KANATA NORTH NEWS Marianne Wilkinson Councillor, Kanata North Meeting for those affected by flooding to be held on Oct.

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There will be a meeting on Oct. 1 for those residents of Kanata North who experienced sewer backups or surface flooding on July 24. Those who registered with the City will receive an information flyer on the meeting. If you were flooded and did not receive the flyer, please contact my office. City staff will be at the meeting to answer questions, provide information and participate in a dialogue on possible solutions. Since there are several areas that were impacted, following a general presentation and responses to questions, residents will be divided into groups by area so that solutions specific to that area can be discussed. Although far fewer homes were impacted in Kanata North there are a couple of areas with chronic sewage problems that need to be corrected. Other homes had flooding through foundations and windows and information will be provided to them on how to minimize the risk of water entering the home. Council approved a motion I presented to have an annual information program on flood-proofing your home, similar to the smoke detector annual campaign. This will help to prevent surface water entering your basement in the future.

Fundraiser for flood fund

The Glen Cairn Community Association is organizing a fundraiser to help those who have had multiple flooding/sewer backups and no longer can get insurance. It will be at OConnors on Oct. 19. Watch for further details.

Light rail
Last November, council approved a Master Transportation Plan that included the transit plan, road construction priorities, a cycling plan and a pedestrian plan. The transit plan had three phases to be completed by 2031. The first phase was light rail from Blair to Tunneys, including a tunnel through the downtown, completion of key bus transitways to serve Orleans, Barrhaven and Kanata (Bayshore to Moodie is the only section serving Kanata), some transit priority lanes and a maintenance garage for light rail. The second phase extended the light rail west to Baseline Station and south to South Keys. The third phase extended light rail to Riverside South and added bus transitways, including one from March/Eagleson to Scotiabank Place.

Council directed staff to request funding of $3.2 billion for all three phases from the federal and provincial government. Staff went one step farther and produced a second phasing plan, an all-rail plan with the Blair to Tunneys portion (including the tunnel) from phase 1, and light rail to South Keys from phase 2. This plan has not been approved by council but was submitted to the provincial government in July. The transit committee was simply informed of that action on Sept. 1. If funding is only approved for rail, then Kanata commuters will not get any improvement or transitway for many years. Kanata does not have a transitway all the way from downtown to the Greenbelt and has no transitway at all within Kanata (both Orleans and Barrhaven have bus transitways in their communities). I find it appalling that staff can rearrange council priorities without bringing a report to council for approval, and that the area that, according to their own projections, has the most employment and most projected growth of any part of the city will get nothing. I have put forward an inquiry on this matter and asked for a meeting on it with the city manager.

Dont forget
On Sept. 29, give your feedback on the Lansdowne Plan and financial arrangements at an Open House at the Ron Maslin Playhouse in Walter Baker Park (just off Terry Fox). Get ready for Waste Reduction Week, Oct. 19 25, by starting to reduce your waste now and increase re-use and recycling. You can get lots of information on reuse by going to www.ottawa.fullcircles.ca. Then on the weekend (Oct 24-25), you can put out items you no longer want during the fall Give Away weekend. Sarah, one of our active environmental volunteers, has told me about how she helped to create a 14-week web series on carbon footprint awareness to complement the NCCs Sunday bikedays program. You can view the series at www.ncc-ccn.ca/co2. Week 8 provides a link to the City of Ottawas Zerofootprint Personal Carbon Manager where you can find out how you can reduce emissions. Last Sunday, I participated in the One Change grassroots campaign to give out digital tire gauges. Maintaining proper tire pressure not only saves on fuel but also provides a safer ride.

Coming events
Sept. 24-27, Carp Fair Sept. 25, 1-3 p.m., Expo 55+ at the Mlacak Centre, 2500 Campeau Dr. Sept. 26, 9 11 a.m., OPP Open House with canine demo and Golden Helmets Sept. 29, 6 -9 p.m. Open House on Lansdowne proposals, Ron Maslin Playhouse, Walter Baker Park. Oct. 1, 7-9 p.m., flood meeting for residents of Kanata North, Earl of March High School Oct. 7 KBCA meeting, Beaverbrook Community Centre

Serving the residents and businesses in Kanata North

To receive the Kanata North Newsletter, to deal with a concern or make a suggestion contact me at 613-580-2474, email Marianne.Wilkinson@ottawa.ca or through www.mariannewilkinson.com.