Manotick Shiverfest Thank Yous and Community Updates
By Irene Staron, MVCA President
Our thanks to all our Shiverfest volunteers, generous sponsors and community partners for helping to make MVCA’s annual winter festival another rousing success. Unlike last years’ – 28C, this year’s -2C felt downright balmy, giving families a welcome break from the heavy winter layering of their little ones. And to our friends and neighbours who came out to enjoy the array of activities? A heartfelt thank you for your support. Stay tuned for more fun events in 2024!
Because You Asked – Improving Pedestrian Safety
Concerned residents continue to write the MVCA and the City about what is being done to make it safer to cross our roads to reach Village amenities – for families with strollers and children, cyclists, and impaired pedestrians with wheelchairs or walkers. Speeding continues to be a problem on Manotick Main Street east of Bridgeport as well as along Century Road where drivers come through at 60+ km/hr and often at 80 km/hr around the curved parts of the road. One resident calls the situation “terrifying”. Requests have been submitted to the city to install a crosswalk or set of lights at Century and Main/Rideau Valley Drive. Currently, the only crosswalk between Roger Stevens Road on Rideau Valley Drive and/Manotick Main is at Tighe Street in the Village. Getting there involves walking or cycling along a gravel shoulder with unsafe conditions. WIth cars parked close to the dock at Mahogany Harbour, residents are forced to walk or cycle on the road in speeding traffic.
In response, the ity has looked into a crosswalk near Manotick Main and Century; unfortunately there is not enough cross-traffic to justify a full traffic signal. For a pedestrian signal, there need to be sidewalks or appropriate paths on both sides of the pedestrian signal – they cannot dead-end anywhere. This effectively rules out much of the area for a pedestrian signal right now.
However, Councillor Brown is working on pushing staff to ensure that the feasibility study for pedestrian and cycling infrastructure on Manotick Main proceeds, connecting the Village core to the newer parts of the community further south on Manotick Main. Additional efforts are being made to install the planned roundabout including considerations for pedestrian access at Bridgeport and Manotick Main this year, with speeds of approach set at 30km/h to help calm traffic. These measures will improve safety in the area substantially for pedestrians. In particular, once the sidewalk is constructed, that will connect the community in the south end of Manotick to the village core.Both items were included in 2024 budget submissions to the City from the MVCA and the MCPRA and we are pleased to see them moving forward.
Bad Winter Weather? What To Do
Navigating our way during fluctuating winter conditions can be challenging. The City advises to be prepared to adjust to the changing conditions and take extra care when walking, driving or cycling in affected areas. Surfaces such as highways, roads, walkways and parking lots may become difficult to navigate due to quickly accumulating ice. Residents are encouraged to keep an eye on updates from Environment Canada for up-to-date information on storms as they progress. During a storm, visit Ottawa.ca/winter for the most up-to-date information from the City. While there is no need to create a service request for routine snow clearing, once a winter weather event has passed, should you become aware of an issue on the City-maintained transportation network, submit a service request by calling 3-1-1. The City asks residents to refrain from calling 3-1-1 or creating a service request for anything other than an emergency so that City staff can better address the most pressing issues.
New Initiative in Ottawa – 2024 Rural Summit
A positive turn of events has arrived for those of us living in rural communities. With the full support of Mayor Sutcliffe, the city will be hosting it’s first rural summit this year since 2008. This will offer a unique opportunity for our communities to have their voices heard, to share their views on the unique challenges facing rural Ottawa, and to contribute to solutions to meaningfully improve life for rural Ottawa.
In the coming weeks, City staff will be working with a group of residents from all five of the City’s rural wards to design and shape how the summit will proceed. The summit will be composed of at least six meetings – a meeting in each rural ward and a final culmination meeting near the end of the year. Residents will have many opportunities to participate.
Why is this important now? It is a fact that rural Ottawa should not be treated in the same way as urban Ottawa, applying the “one size fits all’ approach. Rural Ottawa communities face many issues such as truck traffic in Manotick, a lack of service delivery in rural areas, road and infrastructure maintenance, traffic control devices, and much more. We will keep you informed as more information becomes available.
