General Update/Rumour thread [Urban Ottawa]

[phil235]

Originally Posted by Uhuniau

can. We. Stop. Closing. Transit. Streets. For. Stupid. Festivals?

How often do we do this?


You must really not be keen on Montreal closing Ste. Catherine E. for the entire summer then.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by phil235

How often do we do this?


You must really not be keen on Montreal closing Ste. Catherine E. for the entire summer then.

I was gonna say... he'd die if he lived in Montreal!

[Uhuniau]

Originally Posted by phil235

How often do we do this?

Any is too many. There are lots of other streets. Hold street parties and festivals on those streets, not transit routes.

You must really not be keen on Montreal closing Ste. Catherine E. for the entire summer then.

I have no idea; do mainline buses run on it?

If it is closed 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for months on end, then at least a transit customer has some predictability over a long period of time, and the transit utility has time to fix its inevitable errors.

As practiced in Ottawa, it is really — annoying and inconvenient, though, to head off on an excursion to Bank Street or Wellington West, or wherever, only to find (a) the damn street is closed for some stupid festival; (b) the bus-stop closures have begun earlier than expected or last later than scheduled; (c) point-of-departure information on alternative service is missing or incomplete; (d) the temporary stops provided are insufficient in number and inconveniently located; (e) drivers often don't even know where they are supposed to be diverting; or (f) any combination of (a) through (e) above.

This is a constant occurrence with the never-ending parade of, well, parades and festivals and other nonsense that keep shutting down main central bus routes. The city would never get away with it in Orleans; why downtown?

There are lots of streets that don't have transit service on them. Hold your festivals on those streets.

Enough.

[Uhuniau]

Originally Posted by phil235

How often do we do this?

Too often.

Remember, the same OC Transpo that insists on taking measures that have no demonstrable positive impact on on-time performance (stoptimization, routumcision, etc.), will gladly accede to requests to close streets, thereby causing transit diversions which DO negatively impact that same precious on-time performance, and on weekends when frequencies are already often low to begin with.

So far this year, I find (and know I'm missing a few) the following, showing the routes forced onto detour:

September 10: Beechwood EastFest (1, 5, 7)
September 9-11: Chinatown Night Market (2)
September 5: Labour Day Parade (5, 14)
September 4: Latin American Parade (1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 12, 14, 18)
August 21: Pride Parade (1, 2, 7, 14)
August 20: Pride Run (159)
August 9: (India) Independence Day parade (1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 12, 14, 18)
July 23: National Triathlon Championships (5, 185)
June 17-19: Italian Week (14, 85, 101)
June 17-18: GlowFair (1, 2, 7, 9, 12)
July 9: Kittiwake Street Festival (162) <<< The only purely-suburban closure in the past year?
June 11: St. Anthony Feast (85)
June 10: Britannia Beach Run and Ottawa River Triathlon (87, 92, 94, 95, 96, 97)
June 2: Ride for Dad (1, 2, 4, 7, 9, 12, 14, 18, 87)
May 28-29: Race Weekend (1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 12, 14, 16, 18, 85, 86, 101, 176; 159 cancelled entirely)
May 27-29: Madonna Della Risurrezione (86C)
May 14: Space Odyssey (101)
May 12: March for Life (basically every route downtown)
May 8: CycloFest (85)
April 10: Minto Run for Reach (5)
March 19: St. Patrick’s Day Parade (Bank Street routes)

Don't Remember Date But Is In Spring: Vanier Sugar Bush event (all weekend disruption on Peres-Blancs, route 5)
June 24-ish: Francophone/St-Jean event, Richelieu-Vanier area (5)



Enough.

[phil235]

Originally Posted by Uhuniau

Too often.

Remember, the same OC Transpo that insists on taking measures that have no demonstrable positive impact on on-time performance (stoptimization, routumcision, etc.), will gladly accede to requests to close streets, thereby causing transit diversions which DO negatively impact that same precious on-time performance, and on weekends when frequencies are already often low to begin with.

So far this year, I find (and know I'm missing a few) the following, showing the routes forced onto detour:

September 10: Beechwood EastFest (1, 5, 7)
September 9-11: Chinatown Night Market (2)
September 5: Labour Day Parade (5, 14)
September 4: Latin American Parade (1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 12, 14, 18)
August 21: Pride Parade (1, 2, 7, 14)
August 20: Pride Run (159)
August 9: (India) Independence Day parade (1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 12, 14, 18)
July 23: National Triathlon Championships (5, 185)
June 17-19: Italian Week (14, 85, 101)
June 17-18: GlowFair (1, 2, 7, 9, 12)
July 9: Kittiwake Street Festival (162) <<< The only purely-suburban closure in the past year?
June 11: St. Anthony Feast (85)
June 10: Britannia Beach Run and Ottawa River Triathlon (87, 92, 94, 95, 96, 97)
June 2: Ride for Dad (1, 2, 4, 7, 9, 12, 14, 18, 87)
May 28-29: Race Weekend (1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 12, 14, 16, 18, 85, 86, 101, 176; 159 cancelled entirely)
May 27-29: Madonna Della Risurrezione (86C)
May 14: Space Odyssey (101)
May 12: March for Life (basically every route downtown)
May 8: CycloFest (85)
April 10: Minto Run for Reach (5)
March 19: St. Patrick’s Day Parade (Bank Street routes)


Enough.

I've got to say that I have never heard of a couple of those. We have a Space Odessey that closes streets?

In terms of the runs and parades, it's pretty hard to have those at all unless you close some main streets. To me the value that those events bring to the city outweighs the inconvenience of the temporary closures by a big margin.

Others like Cyclofest, Italian Week and Glow Fair are events put on by the BIAs on those streets. To hold them on other streets would kind of defeat the purpose of the event.

I can't really speak to the way OC Transpo handles the closures, as I tend to walk or bike to those types of events. Presumably there is a way to limit the impact on transit in most cases, but I'm not overly confident that OC Transpo will find it.

[zzptichka]

Thousands people having fun, or
A hundred people whose Saturday evening commute becoming 3 minutes longer once a year (half of those actually riding a bus to that event)

Hmmmm. Decisions, decisions...

[Uhuniau]

Originally Posted by phil235

In terms of the runs and parades, it's pretty hard to have those at all unless you close some main streets.

All the more reason to be very judicious in approving such requests to begin with.

Others like Cyclofest, Italian Week and Glow Fair are events put on by the BIAs on those streets. To hold them on other streets would kind of defeat the purpose of the event.

If they can't be held on non-transit streets, then they need to be re-thought.

I can't really speak to the way OC Transpo handles the closures, as I tend to walk or bike to those types of events. Presumably there is a way to limit the impact on transit in most cases, but I'm not overly confident that OC Transpo will find it.

They won't. It is the rare service disruption in which OC Transpo provides quality alternative service, and quality supply of information to customers, before and during the detours.

They need to just stop rubber-stamping so many requests for detours.

[Uhuniau]

Originally Posted by zzptichka

Thousands people having fun, or
A hundred people whose Saturday evening commute becoming 3 minutes longer once a year (half of those actually riding a bus to that event)

Hmmmm. Decisions, decisions...

A hundred? um, no. Over the course of the detours there are thousands of customers (including those headed to those events) whose stops are closed, walks are lengthened unduly, time is wasted, and schedules are delayed, and for way more than "3 minutes". Remember: there are up- and down-stream impacts from these closures, esp. when, as is way too often the case, the alternative service is poorly designed. (Not event-related, but cf. the recent detour of Bank southbound buses onto O'Connor, which was not physically capable of handling such detours; it took weeks of a mess for OC Transpo to finally provide alternative service to its original alternative.)

At very least, applications should be made public before they are rubber-stamped, but good luck getting that kind of accountability out of OC Transpo or the increasingly secretive and paranoid city council under mayor Jim "In Camera" Watson.

[YOWflier]

This is why we can't have nice things.

[zzptichka]

Originally Posted by Uhuniau

A hundred? um, no. Over the course of the detours there are thousands of customers (including those headed to those events) whose stops are closed, walks are lengthened unduly, time is wasted, and schedules are delayed, and for way more than "3 minutes". Remember: there are up- and down-stream impacts from these closures, esp. when, as is way too often the case, the alternative service is poorly designed. (Not event-related, but cf. the recent detour of Bank southbound buses onto O'Connor, which was not physically capable of handling such detours; it took weeks of a mess for OC Transpo to finally provide alternative service to its original alternative.)

At very least, applications should be made public before they are rubber-stamped, but good luck getting that kind of accountability out of OC Transpo or the increasingly secretive and paranoid city council under mayor Jim "In Camera" Watson.

You should file your objection and if it's valid and irresolvable, the festival will be canceled.
Could be too late this year I'm afraid, but you should be able to get them next time! Please keep us posted on your progress.

[Uhuniau]

Originally Posted by zzptichka

You should file your objection and if it's valid and irresolvable, the festival will be canceled.
Could be too late this year I'm afraid, but you should be able to get them next time! Please keep us posted on your progress.

How did you get my picture?

[Uhuniau]

Originally Posted by ac888yow

This is why we can't have nice things.

Reliable, dependable, predictable local transit in the city core is a nice thing. I really wouldn't mind having it some day.

[singing]
Some day my bus will come,
Some day my bus will come!

[AndyMEng]

Originally Posted by Uhuniau

Any is too many. There are lots of other streets. Hold street parties and festivals on those streets, not transit routes.



I have no idea; do mainline buses run on it?

If it is closed 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for months on end, then at least a transit customer has some predictability over a long period of time, and the transit utility has time to fix its inevitable errors.

As practiced in Ottawa, it is really — annoying and inconvenient, though, to head off on an excursion to Bank Street or Wellington West, or wherever, only to find (a) the damn street is closed for some stupid festival; (b) the bus-stop closures have begun earlier than expected or last later than scheduled; (c) point-of-departure information on alternative service is missing or incomplete; (d) the temporary stops provided are insufficient in number and inconveniently located; (e) drivers often don't even know where they are supposed to be diverting; or (f) any combination of (a) through (e) above.

This is a constant occurrence with the never-ending parade of, well, parades and festivals and other nonsense that keep shutting down main central bus routes. The city would never get away with it in Orleans; why downtown?

There are lots of streets that don't have transit service on them. Hold your festivals on those streets.

Enough.

LOL!!

WHY are you going down to Bank/Somerset/Richmond/etc if NOT for these festivals??

I highly suggest you get off the bus to experience these street festivals. I've had tons of fun this year going to almost two dozen street fairs/closures/festivals/walkabouts. Instead of being a curmudgeon, go have fun.

Although, based on the sounds of things, you don't usually get off the bus... http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/images/smilies/wink.gif

[Uhuniau]

Originally Posted by AndyMEng

LOL!!

WHY are you going down to Bank/Somerset/Richmond/etc if NOT for these festivals??

Sometimes it's because I have other errands that I am doing on those streets...

Although, based on the sounds of things, you don't usually get off the bus...

... and some other times, it's because I'm en route from point A to B, but passing via a route that's been detoured for some "open street" nonsense.

[Mugwumper]

Originally Posted by AndyMEng

LOL!!

WHY are you going down to Bank/Somerset/Richmond/etc if NOT for these festivals??

I highly suggest you get off the bus to experience these street festivals. I've had tons of fun this year going to almost two dozen street fairs/closures/festivals/walkabouts. Instead of being a curmudgeon, go have fun.

Although, based on the sounds of things, you don't usually get off the bus... http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/images/smilies/wink.gif

I wish they'd add buses to the routes/days when the most popular ones are happening. Tried to get a bus on Bank near Albert really early to go to the Glebe garage sale back in the Spring, but no luck. The buses were all packed, too packed to stop, even at 8am. I'm wishing for too much, though, probably.

[Uhuniau]

Originally Posted by Mugwumper

I wish they'd add buses to the routes/days when the most popular ones are happening. Tried to get a bus on Bank near Albert really early to go to the Glebe garage sale back in the Spring, but no luck. The buses were all packed, too packed to stop, even at 8am. I'm wishing for too much, though, probably.

Perennial issue. Constant entreaties to OC Transpo to fix the Glebe Garage Sale problem go unaddressed.

They. Simply. Do. Not. Care.

[rocketphish]

Court says ByWard Market condo board can block parking bid over security concerns

Don Butler, Ottawa Citizen
Published on: September 11, 2016 | Last Updated: September 11, 2016 5:52 PM EDT



Living in the ByWard Market has its benefits: ready access to bars and eateries, proximity to the National Gallery of Canada, living a short stroll from Parliament Hill.

But it also comes with a higher-than-usual crime rate and a large transient population, which tends to make residents more security conscious than most.

A case newly settled by Ontario’s Court of Appeal underscores that tension.

A commercial owner in the Place St. George condominium at 160 George St. approached the condo board in 2012 with a plan to convert about 30 existing monthly parking spaces to 24/7 pay-and-display hourly parking.

The board balked. “That was not in keeping with the security and safety posture that we maintain, so we said no,” said Gordon Diamond, the condo board president.

That refusal ultimately sparked a two-year legal battle that culminated in a Court of Appeal for Ontario decision that has overturned a lower court judgment, ruling that the board’s position was reasonable and shouldn’t be interfered with.

The Citizen sought comment from the lawyer for the numbered company, Nadia Authier, but she did not respond to messages.

The numbered company has 30 days to decide whether to appeal the decision, but its only recourse is to seek leave to appeal from the Supreme Court of Canada, which rejects the vast majority of leave applications.

Prior to the appeal court decision, said Christy Allen, the condo board’s lawyer, it wasn’t clear whether condominium board decisions were entitled to deference by the courts.

But the appeal court decision makes it clear for the first time that they are, as long as boards follow a proper and reasonable process, Allen said.

In this case, the St. George condo board didn’t outright reject the parking conversion plan. But for its plan to work, the numbered company needed the board to approve changes to the condo’s common elements to facilitate public access to the garage.

The board said it would only approve the needed changes if the company agreed to hire a full-time security guard, which it refused to do without offsetting concessions from the condo board.

Under the company’s proposal, access to the garage would be through an automatic door and a pedestrian door leading to the parking level. “That’s not what we have in mind at all for the security of our residents,” Diamond said.

At present, the garage is open only to residents of the condo and monthly parkers. The 29-year-old condominium has 117 residential units, with commercial shops and offices on its first two floors.

Part of the board’s concern was the presence of a large transient population in the area. The condo is directly across the street from the Salvation Army Booth Centre, noted Diamond, a retired CEO and general manager of OC Transpo.

“There are transients in the Market who go from the Ottawa Mission to the Salvation Army and on to the Shepherds of Good Hope,” Diamond said. “Some of that activity is less than desirable sometimes.”

The board was also worried about “activity at night and partiers coming back from the pubs at 2 in the morning,” he said.

The same week in July that the appeal court heard the case, there were two stabbings in the Market — something the judges in Toronto were well aware of, Allen said.

The ByWard Market is a vibrant place, Diamond said. “We’re happy to be here, because there’s so many great pluses.” Aggressive panhandling was a problem in the past, but has since abated, he said.

Still, the residents of Place St. George are vigilant and take precautions, Diamond said. The building has 24-hour security and closed-circuit cameras keep a watchful eye. “We are vigilant and conduct our business in an appropriate manner, and that gives everybody comfort.”

[email protected]
twitter.com/ButlerDon

http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news...block-parking-bid-over-security-concerns

[YOWflier]

1) Amazon opens Ottawa tech office with ambitious hiring plans

http://www.obj.ca/Technology/2016-09-14/...ech-office-with-ambitious-hiring-plans/1

2) Fairmont Château Laurier plans major expansion

http://www.cfra.com/news/2016/09/14/fairmont-chteau-laurier-plans-major-expansion

[1overcosc]

Originally Posted by ac888yow

1) Amazon opens Ottawa tech office with ambitious hiring plans

http://www.obj.ca/Technology/2016-09-14/...ech-office-with-ambitious-hiring-plans/1

That's a pretty big get, but not surprising. All the major American tech firms are expanding in Canada right now thanks to lower labour costs and the low value of the dollar.

[kevinbottawa]

Originally Posted by ac888yow

1) Amazon opens Ottawa tech office with ambitious hiring plans

http://www.obj.ca/Technology/2016-09-14/...ech-office-with-ambitious-hiring-plans/1

2) Fairmont Château Laurier plans major expansion

http://www.cfra.com/news/2016/09/14/fairmont-chteau-laurier-plans-major-expansion

This is good. A few years ago it seemed we never got the "cool" and relevant tech companies; they were all going to Waterloo. Now we have Amazon and Apple. Hopefully they're visible and become a part of the city instead of being covert about their Ottawa presence like Apple.