Councillor's Column

COUNCILLOR’S COLUMN MAY 4, 2018 Councillor’s Column KEEPING YOU INFORMED SHAD QADRI – WARD 6 - STITTSVILLE Kanata Light Rail Transit Design Approved at Transportation Committee Kanata could ultimately have 11 kilometres of light rail and eight stations, following the Transportation Committee’s approval this week of a functional design for Kanata Light Rail Transit (LRT). The system would run from Moodie Station along the north side of Highway 417 before turning north to integrate more closely with the Beaverbrook community. It would turn south, running parallel to Huntmar Drive before crossing the Queensway and terminating at Hazeldean Road. A multi-use pathway would run parallel along the entire length of the extension. This is great news for the Stittsville/Kanata communities as I have heard from many residents who supported this route option throughout the Environmental Assessment and public consultation process. It was the best route for bringing LRT right into the heart of Stittsville beyond the Canadian Tire Centre and onto Hazeldean Road. I would like to thank all residents for their support and for providing their comments throughout this process. Though LRT in Stittsville still remains more than a decade away in the books, I am hopeful that this decision will help to improve transit service as a whole to our growing community throughout the years. COUNCILLOR’S COLUMN 1 COUNCILLOR’S COLUMN MAY 4, 2018 Slated for construction after 2031, the $1.85-billion project could be implemented in phases, depending on funding. Stage 1 of the LRT is still slated for a November opening and I am thrilled to share that this week, the installation of the final rail clip on the O-Train Confederation Line track was completed at Tremblay Station. Are you #readyforrail Stittsville? Fringewood Meeting Recap On Tuesday May 1st, I was happy to join residents in the Fringewood community for an Open House along with representatives from the City to discuss issues and concerns in regards to traffic and planning. The meeting was well attended with roughly 40-45 residents in attendance with some significant conversation shedding some light on the background of City policies with presentations from the City’s Planning department, Traffic department, and Bylaw Services. Some of the information from Monday night’s meeting include: PLANNING DEPARTMENT Robert from Planning Staff explained that the City has different programs in place with a set budget to deal with roads that do not have sidewalks. For each of the options, Fringewood would be waiting for years, as they are not ranked high on the prioritization list. The potential solution is a retrofit by priority to fill gaps at transit and community destinations. This would be a stand- alone project and I am currently reviewing funding options with the City. A concept drawing was presented that would have the road widened to accommodate paved shoulders. A question was asked if the paved shoulders would be kept clear in the winter and that answer is yes. COUNCILLOR’S COLUMN 2 COUNCILLOR’S COLUMN MAY 4, 2018 TRAFFIC DEPARTMENT The Traffic Service Catalogue outlines the services that are provided in relation to traffic safety inquiries. The catalogue covers topics such as speed, pedestrians and cyclists, warning signs, traffic control, heavy trucks, parking and schools. As Kerry-Lynn had mentioned at the meeting, the catalogue outlines what is available in terms of traffic calming. There are two options for when staff receives concerns due to traffic: 1. Area Traffic Management (ATM) encompasses a set of measures used to ensure that the streets within neighborhoods are used appropriately. It ensures that the impact of vehicles on these neighborhoods is minimized to improve safety and the quality of life of those who use of the street. In order to achieve this, a variety of regulatory measures, physical measures, and programs can be used to address such issues as excessive vehicular speed, higher than desired traffic volumes, and inappropriate driver behavior. In Ottawa, the City has chosen to use “area traffic management” as the term to describe the process of dealing with neighborhood traffic concerns, and as one specific set of permanent/physical measures (such as speed humps and mini traffic circles) among a broader set of measures that can be used to achieve the desired improvement. In order to ensure that the City's resources are concentrated on the most significant concerns, and to ensure that the number of projects is manageable in relation to program resources, requests will undergo an initial screening process involving two steps that must be satisfied before being considered for a potential Area Traffic Management (ATM) project. Fringewood did meet the screening criteria for the ATM study and I am presently looking into where Fringewood stands in terms of priority ranking. It is important to realize that measures used to address problems typically have secondary impacts that can negatively affect some street users or residents. In deciding how to deal with problems, the expected improvement must be balanced against any such impacts that could occur. The comprehensive traffic study compares all proposed studies on an indicator- by-indicator basis, and assign points according to the relative severity of concerns. The study with the most severe collision problem, for example, would COUNCILLOR’S COLUMN 3 COUNCILLOR’S COLUMN MAY 4, 2018 receive the full 30 points, while remaining projects would receive fewer points according to the relative severity of issues. Staff will recommend, once per year in accordance with the annual budget schedule that the highest-ranking studies proceed over the coming year. The number of studies conducted will correspond with the resources available to conduct the planning phase, and with the City’s expected ability to fund their implementation within five years, in view of their priority relative to any backlog of approved projects. The results of the data tube have been sent to city staff to support the reprioritization of Fringewood on the Area Traffic Management list. I will update the community with the current ranking, as soon as I find out, which should be by the end of next week. 2. The Temporary Traffic Calming Measures Program was first introduced as a pilot project in 2013 by the city’s traffic department. Temporary traffic calming (TTC) was introduced as a way to address speeding in a relatively inexpensive and quick way. A ‘comprehensive traffic study’ study is not required. The TTC treatment refers to the installation of flexible delineator signs or flex-stakes on the centerline of a roadway, typically within school or playground areas, speed pavement markings, speed display boards, planter boxes and cyclo-zone delineators. The heavy trucks signs have been ordered for the corner of Hazeldean and Fringewood and will be installed once they have been received. I have asked our traffic staff to review the signal timings of the traffic light at the Hazeldean and Fringewood intersection and to look at the possibility of adding advance turning signals. Two speed boards will be installed on Fringewood Drive in May. These speed boards will record volume and speed, which will be downloaded on a quarterly basis by the provider and reviewed by our traffic staff. When traffic staff review a speeding concern, they have the ability to share this information with the Police. Moving forward, I will continue to share speed and volume data in my weekly eNewsletter to be available on my website at www.shadqadri.com. If residents are interested, I can also request that Fringewood implement a winter parking ban similar to the pilot project executed in the Fairwinds community last winter. The “Slow Down for Us” signage is once again available for all residents that would like to use them in the community. Please send me an email with your address at [email protected]. Spot speed surveys: Fringewood between Woodwind and Poole Creek COUNCILLOR’S COLUMN 4 COUNCILLOR’S COLUMN MAY 4, 2018 Fringewood between Poole Creek and Poole Creek TRAFFIC/REPORTING INCIDENTS TO THE POLICE Residents should report any and all incidents using the police online app below or call 613-236- 1222 ex 7300. The police are streamlining their process in regards to dispatching police presence to a particular area. The Ottawa Police have advised my office that to get the most focus on a particular area is through submitting online complaints. The Police use the number of complaints to then allocate resources to a particular area. You can report online or through the Ottawa Police app, for more information please visit https://www.ottawapolice.ca/en/contact- us/Online-Reporting.asp. If residents only obtain a partial plate, make or model of the vehicle, they can still file a report online. The complaint can be as general as speeding in this area - street name or intersection and time frame. All reports are reviewed and will support evidenced based enforcement by traffic services and patrol officers. This allows OPS to target areas where citizens have identified concerns. OPS also use the speed boards to assist in addressing speeding complaints. COUNCILLOR’S COLUMN 5 COUNCILLOR’S COLUMN MAY 4, 2018 PLANNING - PARKS Fringewood Park is scheduled for a renewal. Work involves replacing the senior playstructure and play equipment and the project will operate under a budget of $180,000. A planner will start work on the file soon & the community will be able to give input on what they would like to see. PLANNING - COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT The No Frills development at Hazeldean and Fringewood will include a physician, physiotherapy, a restaurant and a coffee shop. Landscape Plan Site Plan Grading Plan BYLAW/311 Please report any issues such as potholes, residents not picking up after their dogs, or parking in a no parking area at www.ottawa.ca or send an email to [email protected] and be sure to copy me at [email protected] to allow me to follow up and keep the communication loop open.

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