September 4 Newsletter 2020

September 4, 2020 newsletter from Rawlson King, City Councillor for Rideau-Rockcliffe.

COVID-19 drive-thru Assessment Centre

The new COVID-19 drive-thru Assessment Centre on Coventry Road is an out-of-hospital testing site where people with pre-booked appointments can get tested by a health-care provider from their cars. It is operated by The Ottawa Hospital, in partnership with Ottawa Public Health and the City of Ottawa. The Drive-thru Assessment Centre on Coventry Rd. is available by appointment only.  Register here: https://www.ottawapublichealth.ca/en/shared-content/assessment-centres.aspx#read.

COVID-19 Testing Update

At Council during the outset of the COVID-19 public health crisis, I asked multiple questions of Dr. Vera Etches of Ottawa Public Health indicating the need to make COVID-19 testing accessible to vulnerable communities in Ward 13 and also to pursue race-based and socioeconomic health data.  Since May, I have been working with other elected officials in the Ottawa-Vanier federal riding, who include Mona Fortier, MP; Lucille Collard, MPP; Rideau-Vanier Councillor Mathieu Fleury and Beacon Hill-Cyrville Councillor Tim Tierney, to advocate for COVID-19 testing in our area of the City.  While we have had a measure of success with the announcement of the establishment of a “drive-through” testing centre at the Ottawa Baseball Stadium, we have continued to advocate for more mobile COVID-19 testing for all adjacent Ward 13 communities, especially in low-income neighborhoods.  It is important to note that as elected officials in this instance, we can only advocate for testing, as testing is the primary responsibility of the local heath integrated network and testing itself is undertaken by area hospitals.

The good news is we have some influence over the process as our LHIN has opted to work in cooperation with the City on testing locations.  Considering this, I have advocated for more mobile and “walk-in” locations.  I supported ACORN members from Ottawa-Vanier, as they worked with partners from the Ottawa Hospital, Sandy Hill Community Health Centre, Ottawa Innercity Health, CHEO and the Paramedic Services to organize the city’s first mobile testing clinic, which served both Overbrook and Vanier residents on July 11 in Ogilvie North Park. On the day of the event, 119 adults and children were able to get tested at four different stations out of a medical van, paramedic bus and testing booth. The Mission supplied everyone with hot food and ACORN distributed free masks and hand sanitizer supplied by the Ottawa Hospital.

In terms of more mobile locations, not unlike the successful July 11 pilot, I have asked for more locations across the Ward to augment the Stadium location. The LHIN has indicated that they are aware of mobile testing concerns and are examining options, especially locating mobile testing options specifically in postal code locations where there are indications of high infection prevalence and concurrent low testing rates. 

In terms of advocating for “walk-in” locations, I recently co-signed a letter sent to the Ottawa Hospital with Somerset Councillor Catherine McKenney; Capital Ward Councillor Shawn Menard; Kitchissippi Ward Councillor Jeff Leiper and Rideau-Vanier Councillor Mathieu Fleury advocating for developing a walk-in testing centre within the urban core that would accommodate people traveling by active transportation.  I will continue to advocate for more testing options especially in light of anecdotal evidence that demonstrates a connection between higher rates of confirmed infections and the prevalence of low-income residents in our Ward.

Labour Day Service Impacts

The following services will operate on different schedules on Labour Day, Monday, September 7.

You can also find a list of City services and facilities affected by COVID-19 on ottawa.ca and octranspo.com.

Client services

• The 3-1-1 Contact Centre will be open for urgent matters that require the City’s immediate attention. Call 3-1-1 or 613-580-2400 (TTY: 613-580-2401) to speak to a customer service representative.

Green bin, recycling and garbage collection

• There will be no curbside green bin, recycling or garbage collection. Pickup will resume on Tuesday, September 8. Collection will be delayed by one day for the rest of the week.
• Multi-residential garbage containers will be collected on the regular scheduled day.
• Multi-residential recycling, green bin and bulky-item collection will be delayed by one day for the rest of the week.
• The Trail waste facility will be open from 9 am to 5 pm.

Parking and roads

• All City of Ottawa parking regulations and restrictions will apply on Labour Day. Please note, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, parking control officers are not monitoring overtime parking on residential streets.
• Free parking will be available at City Hall from Friday, September 4 at 6 pm until Tuesday, September 8 at 6 am

Transit

• On Monday, September 7, OC Transpo bus and O-Train service will operate on a Sunday schedule.
• O-Train Line 1 will run from 8 am until 11 pm, and O-Train Line 2 replacement bus service will operate from 7:30 am until 11 pm.
• Labour Day also marks the last day of special service on Routes 185, 25 and 139 to the Canada Agriculture and Food Museum, the Canada Aviation and Space Museum and Petrie Island.
• Use the OC Transpo Travel Planner to plan your trip.
• Masks or alternative face coverings are mandatory on buses and trains and inside stations and shelters. Help slow the spread of COVID-19 in Ottawa: don’t take public transit if you’re feeling sick, do a self-assessment before leaving home, use the hand sanitizer dispensers in select stations and always wash your hands thoroughly when you reach your destination.
• The OC Transpo Customer Service Centre at the Rideau Centre will be open from 10 am until 6 pm. All other OC Transpo Customer Service Centres continue to be closed until further notice.
• You can buy or load a Presto card:
• Using Ticket machines at all O-Train Line 1 stations and the Ottawa International Airport
• At Shoppers Drug Mart, Loblaws and Real Canadian Superstore locations
• Via ca
• By phone at 1-8-PRESTO-123 (1-877-378-6123)
• By downloading the PRESTO app
• You can load your ParaPay account on octranspo.com or by calling 613-741-4390.
• OC Transpo Customer Service (613-741-4390 or TTY: 613-741-5280) will be open from 7 am until 9 pm.
• You can plan Société de transport de l'Outaouais (STO) trips usingPlani-bus.

Para Transpo:

• Para Transpo will operate a holiday service. Regularly scheduled trips for Monday, September 7, will be cancelled automatically. You can book trips for that day by calling 613-244-7272 or by using the online booking system.
• Masks or other face coverings are mandatory on Para Transpo vehicles. Please do a self- assessment before you leave home and don’t take Para Transpo if you are sick.
• Para Transpo operations:
  • The reservations line (613-244-7272) will be open from 7 am until 5 pm.
  • The trip cancellation and general inquiries line (613-244-4636) will be open from 6 am until midnight.
  • The Taxi Coupons line (613-842-3670) will be closed.

Recreation services

• Splash pads will be open, weather permitting.
• Some indoor and outdoor pools will be open for public swimming, with modified schedules.
• Some weight and cardio rooms with be open with modified schedules.
• Most registered programs will be cancelled, but check with your facility to confirm as some exceptions will apply.

Ottawa Public Health

• Assessment Centre and Care Clinics:
  • The Moodie Care Clinic will be open during regular hours, from 9 am until 3:30 pm.
  • The Heron Care Clinic will be open from 9 am until 4 pm.
  • The Brewer Assessment Centre will be closed.
• The Sexual Health Clinic and satellite clinics will be closed.
• The Site program office and supervised consumption services at 179 Clarence Street will be closed. The Site mobile van will operate from 5 pm until 11:30 pm.
• The Ottawa Public Health Information Centre will be closed for general calls.
• Ottawa Public Health’s COVID-19 phone line at 613-580-6744 will be open from 9 am until 4 pm.
• Dental clinics will be closed.
• The baby help line will be closed.

Cultural services

• The Karsh-Masson Gallery, Barbara Ann Scott Gallery and the City Hall Art Gallery at City Hall will remain closed.
• City of Ottawa arts centres, galleries, theatres and museums will remain closed.

Archives services

• The City of Ottawa Archives Reference Services and Gallery 112 will remain closed.

Municipal child care

• All Municipal Child-Care Centres will be closed.

Library Services

• All Ottawa Public Library branches that have been open for contactless or curbside services will be closed.

Construction Notice

Donald Street

As part of the City of Ottawa’s annual infrastructure maintenance cycle, road resurfacing will occur along Donald Street.

What: Work will involve milling of the existing surface, adjustment of manhole and catch basin grates, selective concrete repairs, and roadway resurfacing. Increased noise levels to be expected in order to facilitate the work.

Why: The City of Ottawa will be resurfacing roads as preventative maintenance aimed at extending the City's roadway network lifecycle.

When: This work is tentatively planned to start late August 2020, weather permitting and is expected to be completed in September 2020. Work will take place at night between the hours of 6 pm and 6 am as required to avoid major interruptions to traffic flows. The road will remain open to traffic with intermittent lane closures expected. Traffic Control Personnel will direct traffic through the site as required. Pedestrian and cycling access will be maintained.

Where: Work will occur along Donald Street from Alesther Street to St. Laurent Boulevard.

Montreal Road

Please find below a two-week update (August 31 to September 11) for the Montreal Road Revitalization project. Both this week and next will focus on work at the following locations:

Montreal Road/Vanier Parkway intersection: The north quadrants of the Vanier Parkway/Montreal Road intersection are complete apart from landscaping and new signals. Some sections of concrete along the Vanier Parkway will be poured starting in mid-September and the remaining landscaping and signal work will be deferred until the south section of the intersection is completed in 2021/2022.

Montreal Road – North River Road to Vanier Parkway: Construction of concrete curb, temporary asphalt and roadway paving on the north side of Montreal Road is complete. The center section road section has also been paved. The next phase of work involves excavation, roadbox and concrete curb construction on the south side Montreal Road which started this week.