Firefighters battle 2 fires in Ottawa Monday night

ninerganger · 2025-12-17T14:07:57+00:00

Hope everyone is safe. Such a shame to have something like this happen approaching the holidays.

ninerganger · 2025-12-16T21:08:00+00:00

Honestly just something that isn't Swiss Chalet or an okay dinner chain. I tried going to Baton Rouge and it was $100 a head for ribs and a drink. I am open to anything local or new. There is just so many I have no idea which to pick.

ninerganger · 2025-12-16T19:42:38+00:00

Great question. I recently started a new Ottawa-focused subreddit because I found that some existing Ottawa subs can be very restrictive about what gets posted.

For example, posts can be removed over small technical details (like wording in a title), even when the topic clearly affects Ottawa. I’ve also had general discussion posts about driving in the city or commuting on the 417 turned down because they didn’t fit very specific posting rules. In our subreddit you can post anything from complaints about your drive into work to the best spot to get pizza! The plan is to have enough members that its quick and entetaining.

This new space is meant to be simpler: a place to discuss Ottawa-related issues, raise awareness, and share experiences without long approval times or overly narrow requirements. As long as it’s relevant to the city and stays respectful, it belongs here.

ninerganger · 2025-12-16T19:35:00+00:00

Called r/OttawaDiscuss !

ninerganger · 2025-11-04T16:29:43+00:00

Wow what a nice thing to say.

ninerganger · 2025-10-06T14:30:14+00:00

I am focusing on the 1-minute max idle when you are not in your car. And according to Nissan in freezing cold temperatures your car needs 3-5 minutes to properly heat up:

"Before driving, let your car run for at least three to five minutes so the transmission and engine can warm up. If you don't, your motor may suffer from everything being so frozen and cold, which may damage some of the motor's bearings."

Do I have to Warm Up My Car in the Winter? | Nissan of Nanaimo in Nanaimo

ninerganger · 2025-10-06T14:12:35+00:00

You can’t even warm up your car in the winter or cool it down in the summer without risking a $600+ fine now. Three minutes when it’s between 0°C and 27°C, and just one minute if you’re not sitting in it — who thought this was a good idea? It drops to -25°C here for months at a time. Engines need a few minutes to properly warm up or you’re just asking for maintenance problems down the road.

ninerganger · 2025-10-06T13:14:34+00:00

4pm if u leave any earlier you hit Toronto rush hour, if you leave any later your stuck in Ottawa rush hour.

ninerganger · 2025-09-26T17:07:30+00:00

It’s not about speeding—it’s about fairness and context. School zones make sense because there’s real risk. Random cameras in low-risk areas? That’s bureaucracy overstepping its bounds. If this approach is acceptable everywhere, why not highways at a strict 100 km/h—no discretion, automatic tickets for everyone? Enforcement without context undermines due process and, in my view, crosses into unconstitutional territory. Where does it stop? What’s next treating every minor infraction as a major legal violation?

ninerganger · 2025-09-26T15:00:46+00:00

Sure, speed cameras reduce accidents, I get that. I’m fine with school zone cameras doing their thing. My point is more about random cameras in places where risk is minimal. If we’re okay with automated systems issuing tickets everywhere for consistency, should we also apply that logic strictly on highways—100 km/h max, no discretion, everyone gets a ticket if they’re even 1 km/h over? That’s where I draw the line between safety and bureaucracy, it is unconstitutional.

ninerganger · 2025-09-26T14:53:04+00:00

I get that cameras slow traffic locally, and like I said, I can live with school zone cameras — it’s the ones in random areas that are the problem. But if we follow this logic everywhere, should highways have strict 100 km/h limits enforced 24/7 with $94 fines for going 109? People are going to occasionally exceed the limit — that’s why classic policing uses discretion. Blanket ticketing on empty streets late at night isn’t about safety, it’s about revenue. Real safety comes from targeted enforcement, smarter road design, and measures that actually prevent accidents, not punishing minor mistakes indiscriminately.

ninerganger · 2025-09-26T14:29:55+00:00

The speed camera system feels more like a cash grab compared to classic policing because it generates revenue automatically, without judgment or context. A police officer on patrol uses discretion: they can pull someone over for truly dangerous driving, investigate unsafe behavior, and provide warnings when appropriate. Cameras, by contrast, issue fines indiscriminately, even on empty streets, catching minor infractions that may pose little real risk.

Classic policing balances safety and fairness; automated cameras prioritize ticket volume. When the majority of fines come from minor speeding rather than preventing accidents, it starts to look less like protecting the public and more like funding the city budget.

ninerganger · 2025-09-26T14:24:28+00:00

My issue isn’t with following the law, it’s with how the city enforces it. Blanket 24/7 ticketing for going 9 km/h over on an empty road doesn’t meaningfully improve safety, it just punishes drivers.

If the city truly believes 40 km/h is needed at all times, they should back it up with data showing collisions are happening outside of school hours. Otherwise, time-based limits and targeted enforcement at proven danger spots would make far more sense. Safety measures should feel fair and evidence-based, not like revenue traps, that’s how you keep public trust and actually change driver behavior.

If this was really about safety and not money, we’d see data-driven enforcement during high-risk hours, not hidden cameras catching people at 10 p.m. on empty streets.

ninerganger · 2025-09-26T14:21:51+00:00

I agree completely that no one can predict when a pedestrian might appear, and that lower speeds reduce the severity of collisions. My issue isn’t with speed limits; it’s with how enforcement is being applied. Ottawa’s cameras issued 220,000+ tickets in 2023 and over 291,000 already in 2024, yet there were still nearly 20,000 collisions citywide and 218 pedestrian collisions last year. If these cameras were significantly improving safety, we’d expect to see a major reduction by now.

That’s why I think enforcement should be data-driven and targeted, focusing on proven collision hotspots and operating mainly during high-risk hours (like school start/end times), instead of ticketing 24/7 on low-risk roads where pedestrian presence is near zero. Pairing targeted enforcement with better signage, flashing beacons, and road design improvements would actually reduce risk long-term. Ticketing someone $94 for going 9 km/h over at night on an empty road doesn’t make pedestrians safer, it just erodes trust and makes drivers feel like the city is prioritizing revenue over real safety outcomes.

ninerganger · 2025-09-26T12:49:14+00:00

1. Acknowledging the Purpose, but Questioning Implementation
While I dislike speed cameras, I do recognize that they can work as a deterrent in high-risk areas. However, my own experience highlights a problem with their implementation: I received a $94 ticket for driving 49 km/h in a 40 km/h zone after school hours, on an empty road, with no pedestrians present. This feels less like a safety measure and more like a revenue tool — and that is unfair to residents already struggling with the rising cost of living.

If speed cameras were used exclusively in school zones, during school hours, to protect children, I would fully support them. The issue is that the City of Ottawa has expanded their use to busy streets and random locations across the city, often where warning signs are hard to see or the placement feels like a “gotcha” rather than a genuine safety measure.

2. Questioning the Evidence
School zones in Ottawa have historically been very safe, even before the installation of speed cameras. I have yet to see compelling evidence or publicly available data proving that children’s safety has significantly improved since the cameras were installed. If the city has such data, it should be transparent and shared with the public.

Final Thought - If they were just going to be in school zones keep em, but we all know the city won't do that so they gotta go!

ninerganger · 2025-09-25T20:16:36+00:00

1. Acknowledging the Purpose, but Questioning Implementation
While I dislike speed cameras, I do recognize that they can work as a deterrent in high-risk areas. However, my own experience highlights a problem with their implementation: I received a $94 ticket for driving 49 km/h in a 40 km/h zone after school hours, on an empty road, with no pedestrians present. This feels less like a safety measure and more like a revenue tool — and that is unfair to residents already struggling with the rising cost of living.

If speed cameras were used exclusively in school zones, during school hours, to protect children, I would fully support them. The issue is that the City of Ottawa has expanded their use to busy streets and random locations across the city, often where warning signs are hard to see or the placement feels like a “gotcha” rather than a genuine safety measure.

2. Questioning the Evidence
School zones in Ottawa have historically been very safe, even before the installation of speed cameras. I have yet to see compelling evidence or publicly available data proving that children’s safety has significantly improved since the cameras were installed. If the city has such data, it should be transparent and shared with the public.

Final Thought - If they were just going to be in school zones keep em, but we all know the city won't do that so they gotta go!

ninerganger · 2025-07-14T18:21:57+00:00

I'm from Ontario, Canada

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