Submitted by Jeff Leiper, Kitchissippi Ward Councillor –
The beginning of March means that spring is coming to Kitchissippi! Read on for updates about your ward and opportunities for public engagement.
Firstly, Team Kitchissippi would like to extend a very warm thank-you to all residents of the ward who have been kind and supportive following Jeff’s heart attack on February 13. We appreciate every note and call and are so proud to serve our wonderful constituents.
The City of Ottawa has upcoming opportunities to engage with the Municipal Parking Management Strategy refresh and governance review and provide input on the City’s paid parking program. The goal of this review is to consider opportunities to update the funding model for the Strategy, as well as review the Strategy’s mandate and rate setting guidelines. To give your input on how we can improve the parking strategy to better serve the city and to learn more about the current system, fill out the online survey at Ottawa.ca/parkingrefresh. The survey is available until March 15.
Crime Prevention Ottawa in partnership with the City is calling for applications for mural projects that support graffiti prevention, community safety, and the beautification of our neighbourhoods through youth empowerment and community arts through the Paint It Up program. Created in 2010, this program has involved over 2000 youth working on over 70 projects across the city to make their communities better places. For more information on the project and to apply, visit crimepreventionottawa.ca. Applications are open until April 2.
As some readers may already know, the first storefront cannabis outlet appears to be coming to Wellington West. It will be managed by Superette and located in the old terra20 shop. I am committed to working with the Wellington West BIA and the community to mitigate concerns associated with the store opening. You will recall that I am generally supportive of retail storefront cannabis, and I expect that this store will be a positive addition to the area.
The office is currently planning our April Ward Forum, which will be focused on traffic calming; keep an eye on the newsletter for that date. Our next pop-up office hours will be March 20 from 9 a.m. until noon, and March 26 from 4 until 7 p.m. See you soon, Kitchissippi!