Weekly newsletter: December 10, 2024
Hi everyone!
My pneumonia has finally subsided and I’m feeling much better. I’m still a bit behind on emails, but the backlog should be cleared by tonight or tomorrow.
The annual OC Transpo/Loblaws food drive is happening this Saturday, December 14, from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm at the Loblaws and Independent in Barrhaven. Look for the OC Transpo bus on site and consider dropping off a donation for the Barrhaven Food Cupboard!
Snow clearing
With apologies to the residents of Windchime Crescent.
Three snowfalls have passed and we’re now staring down some wetter and warmer weather over the next two days before it gets cold again.
A few service notes:
Windchime Crescent was missed during the first snowplow pass, but has since been cleared. Apologies to the residents on the street, but thank you for notifying me. Thank you also to the private contractor who cleared part of the street.
New this year, the pathway cutting diagonally through Ken Ross Park will be winter maintained.
Residents exiting the Holitman/Fallowfield intersection, please notify me if the view from the intersection is obstructed by the snow mound at the bus stop. There’s an ad-hoc measure in place that should prevent the mount from lasting more than half a day.
Crews will be out today (Tuesday, December 10) to clean up locations where there were parked cars after Saturday’s snowfall, since no parking ban was called. Crews will also be applying a salt/grit mix to streets, sidewalks, and pathways in advance of the temperature fluctuations over the next two days.
Road salt works by lowering the freezing point of water, allowing ice to continue melting below water’s normal freezing point of 0°C. The salt dissolves into separate sodium and chloride ions disrupting the bond between water molecules.
As road salt is more effective at lowering the freezing point of water than physically melting ice, it’s important to apply it beforehand. Applying road salt after ice has accumulated increases the amount of salt required while decreasing its effectiveness.
Did you know public works clears city roads and sidewalks on a priority system based on the roadway classification? Each classification has a timeline and snow accumulation amount for service after the snow stops falling, although that does not mean there will be no plows during the snowfall.
Highway 174, the Transitway, and major roads like Woodroffe and Prince of Wales receive their first passes as soon as snow accumulates, with a timeline of two to four hours after the snowfall ends for a final snowplow pass.
Secondary roads and minor collectors like Beatrice, Cresthaven, Foxfield, Mountshannon, and Paul Métivier receive snowplow passes up to six hours after the end of the snowfall if there are more than five centimetres of accumulation.
Residential streets like Ashland, Calaveras, Daventry, Locheland, Knollsbrook, Markland, and Versilia receive snowplow passes up to 16 hours after the end of the snowfall with more than seven centimetres of accumulation.
(Fun, but useless fact: no streets in Barrhaven East start with X or Z. The last street alphabetically is Yorkwood Place.)
The timeline for clearing suburban residential sidewalks is 16 hours, while at five centimetres of accumulation, the clearing time for all bus stops is within 24 hours of the end of a snowfall.
Snow clearing concerns requiring immediate assistance should be directed to 3-1-1 by phone, while less immediate concerns can be submitted to webform↗ or emailed to me.
Trillium Line opening
Weekday service on lines 2 and 4 begins January 6, 2025.
Following the recommendations of the LRT public inquiry report, the Trillium Line (O-Train lines 2 and 4) will open for passenger service in phases.
Trains will operate full day schedules on the entire line between Bayview and Limebank plus the airport spur, but initially on weekdays only. That will last a minimum of two weeks, and staff will use the weekends to correct any deficiencies that may be identified in the first weeks of service.
Provided each phase of opening is successful, Saturday service will be introduced as early as January 20, 2025, followed by Sunday/holiday service as early as February 3, 2025. Dates may shift back if there are major deficiencies identified.
Route 74 will be extended to/from Limebank Station by January 6, 2025, while route 99 will connect to Line 2 at Leitrim Station. The 800-space park and ride at Bowesville Station will also open on January 6, 2025.
A kiss-and-ride is also available at Limebank Station—travel east on Earl Armstrong, turn right at Limebank, then turn right at the first entrance to the station. Follow the roadway back to Earl Armstrong and turn left back towards Barrhaven.
Parallel bus service will continue operating inside of the Greenbelt:
Route 2 – current routing between Bayview and South Keys via Carleton
Route 97 – current routing between Hurdman and South Keys and the airport
Limebank and Bowesville stations will not be serviced by parallel bus service, except if train service is suspended and replaced with buses.
The new bus network will launch with the spring service change at the end of April 2025.
For more information about the future service:
Service Line Warranties of Canada
City of Ottawa’s partnership with Service Line Warranties of Canada (SLWC) terminated.
Back in 2020, the City and SLWC entered into an agreement for the latter to provide optional protection plans to homeowners for the private property portion of the pipes connecting homes to the City’s mains, known as the service line. The City provided its corporate endorsement.
The agreement aimed to address a lack of warranty and insurance coverage for service lines and to improve homeowner awareness of where their responsibilities begin and end.
Accordingly, SLWC mailed out letters to homes across Ottawa. These letters had the City’s wordmark, were not clear on the City-SLWC relationship, and were also unclear on the optional nature of the protection plans.
As such, confusion reigned supreme in 2020 and 2021 as some residents thought the programme was mandatory, while others believed it was a scam. Additionally, many home insurance plans already provided that type of coverage, so some residents ended up registering for SLWC’s services unnecessarily.
In 2022, the agreement and corporate endorsement was extended to 2027. The first and only mailer under the new agreement was distributed to households in July 2023.
Current Council directed City staff in October 2023 to review the agreement and to improve communications about the relationship with SLWC. Staff were also required to notify Council prior to any future mailers or advertising for the programme.
Through that review, staff determined since 2020, there has been significant growth in the availability of that type of warranty and insurance (and better communications from home insurance providers).
As such, City staff have exercised a termination clause in the contract with SLWC, providing the latter with the required 30-days of notice as of December 9. The last day of the agreement is January 8, 2025.
Termination is not a reflection of the services offered by SLWC, and despite the termination, SLWC may continue to do business independent of the City of Ottawa. It may continue communicating with residents, but the use of the City’s wordmark and endorsement is no longer authorised.
Existing policies and contracts with SLWC will continue and will remain solely as agreements between residents and SLWC.
More information about service lines and responsibilities of the City and homeowner are available on the City’s website↗. It may also be a good time to verify you have that sort of coverage under your home insurance.
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Thank you as always for reading! Be safe on the roads.
-Wilson