Weekly newsletter: May 5, 2026
Good morning!
The photo above is from the Chapman Mills Conservation Area boardwalk.
The Tulip Festival↗ opens this weekend at Dow’s Lake. Now a cherished springtime festival, it began as a gesture of gratitude from the Netherlands following the Second World War. The Dutch Royal Family sheltered in Ottawa during the war, during which time Princess Margriet was born. To allow her to be born Dutch, the Canadian government declared the maternity wardroom extraterritorial.
Today is also Liberation Day in the Netherlands. Eighty-one years ago, the Canadian Army moved through the Dutch countryside, villages, towns, and cities, liberating them following years of occupation and starvation.
The Netherlands’s place in the Canadian story and our place in Dutch history, and the enduring bonds, friendships, and families that developed as a result are truly unique and worth celebrating. Here’s a photo of the tulips in 2024.
Otherwise, it’s a shorter newsletter this week, as substantive updates have been flowing bi-weekly lately. There are a few bite-sized items below that have been added or updated.
Bite-sized updates
Sorted alphabetically. New/updated items marked with asterisk (*).
*Beatrice/Queensbury (stop 3345) bus shelter – The tender for bus shelter installation across the city will be posted by May 12. Staff anticipate this shelter’s installation in July.
*Development application, 3400 Woodroffe↗ – Thank you to the residents who attended last week’s public information meeting. Minutes (and supplementary information) from the meeting will be posted in next week’s newsletter.
*Earl Mulligan Drive – Traffic calming construction begins next week, with an anticipated early-July completion. See Ottawa.ca/EarlMulliganDrive↗ for more information, including a project overview.
*Fallowfield Via Rail Station – Overnight construction will happen 10:00 pm to 7:00 am nightly from May 11 to June 30 (excluding Fridays and weekends, unless delayed by weather during the week) for a partial rebuild of the train station’s island platform. No impacts to the OC Transpo station are expected.
Household hazardous waste – This year’s drop-off depots near Barrhaven are noted below. See Ottawa.ca/HHW↗ for instructions and depots scheduled for other dates and further away from Barrhaven. Many items like light bulbs, spent batteries, paint, oil, and electronics can also be dropped off at retailers and other locations↗ throughout the year.
June 28, 8:00 am to 4:00 pm – Trail Road Landfill, 4475 Trail Road↗
October 17, 8:00 am to 4:00 pm – Strandherd snow dump, 4061 Strandherd Drive↗ (enter via Dealership Drive)
*Police office hours – South District officers are hosting open office hours as added community outreach. Officers will be upstairs at the Walter Baker Sports Centre by the food court from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm every other Thursday. Next day is May 14. No registration needed.
Potholes – Please report potholes to Ottawa.ca/311↗. The requirement to provide contact information for pothole reporting has been made optional starting this year.
Recycling – Friendly reminder that all recycling inquiries, including service issues and replacement bin requests should be directed to Miller Waste at 1-888-852-2374 or Area2@MillerWaste.ca. Garbage, green bin, and yard waste remain City responsibilities.
*Riverside/Bank – Ongoing Bank Street construction will affect residents whose commute includes the Riverside/Bank intersection, including lane closures and roadway shifts now until August 31. See Ottawa.ca↗ for more information.
*Road cuts remediation – The road cuts near Cresthaven/Versilia (winter watermain break) and at Woodroffe/Deerfox (private water/sewer connection) will be properly remediated by mid-June, as hot asphalt is becoming available.
Summer jobs with the City – Summer student job postings in parks and recreation are now live at Ottawa.ca/jobs↗. Please note some positions are restricted to post-secondary students, while others are open to all students.
*Summer recreation registration – Summer recreation programming now available for browsing at Register.Ottawa.ca↗. Aquatics registration opens Tuesday May 12 at 9:00 pm, while non-aquatics registration opens Thursday May 14 at 9:00 pm.
Walter Baker Sports Centre – The swimming pools will be closed for structural and deck repair works from May 11 to June 28. Annual maintenance will also be completed during the closure. The sprinkler system life-cycle replacement previously noted here has been postponed until further notice.
Finally, in honour of VE Day later this week, above is a photo from Library and Archives Canada of a parade in Ottawa celebrating the Allied victory in Europe on May 8, 1945. The photo was taken from a building at Sparks/Metcalfe, looking southwest.
Have a great week ahead!
-Wilson