perhaps the city can first start by repairing the streets downtown. They are in such a state of disrepair that driving there is like riding a roller coaster. It is bad for one’s back; bad for one’s car; not to mention the fact that you may hit a pothole and your car will swerve all on its own, endangering pedestrians, cyclists and people in other cars. And don’t think about walking on the sidewalks. Again, state of disrepair.

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And what about repainting the white lines on the streets? Those lines serve a purpose; they indicate the traffic lanes. Could the City also repaint the chevrons on the “bumps in the road”? When there are no signs indicating that there is a bump, it can be a seriously bad surprise for drivers.

One would think the city includes these costs in its budget. Or has the maintenance budget already been spent on other things?

Andrée Champagne, Ottawa

Here’s a motto that will shine

Re: A new motto for Ottawa? YOWsers have a tonne of suggestions, May 27.

I am suggesting the motto for Ottawa to be: OTTAWA, OUR SHINING CAPITAL

Aviva King, Ottawa

Much better here than in big cities

One thing I’ve heard many times while raising my family and talking to people is that they love it here. Yup, we all know the problems. But when I think of Ottawa it brings me joy.

The paths along the rivers, the crowds on Canada Day downtown, the ByWard Market, the parks, available extracurriculars for young and old — I could go on. Simply said, most of us enjoy our lives here. It’s not just about downtown; it’s also the people in the suburbs also enjoying their neighbourhoods.

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La joie de vivre — the joy of living, or life. Many of us find more joy here than in a huge city such as Toronto, Montreal or New York.

Huguette Lavigne, Ottawa

Why allow as many as three garbage bags?

Re: Council unanimously approves three-item trash limit, May 29.

Three bags biweekly? My wife and I are retired but very active with painting, sculpture, woodwork, sewing, antique car repair and much more. We carefully separate wastes and recycle as much as possible. We very rarely reach the one-bag equivalent every two weeks.

Why not set the limit at one bag and pay for extras as required? I am sure that recycling would soar once people had to pay for too much waste.

Michael Wiggin, Ottawa

Dumping will soon become a problem

Last year, someone dumped a child’s “ride on” SUV on my lawn. The battery had been removed, and it was upside down, so it clearly was thrown off a pickup truck. I called bylaw to report the problem, and guess what? Unless I had solid evidence (video capture, witness statement, licence plate, identity and address of offender), there was nothing that they could or would do. This was now my problem.

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Fast-forward to today, and guess whose problem garbage dumping will be? Correct: the homeowner where the garbage has been dumped. Instead of a long-term strategy to deal with Ottawa’s trash problem, we have a tactical move that will not decrease garbage but will simply move it around in a way that will enrage citizens and cause strife between neighbours.

In case you are curious, my solution was to put a sign on this large toy telling people that it had been dumped and was free for whoever wanted it. Gone in less than an hour.

Pat Cottrell, Ottawa

Our governments act like sheep

“Three bags full?” That’s a great metaphor for the puny environmental actions of our trio of government levels, except it’s not wool those three bags are full of.

Apparently there is no plan for an education blitz on waste reduction? And I’m guessing the level of environmental education for new citizens is also zip.

Bah, bah and BAH!

Thomas Brawn, Orléans

Ottawa, update your trash-collection trucks

As a relatively new arrival to Ottawa, having moved here 18 months ago from Sydney, Australia, I have often wondered why such a beautiful city is so filthy. Moreover, why does no one seem to care?

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You cannot walk a single street of Kanata, where I live, without seeing trash everywhere. Sometimes you only have to walk a few metres to see the next piece of detritus. Cardboard of all shapes and sizes, plastic containers and bottles are the most commonly sighted debris.

The main culprit is an antiquated, manual trash-removal system of open recycling containers. These uncovered containers are put out to the curb — usually the night before. They are often overflowing. Unfortunately the odds of all their contents ending up in the truck are not high. As there seems to be no real restrictions to the volume that can be put out, the overflowing contents are routinely blown into the street on windy nights or aren’t perfectly emptied into the truck.

This is no discredit to the operators as they have such large volumes to contend with; it is inevitable. The scattered mess is, largely, blithely ignored by residents. Certainly locals could do their part to clean up a good portion of it but the root cause is the manual collection system.

Surely automated trash-collection trucks could solve this problem. Automation provides better economics (one driver per truck), more efficiency (collection is faster), better safety and less injury for the drivers (the physicality of the role and risk of sharp objects is removed) — and critically, cleaner streets.

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These have been widely adopted in many regions including Guelph, Toronto and, yes, Sydney. Other regions are in the process of transitioning, such as Barrie and Kingston (2025), as well as Kitchener and Waterloo (2026).

Come on Ottawa, time to clean up your act.

Scott O’Brien, Ottawa

Why do we have so many rules?

The new City of Ottawa rules on garbage are to be fully implemented by the end of the year. These rules limit garbage pickup to three trash containers, bags or bulky items. It has caused me to wonder: Why are there so many rules that older generations did without?

Let’s start with the garbage bags. If you use those darn twist ties they must be securely fastened about your “waste.” If you use old nylons or a rag, it might be mistaken for your clothing donation to the local charity. These charities also have strict rules and now require labels scotch-taped onto the bag, a near impossibility if you’ve ever tired.

Under the new rules if you place more than three bags out by the curb, you will get a warning. Think for a minute. Someone who collects your garbage actually picked it up, only to realize that it didn’t meet current specifications. He or she put it down, went to the truck, got the appropriate warning label, returned to your garbage bag, tied the note on the bag, returned to the truck and drove off. Wouldn’t it have been easier to just take the bag?

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Another existing rule causes me to wonder: the recycling bin. We must bundle cardboard, flatten milk and cereal cartons, remove metal lids and where possible remove all excess labels. The incentive is to recycle. The disincentive has you handling your waste as if you were gift-wrapping a package for overseas shipment.

Why does dental floss never make it to the truck and why does it end up blown onto my cedar hedge like tinsel on a Christmas tree? Why do Q-tips and Kleenexes stick to my driveway? And why is it that garbage lids end up a mile away from the garbage can? Life is full of mysteries.

I hope in writing this piece that I haven’t offended city officials who have struggled with these rules. I promise to behave. Really.

Les Vandor, Ottawa

Control the trash from builders too

So the City of Ottawa wants to clamp down on the average Joe to cut back on garbage. Good. It was long overdue. Nobody wants a new landfill or an incinerator in his backyard.

But there is a slight oversight in the policy. They forgot about those 40-yard trash containers generated by contractors and new housing developers. If you look into those, you will find lots of materials that could easily be recycled. Like cardboard, metal and plastics.

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My brother is a contractor in The Netherlands and when he goes to the dump there, he has to separate all his trash. Why not here? Developers get a free pass here. It should stop.

Also, all levels of government should clamp down on manufacturers who use excessive materials to package their products. Does it really need three layers of plastic? Maybe that new TV could be wrapped in cardboard instead of a mountain of Styrofoam. Just saying.

André Post, Arnprior

A garage sale with no public toilets

For the second year in a row, I attended the “Great Glebe Garage Sale.” What isn’t so great is that you invite thousands and thousands of people to this event, but we could see no washroom facilities. We did see many signs saying “No Public Washrooms.”

Perhaps the city should require Porta Potties at these sort of large-scale gatherings in the future.

Laurie Smith, Ottawa

OC Transpo: Time to shut it down

Re: Today’s letters: OC Transpo so bad, I had to call a taxi, May 30.

A letter-writer laments the inadequacy of Ottawa’s bus service and calls for improvement. Nothing new there.

I moved to Ottawa in the late 1970s, and in all that time, OC’s so-called “service” has consistently been disappointing and infuriating. Visitors from other cities are typically either amused or appalled.

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Now, the anecdotal evidence strongly suggests that the “service” is actually getting worse, despite years and years of calls for improvement from riders, city officials and newspaper editorials. These calls for better bus service from “No-See” Transpo (as it is widely known) are in vain. The transit company is either not listening or not capable.

The city’s best move is to shut down OC Transpo for good, and replace it with a company willing and able to meet the city’s needs.

Jack Pyl, Ottawa

Basketball hoops are a street menace

Re: Stittsville residents forced to go through hoops to play basketball on the street, May 21.

Pedestal basketball hoops are a real menace to anyone driving tall straight-sided vehicles. The hoops often jut out almost a metre into the street and long vehicles such as garbage trucks, motorhomes, delivery trucks, ambulances, fire trucks and school buses have a hard time avoiding them when turning corners or keeping to a lane against oncoming vehicles.

I drive a school bus and routinely hear (over-the-radio) drivers calling in about broken clearance lights or scrapes from contact with hoops. One of our buses got properly tangled up in one a month ago by virtue of the net catching on the roof drip rail, which caused the whole unit to tip and break through a window.

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While driving the bus, I’ve never had a complaint in the world about kids playing street hockey on back streets, and usually stop to offer encouragement, but hockey nets are easily/quickly shifted out of the way and are always accompanied by the kids that are using them.

Bert van Ingen, Nepean

Streets are for vehicles; they’re not playgrounds

I agree with removing basketball nets from the streets. They belong to a family, so keep the net on your own property. Streets are for vehicles, not playing basketball.

It seems that anything that involves kids always become the whole population’s problem. The problem belongs to the parents. The kids already play at school, play in parks; now they want to play on the street also.

Enough is enough. The parents and the kids do not own the street. Move the nets.

Christine Gibeau, Gatineau

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