Adam: Tim Tierney should know better than to mess with road pylons
Article content
The two east-end Ottawa councillors took matters (law?) into their own hands out of frustration at unannounced road and ramp closures on Highway 174 that they say caused traffic chaos. Roads and ramps east of St. Laurent Boulevard on the 174 have been routinely closed during Stage 2 LRT east extension apparently without proper notice, and this has riled residents. The councillors claim the cones were left blocking roads even when construction was already completed. 'I know that brings a lot of discussion about (safety),' Teirney said of his action. 'If I can open up a lane of traffic seven or eight hours in advance of the next crew coming to move those cones, I'm just going to do it. It's sad when a councillor physically has to do it.'
Article content
Article content
Article content
So, what we've come to is that councillors can take it upon themselves to throw cones off roads if they feel the pylons don't belong there. And Luloff agrees: 'When they make these changes without any notice, there's very few viable routes for us to get into the core or move about the city. What are you supposed to do?'
Article content
Go rogue and throw cones off the roads, of course.
Article content
But then, what happens if there is a serious accident on the arbitrarily re-opened roads? Who takes the blame? The city, the contractor or the councillors who took matters into their own hands?
Article content
When I read the story in the Citizen, I wondered if you or I pulled that kind of stunt on a public road, would we find ourselves on the front page of the Citizen or in the back of a police cruiser being interrogated for, say, vandalism? But we are not Tierney and Luloff, are we?
Article content
Lane closures are happening all over the city as the construction season kicks into full gear. You'll find major roads closed, and often access to malls blocked. It can be frustrating, and it may well be that the extent of the problem in the east end is much worse. Commuters sitting in traffic for hours unnecessarily is not fun. The councillors are right to be frustrated at OC Transpo and the contractor, and right to demand better. Any contractor of a major road project should have the sensibility to understand the importance of putting up proper signs about road closures so commuters can plan their routes ahead of time. And if an LRT contractor is failing in its duty, OC Transpo should have stepped in much earlier to fix the problem.
Article content
Article content
But if the closures were causing chaos, as the councillors say, it is surprising that the issue was not raised at Transportation Committee, Transit Commission or council itself for remedy.
Article content
OC Transpo general manager Renee Amilcar has apologized for a Montreal Road ramp closure that happened without proper notice, and the contractor has promised it won't happen again.
Article content
Tierney and Luloff are right to be frustrated and angry, but that is no license to arbitrarily remove cones because they feel the pylons shouldn't be there. They should know better. It sets a bad precedent. The summer months are a time for road construction, which comes with high frustration—from commuters who have to put up with detours to businesses that are losing customers. But we don't want other people to think they can also take matters into their own hands and start removing inconvenient pylons.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Edmonton Journal
an hour ago
- Edmonton Journal
Lorne Gunter: Milner Library forcing librarians to double as social workers
Article content Library staff frequently respond to overdoses and often are the targets of aggressive and even violent behaviour when they try to awaken sleeping or passed out patrons who have taken up space at a table or on the floor. Article content The Downtown public library is not a place I would send teenage kids to do a little research, in part also because they would have to take the LRT to get Downtown, and it's often not safe, either. Article content It's a shame, too, because the Milner library is, on the inside, a fine facility. It boasts a very impressive children's library, an inspiring 'two-storey tall and 40 feet wide digital installation' known as the Wall, that permits visitors to change the images and scenes, plus a greatly expanded collection of print and visual material. Article content It should come as no surprise that the library has become a hub for the homeless and addicts. It's a warm, dry place out of the elements, where the staff can be counted on to be 'nice' most of the time, even when they are trying to rouse from your stupor among the Canadian history stacks. Article content Article content It's also no surprise because when the library was being renovated, many features were deliberately included to attract homeless Edmontonians. At the grand opening, library executives boasted that their team, known as Library Outreach Workers, could 'proactively engage library customers identified as needing significant social supports, including help to gain housing, income, mental health and addictions treatment.' Article content
CTV News
3 hours ago
- CTV News
OC Transpo scrapping youth fares on Sept. 1: Here's how transit fares for youth compare across Canada
Ottawa youth will be paying the highest monthly transit fares in Canada this fall, as OC Transpo hits the brakes on offering discounted youth passes. The youth monthly pass for 11- to 19-year-olds will be scrapped at the end of August, as part of OC Transpo's plan to boost revenue to address a projected budget shortfall. As of Sept. 1, youth ages 11- to 19-year-olds will have to pay the adult monthly pass of $135 a month, instead of the current youth monthly pass cost of $104 a month. A look at transit fares across Canada shows transit riders ages 11 to 19 in Ottawa will be paying the highest transit fares for a month in Canada at $135 a month. The Toronto Transit Commission offers a monthly transit pass for 13- to 19-year-olds at $128.15 a month, while Brampton Transit offers a pass for $118 a month for 13–19-year-olds and a monthly pass of $84 a month for 6- to 12-year-olds. In Gatineau, the cost a monthly transit pass for 13- to 20-year-olds is $69 a month, while Kingston Transit offers a transit pass of $61.75 a month for 15- to 24-year-olds. Council approved the elimination of the youth pass as part of the 2025 budget. 'I voted against this,' Capital Coun. Shawn Menard said on X. 'This isn't 'fixing transit'. Instead of this, Ottawa should have a universal bus pass for youth 18 and under to build lifelong transit users.' Children ages 10 and under can still ride OC Transpo for free in Ottawa. In Ottawa, many students receive OC Transpo passes from the Ottawa Student Transportation Authority for travel to schools. A report for the Ottawa Student Transportation Authority shows the 2025-26 draft budget projected a $4.8 million increase in public transit costs due to the elimination of free transit for students 12 and under and scrapping the youth fare pass in September. The cost of youth transit fares across Canada
Ottawa Citizen
19 hours ago
- Ottawa Citizen
OC Transpo's youth fare cancellation criticized
As the parent of two children, Katy de Sousa worries about how they will explore their independence. Article content Her youngest child is 11, the age when he would start taking some transit trips on his own and exploring Ottawa, but OC Transpo 's cancellation of the youth fare pass will make that journey more difficult. Article content Article content OC Transpo will eliminate the discounted youth monthly transit pass as of Sept. 1, and those aged 11 to 19 will, from that point on, be charged the same price as adults. Fare hikes of five per cent took place in January 2025, due to a $120-million transit shortfall. Article content Article content De Sousa's family only has one car, which her husband uses to travel to work every day. She says they've scheduled their lives around having one vehicle and she often bikes or uses transit to commute around the city. Article content Article content But De Sousa says public transit is not convenient enough anymore because of longer routes (which she credits to the New Ways to Bus system) and the financial aspect, such as increased fares and the youth fare cancellation. Article content 'It's definitely going to have a financial impact on us as a family, having to pay more,' she said. 'If they don't have access to transit to get places … It's going to eat into my time to take them places. 'It also doesn't foster their own independence in being able to move around their city.' Article content De Sousa says her oldest child, who is 19, has had to turn down job prospects because of the fare changes. Previously they used public transit twice a day to get to and from school. Article content Article content 'There's just no transit available for them to get to in a reasonable time and for a reasonable amount of money to get to the job,' she said. Article content Katrina Camposarcone-Stubbs, a public information officer with the City of Ottawa, said in an Aug. 5 statement to the Citizen that some youths would be eligible to receive a Student Transit Pass through their school boards instead of acquiring youth passes. Article content 'During the winter 2024 semester, over 85 per cent of Youth Passes were sold to school boards and not to individual customers,' she wrote. 'In early 2025, fewer than 100 individual customers purchased the Youth Pass themselves each month.' Article content Coun. Sean Devine, representing Knoxdale-Merivale ward, said he didn't support the transit budget or its various elements, including elimination of the youth fare. OC Transpo's 2024 gross operating budget was $768 million. The budget for 2025 is $856 million.
