Weekly newsletter: July 22, 2025
Hi everyone!
I’m nursing a major sunburn on my legs this week. I went kayaking with some friends on the Madawaska River (roughly Calabogie to Burnstown) on Saturday and forgot to apply sunscreen to my legs. Standing still has been quite painful! I have a photo of my legs, but I’ve been advised not to share it publicly.
Speaking of being on the water, it’s National Drowning Prevention Week. Each year, the Lifesaving Society dedicates the third week of July to focus community and media attention on drowning prevention.
This year’s theme is “safer together,” highlighting the statistic of drowning fatalities that occur when the victim is alone — 32 per cent of drowning fatalities occurred when a swimmer was swimming alone, while 29 per cent of boating-related drownings occurred when the boater was alone.
Visit the Lifesaving Society’s website↗ to learn more and to view resources to share!
Curbside weeds
Small scale pilot nearing completion, staff report by early-autumn.
After a particularly wet growing season in 2023, I raised the issue of weeds and other vegetation growing in gaps and cracks in our curbsides with public works staff.
At the time, I learned staff would respond to service requests only and that there was no formal programme to proactively maintain our curbsides.
Following some initial discussions, I moved a motion at Transportation Committee (since renamed to the Public Works and Infrastructure Committee) in March 2024 directing staff to determine if any other cities and entities in Canada had proactive curbside weed maintenance.
The motion, which passed unanimously, also directed staff to determine the feasibility and resource requirements of such a programme in Ottawa and to propose a pilot project location.
Staff’s research showed that though not widespread, a few municipalities, most airports, and the NCC proactively addressed curbside weeds. The few municipalities rolled the service in as part of regular groundskeeping using a variety of different methods.
Generally, the staff and equipment used for curbside weed maintenance by other cities were also doubled up with other responsibilities in groundskeeping and roadside maintenance.
With that information, public works staff selected a 100-metre section of Whitewater Street by Berry Glen Park as a small-scale pilot location. The location was selected due to its typical suburban setting, nearby vegetation, and ease of access.
The section of street was divided into five sections, each section to be treated by a different method. Two methods were physical, using a street sweeper extension and a special metal bristle on an edge trimmer, while two were liquid, one hot foam stream, one fatty solution. The fifth section was left untreated as a control section.
The four sections for treatment were then divided into smaller sections to be treated at different intervals, ranging from once only to once a month.
The two physical methods fared poorly. The street sweeper extension and the metal-bristled trimmer sections all saw weeds return within three weeks of treatment.
On the contrary, the two liquid methods fared very well.
The hot foam stream is herbicide-free and uses heat from the hot water to kill weeds (the foam insulates the hot water to maximise its effective period). It can be applied with great precision in situations where only certain vegetation is targeted — for example, the NCC uses this in their tulip beds.
Meanwhile, the fatty acid is an organic, non-selective herbicide, which coats the weeds, causing them to dehydrate and die. It can also be applied with great precision.
Both liquid treatment sections saw practically no weed growth for eight weeks after application. Both liquid methods also used equipment already in the City’s inventory (except the foam stream machine itself, which sits in the bed of a pick-up truck).
The small-scale pilot has one more observation period before a report with staff’s overall findings and recommendations in August or September.
During a site visit last week, public works staff also brainstormed a few ways a formalised curbside weed maintenance programme can be rolled into existing work with minimal additional resource requirements.
In the grand scheme of things, curbside weeds are a minor issue, but the lack of proactive maintenance makes part of our community look neglected.
Though nature always eventually finds a way through roadbeds and surfaces, it’s not an excuse for neglect, and I hope the pilot demonstrates there are practical solutions readily available and already in use.
Bite-sized updates
Leikin Drive closure – Leikin Drive between Merivale and Beckstead remains closed until August 11 for an Amazon-related sewer relocation. The street was supposed to be reopened at the end of June but was prolonged by City permitting delays.
Longfields/Bill Leathem road cuts – Hydro Ottawa has repaired the road cuts on Bill Leathem south of the roundabout. This week, the road cut on Longfields west of the roundabout will also be repaired. Please observe flaggers on site.
Mayor’s summer barbecue – Mayor Mark Sutcliffe is hosting a free community barbecue↗ at the Minto Recreation Complex (3500 Cambrian Road) on August 16 from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm. Join him, Councillor Hill, and me for food, inflatables, and recreation activities!
O-Train Line 1 – Rail service between Tunney’s Pasture and Blair stations will be suspended and replaced with R1 buses on Saturday, July 26 and Sunday, July 27 to allow for continued integration works with the eastern extension. Details↗.
O-Train Line 2 – Trains will operate every 24 minutes from 8:00 pm to end of day Monday to Friday this week (July 21 to 25). The reductions allow for axle bearing monitoring devices to be installed, as recommended by the LRT public inquiry and later made mandatory by Transport Canada. Details↗.
Pop-up office hours – Over the summer, I will be at the Ottawa Farmers’ Market (Barrhaven) every other Sunday for pop-up office hours. I’ll be there next on Sunday August 3 from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm at the Nepean Woods Park and Ride.
Apologies, I had to cancel last-minute this past weekend. I went kayaking the day before, forgot to apply sunscreen on my legs, and couldn’t stand or walk properly on Sunday. The Madawaska River↗ is beautiful, though.
Prince of Wales sewer works – City crews are repairing sewage infrastructure by the southbound lane of Prince of Wales south of Crestway. The works will happen off the road and will not require any lane closures or adjustments, but please take care as crews and parked vehicles will be in the area.
Recreation registration – Autumn recreation activities will be available to browse next Tuesday, July 29, starting at 9:00 pm at register.ottawa.ca↗.
Aquatics registration opens Tuesday, August 12 at 9:00 pm, while registration for all other activities opens on Thursday, August 14 at 9:00 pm.
Walter Baker pool closure – The swimming pool, whale pool, hot tub, and steam room are closed until July 27 (extended from June 29). During annual maintenance, urgent foundation and support repairs were required, which prolonged the closure.
Lastly, have you ever accidentally switched letters or sounds between two words of a phrase (e.g. “runny babbit” instead of “bunny rabbit”)? Sometimes you might even use it for humour, like to soften a vulgar phrase (e.g. “pobody’s sherfect, nithead”)!
Well, you have William Archibald Spooner to thank for the term “spoonerism↗!” Today is Spooner’s birthday. He’d be 181 years old if he was still alive, but he died in 1930 at 86.
Thanks as always for reading!
-Wilson