Tag: ottawa

Family Spring Break Adventures in North Carolina

May 1, 2024

Our April spring break, a time for family and adventure, began at 5 p.m. on a Thursday in Ottawa. We embarked on a journey that would take us fifteen hours to North Carolina, with a stopover in Courtland, NY. This annual tradition of ours, filled with shared experiences, is one of many times we see our far-flung family annually.

The Red Roof Inn in Courtland had its own unique character. Despite the room being refurbished, there was no breakfast provided, not even a simple muffin or toast. This was a departure from the norm even in economy-priced hotels. However, this unexpected change had its benefits. It allowed us to start our day early, without any unnecessary morning delays.

Our spring break is also an excuse to leave Ottawa, which has snow and cold weather. Mind you, this year’s winter was the mildest in my memory, and getting away was not like escaping cabin fever; the first year we moved to Ottawa, the temperature never came above zero Fahrenheit in January, and going south in March was a treat.

Our first full day in North Carolina was filled with cultural and sporting activities. We attended a Jazz Musical Appreciation Adjudication event, where twenty-five high schools showcased their talent. Our granddaughter, Zinnia, plays the trombone with the Jazz Combo of the Jordan High School, her school participated in the event.

Millbrook High School, a magnet school in Raleigh hosted the event. I entered the building, and the music room immediately impressed me with all the electronic gear. Further in, a large, designed-for-acoustics auditorium sloped towards the stage where the bands played. I cannot recall this level of educational resources at the high schools our children attended.

Listening to the bands performing songs by Charlie Parker, Neal Hefti, Hoagy Carmicheal, and Bobby Timmons brought back memories of the music I listened to in the ’60s. Another classic one band played was Duke Ellington’s Satin Doll.

After the three songs Zinnia’s jazz combo played, it was time for the adjudicators to comment on their performance. In addition to an overview critique, they took the time to discuss the players’ techniques and delivery, offering valuable insights. One adjudicator, in particular, stood out. He had brought his trumpet along and demonstrated what some songs should sound like. The combo members listened intently and demonstrated their understanding by playing their instruments in the style recommended by the adjudicator.

We were in Raleigh for the event, although Dave lives in Durham; the entire area is part of what is called the Research Triangle Park (RTP) of North Carolina. It is interconnected by interstate highways 40 and 85. It boasts many well-known educational, recreational, and cultural facilities (such as Duke University, UNC, NC State University, Duke Gardens, and NC Botanical Garden). The area also boasts a professional hockey team, the Hurricanes, who play out of Raleigh, and top-notch college basketball teams – think of the perennial rival Duke and UNC teams.

A few decades ago, the RTP had a well-developed high-tech sector. Nortel was a significant employer in communications, along with Newbridge Networks, where I worked. I remember management telling us to be careful working on our computers on flights from Ottawa to Raleigh and not to reveal technical secrets should an employee of Nortel sit next to us. Those days, there were daily flights between Ottawa and Raleigh. Since then, Nortel has gone bankrupt, and Alcatel, the global communications company, bought up Newbridge.

My memories lingered until our grandson Zane, ten years of age, invited us to watch his ball team play in the afternoon. Preceding the game was a “slugfest” at Herndon Park. To participate in the slugfest, the boys on the ball team had to fundraise $200 each for the team, which entitled them to “hit” balls from a pitching machine a dozen times.

Curious parents wanted to know who I was and welcomed me enthusiastically, another body cheering for the boys. There might have been more family members enjoying the weather, the outdoors, and watching the slugfest than players. Everybody carried water bottles, and folding chairs sprang up to watch the boys slug it out. A highlight of the slugfest was picture-taking, with each player posing with a bat ready for action and team photos following.

A game followed the slugfest that unfortunately ended in a loss for our team. It did not matter for the cheering parents and siblings who kept up with loud encouragements of “good eye” and “you can do it.” One of the rules for this age group that I learned is that the umpire does not allow a new inning to start after an hour and forty-five minutes of play. I am not a baseball fan, but this rule is good because the rule limits the duration of the game. Although the parents were disappointed in the outcome, the boys were too tired to dwell on the loss and ended up with a smoothie.

Our activities in Durham were far from over. The next day, we stumbled upon the ‘American Tobacco Trail’ (ATT), a hidden gem in the city. Despite the drizzle, we were eager to experience this outdoor activity. The section of the ATT we walked on was a tree-lined corridor, where the tree canopy provided a cozy shelter from the rain. Our ball-player grandson, always full of energy, circled around us on roller skates while the rest of us enjoyed a leisurely walk. It was a delightful discovery, adding a new dimension to our trip.

The ATT is a rails-to-trails right-of-way for walkers, cyclists, and equestrians. The level and mostly straight twenty-two-mile trail has a ten-foot-wide paved surface. The trail’s history goes back to J.B. Duke, who founded the American Tobacco Company in 1890 and built railroads to serve tobacco facilities and plants in the area. The trucking industry superseded railroads, and the rail lines fell into disuse. 1980, the Triangle Rails to Trails Conservancy was formed to preserve the right-of-way for recreational uses. I found it a pretty trail, even in the rain.

Returning to Dave’s house, we changed out of our wet clothing and commented on the many attractions families can visit to enjoy the Research Triangle Park. It is not only the ATT that attracts walkers but also the North Carolina Botanical Gardens, situated next to the University of North Carolina campus, with lovely walking trails and endangered plant species on display. Our granddaughter Zinnia, familiar with the Gardens, guided us around the trails there. Families can also visit the Science Museum in Raleigh, where we took the grandchildren to see the Van Gogh traveling exhibit last year.

We met up with two of our granddaughters in Cary, located part way between Raleigh and Durham, for dinner; Caroline works in Raleigh and Mary Kate attends North Carolina State University in Raleigh.  While there we enjoyed the renovated center of Cary.   With young children, a visit to the park in the renovated center of Cary is a must; it has the most creative modern play structures I have ever seen. Although we spent only a few days in the Durham and Raleigh areas, the rich fabric of recreational and cultural facilities could keep a family busy for days.

Policy Born Out of Panic

April 26, 2024

It is astonishing how the federal and Ontario governments announced a fifteen billion dollar incentive to Honda to set up a car battery plant in Ontario yesterday while they encouraged the municipalities last week to eliminate the requirement for parking for multiple unit developments. So, the message is to make more cars but provide no parking! Let me describe what happened.

Camada’s three levels of government hastily introduced a cobbled together housing policy this month, a move that could have significant repercussions. Upon learning that our City Council, under pressure from senior government levels, is considering approving quadruplexes or four units on a residential lot and eliminating parking requirements for highrise or multiple-unit buildings, I couldn’t help but worry. These are just a couple of the many proposals aimed at addressing the severe housing shortage that has led to the emergence of tent cities in all metropolitan areas.

With all the recent announcements, the federal government promises to double housing starts for the next seven years from the current pace of 250,000 units per year, by pouring billions of dollars into municipal budgets, providing local city councils agree to change zoning codes, including the above two proposals.

While this could alleviate the housing shortage and provide more affordable housing options, it raises concerns about the quality of these new units and the impact on existing neighborhoods.

Yes, the recent surge in international migration created the housing shortage; statistics show that the Canadian fertility rate is way below the replacement rate, and the increase in population and the consequent surge in housing demand can be attributed directly and totally to immigration.

But wouldn’t it be more prudent for the federal government to address the demand for housing as well instead of focusing solely on the supply side? Would it not be faster and easier to restrict immigration in the short term than build housing that takes years to complete? A more balanced approach would be advisable in considering both supply and demand for housing.

A panic reaction is not a good incubator for developing thoughtful housing policy. For example, consider the proposal for building four housing units on a residential lot. A quarter-acre lot measures seventy by one hundred feet (excluding space for roads). Yes, one can build four units on such a lot; it could be two side by side units on the main level and the same upstairs, or one unit per floor in a four-storey building. It would be a dense development, especially considering the parking space for each unit.   But, oops! Are parking spots still required?

However, more recent developments have much smaller lot sizes; some are thirty-five by one hundred feet. To put four units in such a small lot would be a design challenge. And where would the parking be? On the neithborhood streets? As much as good public transit, which we do not have, may negate the need for cars, most individuals and families like to have a car to get around on weekends and at nights when public transit is sporadic at best.

In the suburbs, there are one-acre and larger lots where four units per residential lot are reasonably achievable, but would people desire it? They moved to the suburbs because they wanted bigger lots so why would they now build three additional units on their land? Not likely.

Although four units per residential lot is an attractive slogan, it behooves the government to specify what a “residential lot” means. For example, it would be helpful to identify a minimum lot size to utilize this concept fully.

While the first proposal for densification relates to the efficient use of an urban lot (four units on a lot), the second proposal to eliminate parking refers to cost; by not building garages, the government claims the cost savings would benefit renters/buyers. However, consider the potential impact of this idea on different demographic groups. For instance, families with children, the disabled or elderly individuals may still require parking spaces, and the lack of these amenities could disproportionately affect them.

Before believing government claims that eliminating parking spaces will reduce the cost to the buyer/renter, consider vacancy rates. With vacancy rates so low today that people immediately take up any vacant rental unit, why would developers not charge market rates even though their costs would be lower by not providing parking? And when people buy condominiums, they buy garage spaces in addition to the unit’s price. As a consequence, I do not see why multiple unit residential buildings with no parking would save money for renters/buyers.

To implement the no parking proposal, the City Council proposes to do away with the current policy of requiring parking as a ratio of the number of units in the building and let developers decide on the number of stalls provided based on market forces. While in some areas of the city, developers may choose to skimp on parking spaces, assuming that people could park on neighboring streets, it may not be the case downtown, where office towers dominate, and street parking is not available. I am concerned that not providing parking would exacerbate congestion on the streets and create a huge problem during the winter months when parking is prohibited on the streets for snow clearing.

What further concerns me and find astonishing is when I see that the two higher levels of government are actively pursuing car manufacturers to set up shop in Ontario.  They announced yesterday a multi-billion-dollar incentives package for Honda, after providing incentives for Volkswagen and Stellantis, last year. Is this not a huge contradiction: do not provide parking but encourage the manufacture of cars?

Quadruplexes on quarter-acre lots and highrise buildings without parking do not reflect what people want today; to me, it appears that governments are attempting to modify behavior to solve a housing shortage, without dealing with any of the basic issues that contributed to the problem – that is, an unprecedented increase in immigration levels, and the capacity of the country in both labor and supplies to accelerate any construction. Despite all good intentions and even beyond the questionable objectives of these ideas, the pace of housing construction cannot and will not double for the next few years due to the lack of skilled labor.

The Eclipse, April 8, 2:12 pm

April 12, 2024

Kathy said we should see the eclipse. She said:  It happens once in a lifetime; the next one will come in forty years. And it is fantastic! The news media estimated a million people would visit Niagara Falls to watch the eclipse; hotels tripled their room rates there. After reading about how to watch the eclipse, Kathy ordered appropriate sunglasses from Amazon, and the package also came with a cover for the camera lens.

Kathy also said that her friend invited us to view the eclipse from the deck of a cottage facing the St. Lawrence River in Brockville, Ontario, where it was supposed to be 100% covered. That sounded too good to pass up until Kathy received a phone call from her friend disinviting us; apparently, not all the details of our visit met the cottage owner’s approval. Kathy was a little annoyed that her friend did not discuss alternative locations where we could meet.

So now, I wondered, why should we leave Ottawa and go elsewhere to view the eclipse since we would see 98.8 percent of the sun covered by the moon in Ottawa? In Brockville, I read that the coverage will be one hundred percent. OK. Does that make a huge difference? I doubt it, but I said let’s go and drive south towards Brockville, searching for an attractive venue for viewing. 

 The news media projected massive traffic for April 8, with people trying to drive to be under the eclipse’s pathalong the St. Lawrence River. To avoid traffic, we chose to go south on a secondary road, Highway 15, towards Brockville. We decided to make an outing to get there early “to avoid” the traffic.  So, we brought along a picnic.For the picnic, I bought some black forest ham, Swiss cheese, sourdough bread, and a bottle of wine (Ventoux, a French rose from 2022). 

On our drive south, we first checked out the parking lot at the Crosby fleamarket. It is a gravelly lot with no attractive landscaping surrounding it, so we drove further south and stopped at the parking lot at the entrance to the Cataraqui Trail, a rail-to-trail path where there was lots of open space to see the sun. There were already two other cars on this sunny and balmy day; the temperature was 15 degrees Centigrade (60 degrees Fahrenheit).

Mothers with children disgorged from one of the cars and started walking along the Trail. They were from Ottawa and told us that the Ottawa school board had let the children off on April 8 to view the eclipse. The people from the other car had just returned from walking the Trail and reminded us to wear our eclipse-viewingsunglasses.

A box from Costco was our table, and a beach chair and a folding bridge chair provided seating forour picnic lunch. Sitting on the beach chair, as I was opening the wine and getting ready to enjoy my lunch, Kathy motioned to me with bad news. She pointed to two nails in the back tire next to where she sat. I looked over and thought, what a downer on a marvelous sunny day, looking for the eclipse. I said we’d be lucky to drive back to Ottawa without the tire deflating, to which Kathy replied: do not take the nails out, orthe tire will deflate!

While enjoying my lunch, I thought about changing the tire with the spare in the car. So, after finishing lunch and worrying about what to do with the tire, I looked at changing the tire.  I lay down on my back, looking for the spot under the car where the jack would go. As I slithered towards the back of the car on my back, where the tire with the nail was, I noticed that the head did not look like a standard nail-head, and as I touched it, it just fell off the tire! It was some dried-out grass clump wedged between the grooves of the tire!  With the problem resolved, it was time for another glass of wine.  

Relieved by not having to change tires, fortified by a glass of wine, an hour to go before the eclipse,we decided to walk on the Cataraqui Trail. It is flat and straight, with swamps on both sides. The birds and frogs made a racket that was pleasant to the ears. A half-hour later, and with gathering clouds, we thought the better part of prudence was to turn around and return to the car, especially with the darkening clouds.

Suddenly, it became dark, and I told Kathy we had better rush back to the car; it looked like it was going to storm. In our rush back on the trail, we noticed the sun becoming dark and realized that this was the eclipse coming on! We grabbed our sunglasses, and I put the screen on the camera lens to take some pictures. At the same time, the frogs and birds became quiet, and an eerie silence descended on us. I kept shooting. I did not get a classic image of the eclipse with the moon fully covering the sun; taking photos through the unique lens was a challenge, but I got some decent shots.

As the eclipse passed over us, the sky lightened up again. We walked back to pack our picnic gear, listening to the birds and frogs, who seemed to come back to life as soon as the sky lit up. The sun was shining brightly when we got back to the car. A phone message awaited us from Kathy’s friend about the excellent view she had of the eclipse from the cemetery in Brockville. Our location was probably better because we shared our experience with birds and frogs rather than the souls of dead people.

Too Many Power Outages?

February 23, 2024

Our local hydro company representatives came to present “how to make our network more resilient to power outages.” Close to forty people attended the information session held at the community center.

Sarah, the hydro person responsible for “community outreach,” introduced Joe, who introduced himself as the person responsible for metering and substations. Before he arrived at our community center, he said he drove around our neighborhood to check it out. He said our neighborhood is very nice; I am unsure what he meant by that or his comment’s purpose. Was he trying to butter us up in case he expected some people to be critical and unpleasant?

The slide presentation he attempted to give was interrupted immediately by a booming voice in the back row asking why we still have above-ground wiring: he said twenty years ago, he attended a similar meeting where hydro promised to bury all the lines. Well, the six hydro representatives at the meeting did not have an answer. Some discussion of costs ensued, but it is not quite accurate that the wiring is not underground; in my area, the wires are buried, and perhaps the property developments before our subdivision did not have the benefit of underground wiring. Joe should have had a map showing the wires above and underground in our mixed neighborhood.

Joe had very few slides, and I cannot recall more than half a dozen. The first one showed a geographic map of our area. Following it was a map of the hydro network in the area, with the hydro lines following the streets but without indicating where the lines were buried.  The most interesting for me was the slide showing the number of power outages by year and type since 2019. Unfortunately, it was unclear whether the data was for the entire city or our area alone. According to the data, the most common outages result from equipment failure, followed by trees falling on the wires.

I never thought we had a problem with outages; I remember a storm in July 2023 when we lost power for ten hours and had a fine breakfast at a restaurant with backup power. The derecho was a major storm with power outages when we lost the food in the freezer worth a few hundred dollars in 2022. And before that, we had a major ice storm in 1999 when we lost power for a few days. I cannot recall power outages before the ice storm. So, are outages becoming more frequent? I do not know and did not get an answer at this meeting.

But Joe could not present his slides; the next interruption came from the back row, again, someone demanding: “How come the Loblaws store and Denny’s restaurant kept power while we, the residents, were without power last year?” The answer to me was obvious: a grocery store and a restaurant would have backup power, or maybe those establishments are on different hydro lines from ours. Unfortunately, Joe could not give us the answer or even an explanation.

Another person asked how much capacity he could or should install on his roof via solar panels to avoid relying on hydro in the future. The questions came fast, and at one time, I thought of getting up and asking people to hold their questions to the end of Joe’s presentation. But that was the job of the community outreach person, and Sarah could not control the meeting.

Towards the end of the meeting, I learned that “resilience” will be enhanced by “infrared monitoring” of the power equipment that anticipates and identifies equipment failure before it happens. Hydro also has a “tree pruning” program. Although these initiatives are good, I wondered if Hydro had a planned annual maintenance program funded and completed each year. Or did Hydro practice breakdown maintenance? And, has Hydro not had a tree pruning program before? So, what is new here except the infrared monitoring program?  And more to the point, as far as I was concerned – what are those plans for our neighborhood?  They sounded like system-wide plans to me that may or may not be used in our area soon!

Perhaps Hydro has fallen behind in maintenance in recent years, resulting in power outages. For example, hydro has wiring buried in our backyard on an easement that has not been replaced in fifty years. I do not know the standards for replacing wiring, but ground movements may break the insulation on wires, moisture gets in, and rust ensues. There must be standards for such items, which should be addressed in planned maintenance programs (just like when you get oil changes in your car – you don’t wait for it to break down). But when it comes to saving money, maintenance is the first to go.

I found the meeting disappointing; I learned little of substance. Hydro people did not provide the big picture, outlining that equipment is getting old and needs replacement, that the trees that people planted fifty years ago interfere with the wired infrastructure, and that people use more electricity than ever before, including EVs in the garages -all of which can lead to more frequent power interruptions, regardless of weather. I expected some trend analysis with supporting metrics as they affect our area. Specifically, I expected Hydro’s line-by-line itemization of what substation and line repairs and tree pruning Hydro will perform along specific streets over the next few years. Please provide us with some reassurance that Hydro is actively working towards building resilience via improved equipment, technology, and maintenance. We did not get that.

Climate Change: From X-country Skiing to Urban Walking

February 15, 2024

We have always done x-country skiing in Ottawa for fun and exercise during the winter months. Snow could come as early as December but never later than by Xmas. We have always had up-to-date equipment, and nothing was better than being outdoors in the fresh air on a sunny day. Sometimes, it was cold, but layered clothing did the trick, and when it was frigid, we started skiing uphill to warm up.  

But there has been a massive change in the weather over the last few decades. When we moved to Ottawa in 1971, the temperature never reached zero Fahrenheit in January (in those days, we had the Fahrenheit scale). And we had ten feet of snow that month; I had to shovel snow off the roof to lighten the load. Not anymore!

It was so mild last year that the world’s longest skating rink, the three-mile-long Rideau Canal, did not open in 2023. It was open four days this year, in 2024. Balmy weather created risky skating conditions on the Canal, and the National Capital Commission, the agency maintaining the ice surface, deemed it unsafe for skating.

We had some snow in December, but there has been no precipitation for weeks. A few weeks ago, we started walking on snow-covered paths instead of snowshoeing, which has become difficult because of the lack of fresh snow. The snow on the pathways had become compressed by skiers and walkers. It melted during the days with above-freezing weather and then froze overnight. So, we walked with crampons on our boots to avoid sliding on the icy pathways. But walking on uneven, icy surfaces, even with crampons, is unpleasant. We needed a new plan to go outdoors for fun and exercise.

We discovered the city cleared the sidewalks of snow in urban areas. So, we picked a walk downtown, where we found cleared sidewalks. The plan was to walk for a while and then let serendipity take over by improvising the return route, aiming to visit a coffee shop.

We picked a location on Somerset Street West, parked the car at the Suya Palace African Grill, and walked west on Wellington Street, dodging people on the narrow sidewalk. Tinseltown Christmas Emporium was on our left. Further west, we passed the Ember Hair Retreat and the Crows Nest Barbershop. The Tooth and Nail Brewing Company was across the Les Moulins la Fayette coffee shop at Irving Avenue. On the other side of the street was an LCBO (liquor store) and the Ministry of Coffee (another coffee shop). Next to the Moulin la Fayette, we looked into the windows of the Tokyo Smoke shop (a cannabis store), all of these establishments within two blocks.

Walking and discovering the variety of stores was a refreshing change from walking in our neighborhood, where few people ever walk, and when they do, they walk on the streets because of the lack of sidewalks. Our progress was slow, with our attention focused on the various establishments.

We chose a street parallel to Somerset for our return. The changing character of the old residential area to modern architectural houses and small apartments was striking in design and colors. I took pictures of the evolving residential area. Some people walking by me with young children asked if I was a real estate agent looking for a house.

The area was changing with many renovations demonstrating the area’s attractiveness for living. Unfortunately, I thought the redevelopment would squeeze the small pop-and-mom stores out of existence.

The next day, we decided to pick a quieter area with fewer people on the streets for our walk. We chose to walk along Colonel By Drive, next to the Rideau Canal, which, without skaters, we thought, would be quiet. Instead, we met joggers and cyclists in balmy, above-freezing temperatures.

But Colonel By Drive was so noisy with heavy car traffic that we could not hear each other talking. Like the previous day, we chose a parallel street to return, Echo Drive, bordered by stately and some newly constructed homes. It was quiet with no car traffic, and we enjoyed this older but expensive area, looking at the architectural dwellings.

As we looked at the houses, some Jehovah’s Witnesses approached us, asking how we managed in this complex world. It did not appear they were successful in talking with homeowners on this street, so perhaps signing up people on the road for an interactive Bible course was a good substitute. Although they did not convince us that studying the Bible was our interest, we discussed aspects of our lives in an overcrowded world. After our walk, we ended up in a coffee shop, the Stella Luna Gelato Cafe.

Our Sunday walk took us from Ottawa South, going west on Colonel By Drive to the Bronson Bridge, where we crossed over to Queen Elizabeth Drive. We walked east along the Drive to Lansdowne and checked out the Ottawa Landsdowne Market, open only on Sundays. I have not been in this area for years and was stunned by the massive redevelopment around the stadium. The place reminded me of Granville Island in Vancouver, although on a much smaller scale.

A hundred vendors/farmers within one hundred miles of Ottawa come to this market. We stopped to talk with a vendor selling Kinoko mushrooms, which he grows in his garage, and bought some of these odd-looking “gourmet” mushrooms after he explained how he grows them. And, of course, we had to get some micro-greens from another vendor and buy organic, free-range eggs from a farmer who is a “leader in animal welfare.” Before we loaded up with additional purchases, we decided to walk back to the car, except for a stop at the Happy Goat Coffee shop on Bank Street.

We miss x-country skiing on fresh snow on a sunny day, but urban walking is more than a suitable substitute. It provides exercise outdoors, but more importantly, it is a way to learn about our city, its businesses, its people, and its developments that we do not see or hear about unless we walk around the city.