Submitted by Jeff Leiper, Kitchissippi Ward Councillor
Spring has truly sprung in Kitchissippi, and it’s wonderful to see everyone out enjoying the mild temperatures! Read on for more information about what’s happening in your ward and city this month.
On March 21, many of the masking mandates in the province expired, making masks no longer mandatory in several indoor settings. At the City level, masks are no longer required in City-owned recreation facilities, theatres, event and meeting spaces, public libraries, art galleries, and customer services centres. In OPL branches, staff have announced that they will continue to wear masks and practice physical distancing until further notice. I’m not sure right now what the plan is for staff in City settings, but I will note that the announcement states that masking requirements have been dropped for the public. As always, you can get the latest information on Ottawa’s COVID-19 cases, vaccination rates, and more on the Ottawa Public Health website.
By now, I’m sure everyone has read that the NCC will be closing Westboro Beach for this season while they renovate the facilities there. Obviously, this is a blow to residents who were counting on getting outside and enjoying the beach this summer, and I’m very sorry about the disruption. Once the renovations are done, the new pavilion at Westboro Beach will be a first-class facility, and I’m excited to see it finished.
Engagement Series 2 for the Solid Waste Master Plan is still ongoing. The engagement team is hosting several public meetings and discussion groups throughout April and early May; all residents are welcome to register to join these sessions and share their feedback on the solid waste plan options. If any of these sessions interest you, please register to participate or subscribe for email updates by visiting engage.ottawa.ca/solid-waste-master-plan.
With April comes the return of the City’s concentrated street sweeping operation. Concentrated street sweeping requires street parking to be banned for a period to allow the street to be thoroughly swept in one pass. Concentrated street sweeping doesn’t happen everywhere; a few years ago, the City crafted a new contract with vendors that enabled concentrated street sweeping to be expanded beyond just the downtown core for a better price.
Several areas in the eastern end of our ward have benefitted from that expansion. I understand a lot of folks want to see this operation extended even further, but that would depend on council agreeing to higher funding and contract re-negotiation. In the meantime, if you find your street hasn’t been properly cleaned, give 311 a call to let them know and they’ll send a team over as soon as they can.
If you want to stay up to date on my pop-up office hour schedule, please email me at jeff.leiper@ottawa.ca and my team will sign you up for my weekly email newsletter. I look forward to chatting with you, Kitchissippi!