Lansdowne 2.0 no laughing matter
Editor, Glebe Report
Re: “Waterski show coming to Brown’s Inlet,” Glebe Report, March 8, 2024
Bob Irvine’s April fools-ish reporting on a major initiative at Brown’s Inlet was a superb satire of the City’s ludicrous Lansdowne 2.0 plan. Yet, according to Bob’s in-depth reporting, Ottawa Geyser and Entertainment Group would contribute $100,000 towards the half billion-dollar Brown’s Inlet project. In reality, Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group is contributing absolutely nothing to the cost of Lansdowne 2.0. That’s not satire – it’s a really bad joke foisted upon all Ottawa taxpayers by Mayor Sutcliffe, suburban and rural councillors and OSEG.
John Dance
The Sunday parking blues
Editor, Glebe Report
Re: “Never on a Sunday,” Glebe Report, March 8, 2024
First, I would like to continue Rafal Pomian’s thread on parking in the Glebe. A few Sundays ago, I parked my car after 5 p.m. on an almost deserted section of Second Avenue. I was issued a $70 ticket at 6:40 p.m. for exceeding the one-hour parking limit. The following Sunday a neighbour was issued a similar ticket. Yesterday, a Sunday, she knocked on my door to inform me that bylaw officers had “chalked” my visiting daughter’s tires at 4:30 p.m. Later, as I walked from Bronson to Bank, I noted over 15 cars chalked on Second Avenue alone, at least $1,000 in tickets to be issued when the bylaw officer returned, all late on a Sunday.
Until recently I was able to reassure visitors that, despite the restrictions posted, tickets had generally not been issued on weekends in the residential areas of the Glebe since I moved here in 1981. Perhaps a new, overly zealous bylaw officer is vying for “Rookie of the Year” award. Hopefully they are not assigned duty during the Great Glebe Garage Sale.
I suggest a solution could be to have the parking restrictions on Monday to Friday only, allowing family and friends to visit on weekends without having to constantly shuffle cars on the street, or, heaven forbid, erase chalk markings from tires.
Second, I have no qualms about the new speed camera on First Avenue in the Glebe Collegiate block. However, if the intention is to slow down cars rather than generate revenue, perhaps one of those radar cameras that displays your speed with either a sad face (going too fast) or a smiley face (not going too fast) before the ticket-issuing camera could give miscreants a chance to correct their ways before running afoul of the law.
Ben Syposz
Kudos for Clay
Editor, Glebe Report
Re: “The ‘Go-to’ man in the Glebe,” Glebe Report, March 8, 2024
I relished Pat Marshall’s lovely feature about Clay Anderson, “The ‘Go to’ man in the Glebe” March 8.
During his two decades of work at Home Hardware, he has been enormously helpful to me. His advice on things, like what covering to use to stop water coming up from the basement or through stone foundation walls, has saved me hundreds of dollars, at least.
More recently I had a problem with a sagging, hand-operated, lift-up door to our garage. It’s an intricate device with springs, tracks, wheels and counterweights. I could see things getting worse, and I wondered what the replacement cost would be. That’s if the product was still available!
I found that the problem was it was missing some key, tiny bolts. But where to get them? Solution: Clay. After a diligent search, he found exactly what I needed. Installing them took time, patience and effort, but the actual cost was only a few dollars.
I can’t thank Clay enough. No doubt others have similar stories to tell.
Randal Marlin
Clean-up volunteers appreciated
Editor, Glebe Report
Thank you to all the volunteers who clean our community spaces.
I have been a resident of the Glebe for over 45 years. For the last few years, I have watched, at this time of year, volunteers fanning out through the Glebe, cleaning our public spaces. In their yellow safety vests, garbage bags and picks in hand, they quietly and efficiently clean up our garbage.
These faceless volunteers deserve our thanks for their community spirit.
Well done. It is community dedication like this, that makes any community a special place to live.
Wendy Daigle Zinn
Glebe concerns
Editor, Glebe Report
I am wondering whether the next Glebe Report will include or address two issues in our Glebe community.
- The lights of the Moving Surfaces on the berm at Lansdowne have not been working since March 20. This is a beautiful piece of art that enhances and graces the Glebe. The city councillor’s office is aware of this problem. I am sure that Glebe readers would also like to what the status is.
- As you are no doubt aware, part of the 700 block of Bank had a fire. Will the Glebe Apothecary be closed for good? The fire also affected part of the Metro Glebe – when will this be repaired? Both the places are integral to the lives of people in the Glebe and certainly are worried about what will happen. Can this be reported on in the next Glebe Report? [editor’s note: see front page article]
Denis Caro
Long-term and proud resident of the Glebe