News bites: updates and announcements

Here are a few announcements and news tidbits that are happening around the city 

and in our ward.

WARD 18 INFO: THE TELEPHONE GAME

We recently received stats from city staff detailing what calls were made to 3-1-1 by our constituents, and what issues were addressed in the phone calls. From our ward, there were 12,745 calls made, and the main areas of inquiry were as follows:

.

Tree maintenance questions resulted in a total of 1491 calls. This is to be expected, given our ward's struggle with the Emerald Ash Borer beetle. Garbage and organics was the next highest call volume, with 1269 calls made.
Parking, whether in regards to overtime or designated parking situations, accounted for 968 calls. Road maintenance calls made up another 760 calls.

All other call categories each accounted for less than 550 calls.

With the advent of the new ServiceOttawa website, plus new social media channels (like this very blog), we may see a decrease in the number of 3-1-1 calls that come through to the city over time; however, we can also see what a valuable service the 3-1-1 number is for our city.

SMOKE-FREE UPDATE

The city released a press release today, updating the public on the next steps in the expanded smoking bylaws. According to the press release,


"During March and April, By-law and Regulatory Services and Ottawa Public Health staff are reaching out to all affected groups by:

In a nutshell, the bylaw is being expanded from
the original to include a
ban on smoking in parks, on beaches, and
on patios where food or beverages are served.

• Sending letters and e-mails to all affected restaurants and bars, business groups, community associations, event organizers and users of City facilities;
• Notifying the public through ottawa.ca, social media, and print and radio advertising;
• Visiting all restaurant and bars with patios or terraces to discuss the changes, and providing information and signage to ensure that employees and patrons are aware of the new regulations;
• Offering information and training sessions for restaurant staff and other interested groups; and
• Engaging City employees through an internal communications strategy that includes information and training sessions."

It's important to note that, from now until July 2nd, 2012, City of Ottawa bylaw staff will be focused on educating the public and businesses of the new regulations, not enforcing with fines. Enforcement with fines may begin as of July 2nd, not sooner. Thus, we encourage the public and business owners to interact with their local bylaw officers when they stop by; their job will be to assist you with understanding your required actions and the areas of your neighbourhood or business that will be affected.

CLEANING UP THE CITY

The City has announced the launch of the annual Spring Cleaning the Capital Campaign. This is a great opportunity for neighbours to work together on community cleanup projects in any area of their neighbourhood that could use a spruce-up. It's also a great way for high school students to earn their community volunteer hours.

The city is providing cleanup starter kits to all registered cleanup teams, and teams that register before April 14 are eligible for early bird prizes. Registration closes May 15, and teams that submit their online cleanup reports by May 31 are eligible for further prizes.

If there's an area of Alta Vista ward that needs some neighbourly TLC, you're encouraged to speak with your fellow residents and get a team going. Together, we can make our ward the cleanest one in the city!