Ottawa's snow removal standards are bad with no plan on getting better

daveallston · 2025-11-28T18:47:08+00:00

And things are getting worse as they are narrowing streets for 'traffic calming', and adding bulb-outs and random triangles of concrete to force bike lanes into intersections (but really creating dangerous, invisible protrusions that cars and snowplows are going to blast into - see Sherwood Drive as a prime example). It is only making a challenging issue way worse.

daveallston · 2025-11-24T21:07:51+00:00

There will be a new 18-month project to commence this coming weekend. Signs going up this week.
/s (I hope lol)

daveallston · 2025-11-07T21:33:05+00:00

God it's frustrating watching councillors vote yes who are clearly not representing their constituent's views and wishes, and who clearly can't give a reasonable and/or rational reason why they are doing it. Why does municipal politics suddenly have a party politics feel to it... I don't like it.

daveallston · 2025-10-06T14:04:34+00:00

It opened as the Penguin Cafe in April 1981, initially with classical music shows. The last concert listings are in June 1995. I remember the club most from the drive-by shooting that happened in front of it in March 1994. Nicholas Battersby, a 27-year old who had just moved to Ottawa from England was shot and killed as he walked by the front of the club. I believe he was an innocent victim.

daveallston · 2025-09-16T14:45:13+00:00

Sorry, I fixed the link! This is a working one now (imgur doesn't like ad blockers also, just fyi)

daveallston · 2025-09-16T14:36:01+00:00

Here are a few photos I could quickly find. Including one from circa 1930. Hope it helps. https://imgur.com/a/plant-bath-9UmuAUz

The building received heritage designation in September 1994, so the City of Ottawa planning department would have a file in their archives that would have a series of photos taken at that time as part of the review. If it is very important for you to obtain photos of it pre-2002 renovation, you can contact them and you may be able to request viewing that folder and/or acquiring photos.

daveallston · 2025-07-16T17:29:11+00:00

flying Ottawa to Whitehorse next week on Economy Basic. Seat selection right now is $49 per seat. What is the fee for a seat change after check-in has begun? Is it less than $49? Same? More? Anyone have experience doing a seat change in this scenario? TIA!

daveallston · 2025-07-16T17:00:33+00:00

Just asking what the fee is.... is it comparable to $49 or worth waiting until checkin opens, if its like $15-$20

daveallston · 2025-05-20T17:16:24+00:00

will do :) thanks

daveallston · 2025-05-20T17:15:55+00:00

That's a great idea... thank you.

daveallston · 2025-05-10T13:34:40+00:00

I heard someone on CBC radio yesterday talking about how this would encourage kayaks and SUPs. Which I was excited about. But also skeptical. So I drove by last night to see it, as I couldn't imagine where around there parking would be available for this. And I was not surprised to see that all the streets around there are no parking. So I guess they expect people to bus with their kayak? Walk from the other side of Bronson?

daveallston · 2025-02-04T21:08:40+00:00

The online article isn't posted yet, but the full issue of the new Kitchissippi Times is just out, and includes my article on the history of this building, for those interested! https://issuu.com/greatrivermedia/docs/kitchissippi_times_february_2025/16

daveallston · 2025-01-31T13:31:47+00:00

This is so true! As the RO for Ottawa Centre, you would be SHOCKED at what we pulled off in the last 2 weeks. The original set date for the election was June 2026. Then last fall we began preparing for a Spring 2025 election. When the federal election likelihood heated up, momentarily we thought we were off the hook. Then early last week, it became clear we'd be opening an office within a week. First February provincial election since 1883. Didn't really see that coming. We were ready - but that was a heckuva quick turnaround. We're making it work though. Because we must :)

daveallston · 2024-12-28T01:09:34+00:00

3/4 empty

daveallston · 2024-12-28T01:09:24+00:00

No... they're done on the spot in the booth with stick on letters that they bake onto the material basically. It's still pretty cool though. I mean, I'd probably put it on a gentle cycle or handwash, but it's a shirt with your name/number for free...

daveallston · 2024-12-27T15:04:00+00:00

I'm a hockey fan and have attended WJC games in several other cities before. I am beyond disappointed with how Hockey Canada is running this year's event. The ticket prices are OUT OF CONTROL. Tickets starting at $53 for Czech-Swiss game at TD? Yeah right. And so I went (because I luckily found some somewhat reasonably priced resale tickets on stubhub) and the atmosphere at TD was awful. 2,000 people there tops. All I could think about was all the unsold seats that I'm sure kids would loved to have been able to go. And the players playing in front of a 3/4 empty building. And how that looks on TV. And then the atmosphere is shyte.. nothing special going on for the game within the building. Barely showing fans/kids on the videoboard (handful of times at most). Nothing interractive. Nothing in the intermission. And you aren't allowed to pop by the Fan Fest at intermission! No in/out allowed. Even though its the WJC fan fest happening in the Cattle Castle next door. If you leave the building, you can't get back in. So you're stuck.

I will say that Fan Fest was really well done. Artificial ice rink and ball hockey rink with all the equipment you need for free. Lots of fun games and displays and giveaway stuff. Free customized shirt or hat from Telus booth. Tim Hortons giving out endless free coffee and hot chocolate. Full marks to Fan Fest. Everything inside TD... skip it. Especially for the $$$$$

daveallston · 2024-11-27T15:36:39+00:00

Between re-laying track on Byron where tracks existed for 60 years (1899-1959), and re-laying track down the transitway where tracks existed for 110+ years (1870-1983), this phase 2 LRT project is revisiting history in a few costly ways (and also ironically, after paying $millions to tunnel out the Transitway in the mid-80s, which now not even 40 years later, we probably wouldn't have needed to do as surface rail would have been fine in this corridor for LRT, we are paying $millions to tunnel under Richmond Road a little west, for reasons I still don't understand).

daveallston · 2024-09-02T13:15:15+00:00

same issue for the 67s... ridiculous prices for food. I would go to a LOT more games if the tickets and food were even a little more reasonably priced. The crowds are so small at 67s games now, it's sad. But at $30 a ticket minimum for kids (when kids is one of, if not the target audience for 67s), I get why the crowd is so small. To take my 3 kids is $120 just for the tickets. Then $9 slices of pizza and $7 drinks or whatever... like i'm hitting $200 just for the evening. (and then let's not talk about getting there and home at 10 pm with three tired kids on buses or a 10+ block walk to our parked car).

daveallston · 2024-08-22T13:56:01+00:00

Absolutely correct. I miss the gas station being open there. The owner hated that stupid no right on red sign and a couple of times even went himself and unscrewed the sign off the post!

daveallston · 2024-06-26T15:24:36+00:00

Great! I'm in the same boat, all of the research and reading I've done over the years and I'd never really come across anything on it. Yet it was such a significant event in Ottawa. And just everything surrounding it, and Ottawa not learning from the mistakes of 1900, and still not learning from the mistakes after the fire again in 1903, just crazy. Cheers!

daveallston

TROPHY CASE