We delegated at Council's Public Works and Infrastructure Committee to advocate for pedestrian and cyclist safety and oppose a problematic staff report on Right Turns On Red. Read (or watch) our delegation and learn more: www.ecologyottawa.ca/rtor_delegat... #OttCity #Ottawa #VisionZero #RTOR

It's such a shame to see our plans for progress be watered down to the point that they have been. If we can't even have the heart to pedestrianize our most foot trafficked area in the city that has millions of visitors a year, with great transit connection, it doesn't send a great message.

Thank you to everyone who came out to yet another wonderful monthly social gathering! We'll soon be having to ask for another table reservation at this rate 😭 that's a good problem to have!

We spoke today at PWIC on the topic of a ban on right turns on red. This is a common sense solution that has been tried all over the world and proven to increase safety. We do not need to reinvent the wheel at every intersection. Watch the delegation below drive.google.com/file/d/1owT3...

After delegating at PWIC yesterday, we chatted with Kristy Cameron on CFRA about right turns on reds. As always we appreciate the opportunity, Kristy does a great job of asking important questions that lead to productive dialogue. You can listen to the convo here: drive.google.com/file/d/187FI...

The University of Ottawa Student Union is off with their skate/LRT race! They're calling attention to the need for big improvements to transit. The time to beat UOttawa -> Carleton by train is 35 minutes!

We spoke today at PWIC on the topic of a ban on right turns on red. This is a common sense solution that has been tried all over the world and proven to increase safety. We do not need to reinvent the wheel at every intersection. Watch the delegation below drive.google.com/file/d/1owT3...

I walk or cycle with my kids every day in the core of Ottawa. We are regularly unable to cross intersections because of drivers trying to turn right on red and blocking our way while we have the signal. This makes our trips less safe, longer, colder, wetter when it's raining.

And also: Ottawa police reported 20,650 collisions in Ottawa in 2025, including **3,320** (16%) failure to remain collisions. 3/3

- 3,153 collisions between Jan 1 and Feb 14 - 3 peeople killed, 88 injured - 457 classified as failure to remain, meaning a driver fled the scene 2/

"6% jump in collisions on Ottawa roads so far this year" www.ctvnews.ca/ottawa/artic... Some mind-blowing 🤯 numbers in this article: 1/

Awesome to see the folks at @bettertransitottawa.ca getting the recognition that they deserve! The passion is invigorating to see, and the tools are super useful as well! ottawacitizen.com/news/citizen... Check out their block tracker: bettertransitottawa.ca/tracker/blocks

Reminder we have our monthly social get together coming up this Friday at Braumeister! Come chat about Ottawa related urbanism, or whatever sparks your interest, with local members! No need to RSVP, but info can be found at the link below! luma.com/kyq3f7ic?tk=...

It took me a bit to figure out, but at this angle you can see there is now a transparent cone sticking way out into the shroud. Head-on the lights look normal, but this cone combined with wind channels in the shroud is designed to keep snow off the lights! First heard of this in Japan, cool to see

Looking for some suggested language to email your councillor about prohibiting vehicular turns on red downtown? We've got you: www.ecologyottawa.ca/suggested_la... #RTOR #SafeStreets #OttCity #Ottawa

Half of business owners on this Toronto street estimated that more than 25% of their customers arrived by car. In fact, it was 4%. And the % of customers who who walked or cycled? 72%. Retailers routinely overestimate the # of “car customers.” Via @carltonreid.com www.forbes.com/sites/carlto...

I can't believe they list off half a dozen issues caused by these illegally widened driveways, and then go on to recommend legalizing them. This is from the staff report on the new private approach by-law. pub-ottawa.escribemeetings.com/filestream.a...

One of the more disturbing sections of the city's report on right turns on reds : they say that banning right turns on reds will lead to worse safety because drivers will be impatient and kill/injure people due to being inconvenienced. We can't seriously be hiding behind this right?

Another doozy from the report "Drivers may just choose to ignore the ban and illegally kill people". I guess that is a great reason to not try to make our laws better! Should we repeal the rest of our laws as well since some people don't follow them?

One of the more disturbing sections of the city's report on right turns on reds : they say that banning right turns on reds will lead to worse safety because drivers will be impatient and kill/injure people due to being inconvenienced. We can't seriously be hiding behind this right?

Right-on-Red needs to be outlawed always, everywhere. That would make it consistent and not random cities or streets.

This is deeply concerning. City staff recommending against making our streets substantially safer is irresponsible. The statistics don't even show the whole picture, as many near misses don't get reported. Driving is a privilege, and it does not come before the lives and safety of our residents.

Learn more about our campaign to protect vulnerable road users in #Ottawa and sign the petition. We’ll be working on this. #OttWalk #OttRoll #OttBike www.ecologyottawa.ca/rtor_campaign

Much of @en.ottawa.ca staff’s specious argument against protecting people walking and rolling downtown boils down to 1) There’s too much car traffic 2) Drivers won’t follow the rules These are both eminently solvable by the City—arguably problems they created. But the status quo is easier. 2/3

@en.ottawa.ca staff’s thinking remains rooted in the bad old days—incidentally the same that produced #Ottawa’s unsustainable sprawl. We’ve since realized that prioritizing a handful of drivers’ momentary convenience over everyone else’s safety is wrong. 1/3 www.ctvnews.ca/ottawa/artic...

We are very frustrated that this is continually being delayed over and over again. People who want to sign up to delegate have to set aside time to be able to do so, constantly pushing things back makes things harder for the people trying to make their communities better.

This type of rhetoric is genuinely sociopathic. People need to find more compassion for their fellow citizens that just want to safely get themselves from point A to point B, just like everyone else is.

We are very frustrated that this is continually being delayed over and over again. People who want to sign up to delegate have to set aside time to be able to do so, constantly pushing things back makes things harder for the people trying to make their communities better.

The very last thing we need in #Ottawa is more sprawl. This application must be rejected. Great to hear that Coun. Gower and Johnson have come out against it already, and that staff are recommending refusal. Ask your councillor to oppose it too. #OttCity www.ctvnews.ca/ottawa/artic...

Sidewalks were great today. You can tell how the city really encourages and prioritizes people walking through their street design and maintenance standards.

Thanks again to everyone who came out to our February monthly meeting. It was amazing getting insights from Rosaline from BuildingIn about how best to achieve the infill our city needs! We look forward to using those insights in our advocacy! For upcoming events visit : strongtownsottawa.ca#Events

Check out this great article written by our board member Etienne Lefebvre! Did you know that our old zoning bylaw had minimum parking requirements for mushroom farms and dog kennels... 😅 But it's great that the new zoning bylaw got rid of parking mandates, now the challange is to manage the curb!

Thanks again to everyone who came out to our February monthly meeting. It was amazing getting insights from Rosaline from BuildingIn about how best to achieve the infill our city needs! We look forward to using those insights in our advocacy! For upcoming events visit : strongtownsottawa.ca#Events

Reminder this Thursday we'll be going over the new zoning bylaw and what that means for our city! We'll have Rosaline and expert from BuildingIn, who focuses on what infill will mean for cities! Infill is exactly how we get out of a lot of the issues we're currently facing with infrastructure!

Now contrast cars in the city with bicycles: "Bicycles let people move with greater speed without taking up significant amounts of scarce space, energy, or time...Cyclists become masters of their own movements without blocking those of their fellows." —Ivan Illich, 1974. (📽️ London)

I missed the puck drop at Lansdowne because my bus was stuck in traffic 😔 If only we had dedicated transit infrastructure on Bank St... strongtownsottawa.ca/bank/

Check out our newest newsletter which covers the Carleton Bank Street study competition, Sharon Nyangweso's article on intensification vs preservation, all of the growing water main breaks we're seeing, and more! strongtownsottawa.ca/2026/02/10/F...

Reminder this Thursday we'll be going over the new zoning bylaw and what that means for our city! We'll have Rosaline and expert from BuildingIn, who focuses on what infill will mean for cities! Infill is exactly how we get out of a lot of the issues we're currently facing with infrastructure!

@strongtownsottawa.ca 💏 @bettertransitottawa.ca

Sharon Nyangweso did a wonderful job with this article about intensification versus preserving character. She originally wrote it in the New Edingburgh, we thought it was great and asked to put it up on our site as it pertains to a lot of the things we preach! strongtownsottawa.ca/2026/01/30/s...

via @citynewstoronto.bsky.social : "A 20-year-old #Toronto student says he was having too much trouble biking to school and started to take matters into his own hands." #bikeTO

Interested in learning about the impacts of the new zoning bylaw on the neighbourhoods in our city? How they'll be evolving over time, or how some might stay stagnant? We have BuildingIn coming to present at our next monthly meeting! Join us Thursday to learn more! luma.com/n4ap5kek?tk=...

Interested in learning about the impacts of the new zoning bylaw on the neighbourhoods in our city? How they'll be evolving over time, or how some might stay stagnant? We have BuildingIn coming to present at our next monthly meeting! Join us Thursday to learn more! luma.com/n4ap5kek?tk=...

The same can be said of many neighbourhoods. In Orléans we complain about the state of our main street then block every attempt to make it walkable, cyclable and more densely populated.

Sharon Nyangweso did a wonderful job with this article about intensification versus preserving character. She originally wrote it in the New Edingburgh, we thought it was great and asked to put it up on our site as it pertains to a lot of the things we preach! strongtownsottawa.ca/2026/01/30/s...

I'll provide a last reminder that BTO and @railfans.ca join me tonight for a webinar exploring their data tools! Register through the link at kitchissippiward.ca.

For decades, more sustainable & responsible cities haven’t just been possible — they’ve been common sense, logical, & ridiculously obvious! And yet we’ve failed to act, for many reasons, including that we’ve let ourselves be lied to. A better future thru better cities is STILL possible. #Leadership

Wanted to catch the 2026 budget deliberations by #OttCity Council's Environment and Climate Change Committee, but haven't got to it yet? Or just wanted to watch and discuss with other environmentally oriented folks? Join our watch party online next Tuesday. www.ecologyottawa.ca/watch-party-...

This is good to see (and likely a reputable source 😉). Among major Canadian cities (pop. 500K+) Ottawa ranks #1. Among ALL Canadian cities, we rank #4. Some of the numbers don't seem right (transit time, avg. rent), but it's still good to rank so high. 1/ www.theglobeandmail.com/business/art...

Refreshing to see the city acknowledge that extending an arterial road would actually make traffic worse. pub-ottawa.escribemeetings.com/Meeting.aspx...