Monday August 23, 2021

What Ottawa is Talking About – 23 August 2021

▪️Somerset Ward councillor Catherine McKenney is holding her own transit meeting on Wednesday. The Chair of the Transportation Committee refused to call a meeting to discuss the recent O Train derailment and double decker bus ditching, so McKenney is calling her own. The public is invited to meet at Marion Dewar Plaza with questions/concerns at 11 am Wednesday. [Twitter

▪️Former Transportation Safety Board inspector says O Train ball bearings should last ten years, not two. Preliminary investigations blame ball bearings for the derailment of on out-of-service O Train two weeks ago. Ten out of 39 trains cars have since been repaired. [CBC

▪️The City of Ottawa's cooling centres will remain open today for anyone who needs a break from the heat. They are located at City Hall (Sport Hall of Fame – 1st floor Heritage Building), Plant Recreation Centre, and Overbrook Community Centre until 7pm. [City of Ottawa]

+ Related The Fire Service has instituted a burn ban, even for those with open fire permits

▪️The Gloucester Walmart is no longer giving out plastic bags – customers need to bring their own. The store is one of 10 Walmarts across Canada trialling plastic-free shopping. Plastic bags are still available in the meat and vegtable departments. [CTV]

▪️A new test finds that the majority of people in Ottawa cannot get proper Internet speeds. The Canadian Radio Telecommunications Commission says households should have access to 50 megabits per second (mbps) for downloads and 10 mbps for uploads. In 7,536 tests conducted in Ottawa, only 34 per cent of people could get that speed. [Global]

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