I head again today from Ottawa By-law, they're no longer accepting reports for illegal driveway expansions or hardscaping or front yard parking. Apparently there are only 4 officers for these zoning issues and there are far too many reports than they can keep up with. They need more resources.

Over at @strongtownsottawa.ca we've calculated the productivity of different development patterns in #OttCity. Tax per hectare is easy. Lately, I've been estimating the cost of servicing. These numbers are much more abstract but it's been fun. Here is some data I'm tracking.

City wide graphs of the effects of ASE camera installation on the percent of high-end speeders, and general speed limit compliance. These cameras work

More Automated Speed Enforcement (ASE) data for College Ward. Once the cameras were installed, the percentage of high-end speeds drops dramatically and general speed limit compliance improves. #OttCity

#OttCity has open data on Automated Speed Enforcement (ACE). Below driver behaviour from Stittsville. The data show that Stittsville drivers slowed down after each ASE camera was installed. The changes are lasting too.

#OttCity has open data on the effectiveness of Automated Speed Enforcement cameras. The data show that once installed, drivers slow down and keep their speed down.

More data showing the effectiveness of Automated Speed Enforcement (ASE) cameras in Barrhaven East. Once the cameras go up, drivers start slowing down and keep slowing down. #OttCity

Automated Speed Enforcement (ASE) is working in River ward. You can see how quickly people slow down once the camera is installed. Interestingly, speeds on the younger cameras started out fairly low. I wonder if this is because the effects of ASE extend beyond their immediate area.

Automated Speed Enforcement (ASE) cameras work in Knoxdale-Merivale. The data show how speeds gradually decrease, and stay down, once the cameras are installed. #OttCity

Automated Speed Enforcement (ASE) cameras are working in College Ward. I graphed the 85th percentile speed of cars by the age of the camera. College Ward has two older cameras (1000+ days) and 2 x younger (100 days). You can see how speeds quickly trend downward once the cameras are installed.

Did you know the water pipes under Slater Street were installed in 1875! Do you ever wonder how old Ottawa's water and wastewater infrastructure is? Come check out my map at bickertonpa.github.io/Ottawa-Water... #OpenData #Ottawa

People sometimes think Bank Street needs bus lanes only during "peak" hours. The data shows otherwise : the largest delays are during the hours outside of "peak", when buses weave in and out of parking lanes. Our city deserves reliable service all day, for all kinds of trips, with 24/7 bus lanes.

To fix north-south transportation, the city is proposing to keep street parking on Bank Street outside of weekday rush hours. Rush hour is not the problem. The problem is the parked cars blocking busses during at all hours of the day and weekend.

Doug Ford: "Speed cameras DO NOT slow people down." Speed camera data:

I mapped Ottawa’s 2023–2033 road renewal list against property tax data. Then I estimated the amortized cost of road renewals as a share of the property tax levy: Inner greenbelt: 6% Outer greenbelt: 10% Rural: 40% Villages: 50%

Ottawa needs to focus on service delivery, not chasing a pre-set tax rate. A wave of water, sewer, road, and other infrastructure renewals is coming in the next decade — and the cracks are already showing.

Thanks to everyone who came by to chat and help with the Park(ing) day event! Unfortunately we only got to be in the street for a couple hours until we moved over to Kunstadt's parking lot (huge shoutout to them for letting us use it). Our streets can be so much more with just a bit of change!

AKA "We cut down all the trees to widen the roads right up to people's doorsteps, and build parking to fit as many cars as possible into these older neighbourhoods and now there's nowhere to plant new trees."

In 2009, 5 cyclists were run down by a driver on March Road in Kanata. This incident sparked a debate in the city about cycling safety. Current Mayor and then columnist Mark Sutcliffe weighed in, saying that this was not an issue of cycling safety as that road was "unambiguously safe". 🧵1/4

Well, I think that's it for this tree. The city has killed it by dumping like 50lbs of salt on it every winter. I do my best to remove the salt piles all winter long, but the plow driver parks here everytime it snows, apparently with his salt spreader running. Chamberlain Park.

Great interview on Automated Speed Enforcement cameras in Ottawa grounded in data and safety outcomes. More of this please 🙏

Pedestrian walking in road because cyclist riding on sidewalk because car parked in bike lane

Interested in diving into Ottawa's property tax data? @strongtownsottawa.ca has got you. New article and link to data at strongtownsottawa.ca/2025/09/04/p... @strongtowns.org #dothemath

In the wake of multiple deaths and injuries on our roads, Strong Towns Ottawa supports an urgent pilot on banning right turns on reds in the downtown core. We believe the lives of our community members should come before the convenience of drivers. Read the letter we have sent out today below.

Early morning MMI piece! We were asked by the Large Urban Centre Alliance, 13 homebuilders in Canada's six largest cities, to co-facilitate a process to develop 10 housing recommendations for the federal government. This is the result: www.missingmiddleini...

I put together a chart showing Pavement Condition per Ward, as a percentage of the total lane-km of roadway in each ward. This includes all Arterial, Collector and Local Roads.

Car centric development patterns dilute land values. Ottawa needs to end parking minimums. Fast food chain restaurants + large parking lot generates municipal taxes at a rate of $186k / ha. Local pharmacy and restaurant with with no parking generates municipal taxes at a rate of $407k / ha.

Yeah, but ask the city to bury the powerlines while they have the whole road dug up for sewer work, so that we can plant trees that will grow to maturity, "too expensive". Meanwhile, the Hydro Ottawa CEO said this:

Only an "academic brain" would call withholding payment for failing to meet contractual obligations "using money as punishment". Why do we infantilize municipal governments? They're billion-dollar corporations, not toddlers. www.cbc.ca/news/cana...

A tsunami of water and sewer replacement projects will hit #Ottawa in ~ 15 years. Oddly, the timing is beyond the mandated 10 yr forecast for municipal Long Term Financial Plans, so council isn't tracking it. We can thank a dedicated member of @strongtownsottawa.ca for finding this with #OpenData

Was happy to help crunch some data to help @robattrell.bsky.social visualize the untapped potential in #Orleans Have a read lesscar.ca/2025/06/28/o...

🧵 I might have found Ottawa's own "Taco John's" example from @strongtowns.org Both highlighted areas have: ✅ Similar size ✅ Same zoning (TM - Traditional Mainstreet) ✅ Same tax classification (C8 - Small Business) Bonus, it includes a taco joint 🌮. @strongtownsottawa.ca #dothemath

A great example by @strongtownsottawa.bsky.social members communicating #Ottawa municipal finances in a simple to understand visual. More of this please! Let's #dothemath

As Ottawa debates New Zoning By-Law, I don’t fully understand how some of my free-market colleagues object to proposals to establish “no parking minimums” for developers. Essentially, we aim to let developers (i.e. the market) have control over what they believe they can sell. 1/

Should separate commercial property tax from residential and then separate multi-residential (eg rental apartments) from residential (eg condos & single family homes). NB most multi-residential pay more property taxes than their condo cousins, despite having lower incomes. #NotFair #ottcity

I joined the @ottawacity.ottawa.ca property taxes to spatial data to create interactive "Revenue by Hectare" maps - a powerful way to understand how land use supports our city. github.com/bickertonpa/... Inspired by @strongtowns.org @strongtownsottawa.bsky.social and @urban3.bsky.social.