July 27 Newsletter 2020

July 27, 2020 newsletter from Rawlson King, City Councillor for Rideau-Rockcliffe.

St. Laurent Resurfacing Update

St Laurent from Donald Street to Montreal Rd:  The City’s Contractor has installed new sidewalks on the west side of St. Laurent between Montreal Rd. and Cote and reinstatements of driveways and boulevard are to follow.  Removal of sidewalks on the east side of St. Laurent has started between Cote and Montreal Rd. Removal to Montreal Rd. will continue next week. The sewer work at the 689 St Laurent, Queen Elizabeth School is near completion.

Montreal Road Revitalization

Please find below a two-week update (July 20 to July 31) for the Montreal Road Revitalization project. Both this week and next will focus on working at the following locations:

• Montreal Road/Vanier Parkway intersection: Ongoing underground utility work, excavation and concrete work. The work is extensive and involves construction of underground utilities, rebuilding of the road box and reconstruction of the northeast and northwest quadrants of the intersection. Construction will be phased in three stages with work scheduled to be completed in late August 2020. Vanier Parkway may be reduced to two lanes in the northbound and southbound directions as required to perform the work. Montreal Road will be reduced to one lane in each direction.
• Montreal Road – North River Road to Marier Avenue:  Ongoing work to commission the new watermain, excavation and concrete work. Road crews are simultaneously working on constructing utilities and the road box. Construction of curbs on the North Side of Montreal Road between North River Road and the Vanier Parkway are scheduled to start next week.

• Montreal Road – Marier Avenue to Cantin Street: The next phase of watermain reconstruction along Montreal Road east of Marier started in late June with temporary water shut offs on Montreal Road and several side streets.  The watermain shut offs were required to disconnect the side street watermain from Montreal Road. Additional water disruptions will be required as crews continue to set up temporary water services.  A notice of water disruptions will be delivered to residents and business owners a minimum of 24 hours in advance. Reconstruction of the Cantin Street and Ducharme intersection has begun and requires closure of the intersection to late November 2020. 
• North River Road from Montreal Road to cul-de-sac: Ongoing work to commission the new watermain, excavation and concrete work. The next phase of the work will focus on construction of the road box, curbs and sidewalks followed by base course asphalt. Reinstatement, landscaping and final asphalt lift will be completed in spring 2021. Reconstruction of the multi-use path (MUP) on the west side of North River Road has begun and will require closure of the MUP. Cyclist and pedestrians should follow the posted construction signage and will share the east side of the road and sidewalk which remains to be constructed.  

Community Space Rentals

With the Province of Ontario moving Ottawa into stage three of its reopening framework, the City will be resuming rentals of community spaces at 12 recreation and 4 cultural facilities starting on August 4. All existing August rental contracts have been cancelled and new applications are welcome starting on Monday, July 27.

Stage three of the Provincial reopening regulations will guide the allocation of community space for activities, programs and events. The maximum numbers permitted for gatherings has increased to 50 people indoors and 100 outdoors.

The following facilities will reopen for rentals with limited hours available at each location:

• South: Nepean Sportsplex, Walter Baker Athletic Centre and Osgoode Community Centre – [email protected]
• East: Centre Richelieu Vanier, Ray Friel Recreation Complex and Pat Clarke Community Centre – [email protected]
• Central: Heron Road Community Centre, McNabb Community Centre, Lansdowne Park – [email protected]
• West: John G. Mlacak Community Centre, Ron Kolbus Lakeside Centre, Richcraft Recreation Complex – [email protected]
• Cultural Facilities/Museums: Shenkman Arts Centre (indoor) [email protected]
• Cumberland Museum (outdoor) – [email protected]
•  Billings Estate (outdoor) and Pinhey's Point (outdoor) – [email protected]

These locations provide geographical coverage across the City and help support an area-base allotment for requests.

The City will assess the feasibility and availability of space for each rental request on a case-by-case basis, type of activity, number of participants or attendees, and capacity of the space to accommodate proper physical distancing. The space must allow four square metres per person so each attendee can maintain a two-metre distance from each other – helping to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Before the rental date, the approved group will receive a rental agreement that outlines key points, including:

• All participants and attendees must practice physical distancing
• Wearing masks is mandatory indoors – to be provided by renters or participants
• Renters have access to the main building lobby, room rental, assigned washrooms, first aid, and change rooms if required
• Canteen, remaining washrooms, social areas and kitchens remain closed
• All facilities will be equipped with proper personal protective equipment, signage, directional and physical distancing decals and defined pathway with one-way circulation through the building
• Renters must adhere to the conditions of use

It’s important to note that amateur and recreational sports leagues can resume if they don’t allow for physical contact between players or if play has been modified to avoid physical contact between players.

Stay tuned for more announcements in the coming weeks on more reopenings and modified resumption of services and programs.

City extends swimming memberships

The City will be extending current swimming membership expiry dates by 4.5 months.

The 4.5-month extension on the current swimming memberships covers the four months when operations were suspended due to the pandemic on March 16. Plus, it adds an extra two complimentary weeks to help members transition to the reopening.

Customers who pay for their membership by monthly installments on their credit cards will have payments resume on August 15. All monthly payments have been suspended since March 17. Customers who need to update their credit card information are asked to do so in-person at the pool facility, as credit card information cannot be updated online or over the phone.

The City resumed swimming services on July 6, with COVID-related measures in place. Now with the Province of Ontario moving Ottawa into stage 3 of its reopening framework, the City is planning to reopen its other services – including fitness activities – in the coming weeks. Information regarding the extension of other types of memberships – such as all-inclusive, pick-one, aquafitness or corporate – will be coming soon.

The COVID-related measures include reducing the number of swimmers at both the public and lane swims, hourly cleaning of areas and equipment, directional arrows for foot traffic, and physical-distancing decals. Masks can help decrease the risk of spreading the virus and are required when entering the facility or walking in the halls, but are not needed in the pool.

Members and customers can book a one-hour swimming session up to two days in advance online or by phoning the facility.