Four east-end councillors are rallying to ensure light rail travels their way first when the city breaks ground on the first phase of its transit plan, while city staff might be preparing to recommend the city move ahead with a major portion of the light rail route that council cancelled almost two years ago. Councillors Rainer Bloess, Michel Bellemare, Rob Jellet and Bob Monette are delivering their position on Ottawa`s transit future from the Blair Rd. transit station this morning, just two days before the city kicks off public consultations on Ottawa`s Transportation Master Plan.
0908OTWA Our city is barely a blip on federal parties` radar
The leaders of the federal political parties opened their campaigns in Ottawa, but only because it provides a handy backdrop. Don`t expect to hear much about the particular concerns of this city from Stephen Harper, Stéphane Dion or Jack Layton. Even though they all live and work here, the nation`s capital is just barely on the radar screen for our federal leaders.
Construction activity in Ottawa-Gatineau jumped 35.5 per cent to $265.1 million in new building permits issued in July compared to June.
A Statistics Canada report shows that rebounds in multiple-housing, industrial, commercial and institutional projects in Gatineau led the surge, almost tripling the value of construction permits to $118.2 million.
In Ottawa, new construction activity fell 5.3 per cent to $146.9 million on a decline in multiple-unit housing, industrial and commercial projects.
Local real estate sales plummeted close to 20 per cent last month, but it does not signal a slip toward a housing crisis like the one in the United States, says the area realtors association.
But Halton MP Garth Turner warns real troubles are looming.
A total of 992 properties, including homes, condos, commercial sites, business properties and farms, were sold in August in the Hamilton-Burlington area.
0908HAMN North End gating plan too exclusive: architect
Architect Bill Curran, who lives on Macauley Street, says some of his neighbours want to turn the North End into a gated community and make the waterfront their exclusive domain.
He expressed that provocative view to city council`s public works committee yesterday in objecting to elements of a two-year, traffic-calming pilot project that would impose a speed limit of 30 kilometres an hour on most North End Hamilton streets. It would also stop traffic going any further toward the water on Bay Street North. The suggested cutoff point would be at Burlington Street West.
0908KWCG No quick fix for chronic Hwy. 24 congestion
CAMBRIDGE
Motorists shouldn`t hold their breath waiting for a fix to congested Highway 24 between Cambridge and Brantford.
Provincial officials have started work on a strategic plan to move people and goods between the two cities, but it`s not likely to be done before 2013.
A detailed design of whatever transit solution is approved would take longer still, said Fred Leech, the Transportation Ministry`s western region planning manager. The province would then have to approve a construction.
0908DUXB Seniors residence likened to `resort hotel`
UXBRIDGE -- A new residential building for "higher-end" seniors is being proposed for Uxbridge`s urban area. Jason Pantalone, partner of Living Life Retirement Residences and Brian Sickle, an architect with Page and Steele, explained to Uxbridge councillors on Sept. 8 a plan for a 240-unit seniors` residence with amenities, slated for a 23-acre property on Cemetery Road.
Canadian politicians must start considering the huge economic benefits of protected areas like the GTA`s 728,000-hectare greenbelt as they debate environmental policies in the campaign for the Oct. 14 election, David Suzuki said yesterday.
"We have to put the `eco` back into economics and recognize that nature has all of these services that we`ve failed to value," said Canada`s best-known environmentalist.
A massive $300 million condo project planned for Toronto`s Distillery District is a huge improvement over plans contemplated for the site in the 1990s, says the city councillor for the area.
Though some technical issues remain unresolved – such as park levies and flood protection – the essence of the plan got the go-ahead from the Toronto and East York community council yesterday, though it still needs regular council approval.
0908TNTO Toronto could become electric transportation hub
The Ontario government is in early talks with a Silicon Valley technology company about turning Toronto and surrounding areas into an electric transportation hub, complete with electric charging infrastructure and local manufacturing of battery-powered vehicles, the Star has learned.
Palo Alto, Calif.-based Better Place has already struck similar partnerships with Israel and Denmark and has raised more than $200 million in private capital, which will go toward developing a sophisticated network of charging spots and robot-controlled battery-exchange stations in high-density regions of each country.
More than 80 per cent of local employers contacted by Manpower Canada as part of a quarterly employment outlook survey say they do not intend to hire more staff between now and the end of the year.
According to the survey, 70 per cent of employers say they expect to maintain their current staffing levels while 13 per cent say they will reduce staff.
YM-YWCA plans to build on the south side of Colborne Street have been delayed because the project has grown into a massive proposal that will see one developer take on the entire two block blight.
Developer Jack Lechcier-Kimel said Tuesday that the undertaking will likely involve the city, the Y and all three of the city`s post-secondary schools.
The plan would see Mohawk expand into the city`s core.
Lechcier-Kimel said almost all the properties along the two-block section of south Colborne formerly owned by Steve Kun are now under his ownership or soon will be, in series of staged deals about to close.
0908TNTO Toronto condos drive national housing starts
Toronto`s condo craze drove national home construction higher in August, but undress the figures and the Canadian home-building sector continues to slow and will likely drag on economic growth, economists say.
The seasonally adjusted annual rate of new-home construction jumped 13.1% to 211,000 units in August after falling by 13.6% to 186,500 in July, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. figures showed yesterday.
The Ottawa Public Library board has approved spending up to $25 million on downtown land for a new main library branch.
For years, it`s been the dream of library supporters in Ottawa to have a large new main library branch to replace the uninspiring building at Metcalfe Street and Laurier Avenue; critics have argued that Ottawa might need a better central library, but any plans need to be constrained by the city`s difficult financial position.
Angry Chelsea residents are gearing up for a referendum in a last-ditch effort to stop the 197-unit Chelsea Creek housing development they say could turn their community into another suburb.
The housing project, which would be built on a farm near the entrance to Gatineau Park on the southeast corner of Highway 5 and Old Chelsea Road, originally was to have 301 housing units, including an 81-room long-term care home and a mixture of shops and offices. The proposal would have tripled the size of Old Chelsea.
0908OTWA Airport authority argues against subdivision on Prince of Wales
The Ottawa International Airport Authority defended the no-development zone around the airport yesterday, saying that to allow subdivisions nearby would threaten its economic viability.
Developers are seeking city council`s permission to create a new residential subdivision across the Rideau River at 2911 Prince of Wales Dr., southwest of the airport.
Despite a lot of huffing and puffing, Canada`s housing market seemingly refuses to be blown down by the slumping domestic economy.
Housing construction starts last month rebounded by a steep, and more than expected, 13.1 per cent, to an annual seasonally adjusted pace of 211,000 almost completely offsetting a similarly large plunge the month before, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. reported.
Analysts, however, continued to warn that the housing market cannot continue to defy the slowing domestic economy.
The search for the path of an ancient river that ran through the Dundas Valley bedrock is about to get dirty.
A team of scientists, led by Gregg Zwiers, chief hydrogeologist for the Grand River Conservation Authority, is about to start drilling deep core sample holes in a bid to find the valley`s dimensions.
Drilling seven boreholes should begin in a couple of weeks southeast of Lynden, north of Paris, and southwest of Kitchener between Ayr and Roseville.
