Keep pedestrians safe, install more red-light cameras | Letters to the Editor

Mayor Mark Sutcliffe stated he wants to “make Ottawa better,” which is a well-intended objective. I would also like to see a commitment to make Ottawa safer for pedestrians.

While the population of Ottawa has increased by approximately 20 per cent over the past five years, the amount of traffic fatalities has gone from bad to worse, with a total of 19 in 2021 to more than 30 so far this year.

Even though the increase in population may create more traffic issues, there seems to be more cars speeding through red lights. As the Ottawa Police Service is limited in what it can do in traffic enforcement-related matters, I hope our next city council will address speeding through red lights as a priority matter and consider installing cameras at more locations.

Although there are those who may grumble that cameras are a “cash cow,” they should have no concerns if they do not ignore red lights at intersections. How many more people need to get injured or killed before the needed action is implemented?

Right now, at some locations, pedestrians take their lives in their hands when they start to cross an intersection when the walk light appears without checking for drivers who may think stopping at a red light is only a suggestion.

Dale Boire, Ottawa

How do we make our roads safer? Changing the design of intersections can make it significantly safer for both pedestrians and cyclists. There are a few protected intersections in Ottawa, with one at the corner of Scott Street and Island Park Drive. Certainly pedestrians and cyclists need to be clearly seen, and cyclists wearing bright clothing and proper bike lights definitely helps. Cycling infrastructure, such as segregated bike lanes makes it infinitely safer.

The removal of speed cameras has resulted in drivers speeding. At 30 km/h, the risk of pedestrian death is about 10 per cent, it’s 25 per cent at 50 km/h, and 50 per cent at 65-70 km/h. Drivers must realize that they have a great responsibility to being totally focused on the road.

The Badinter law in France protects pedestrians and cyclists by ensuring their personal-injury damages are paid by motorists’ insurance companies. I feel so much safer as a cyclist in France than in Canada.

There are bad drivers and there are bad cyclists. However, bad drivers can kill and bad cyclists can get killed.

Nancy Biggs, Ottawa

Catherine McKenney disqualifies a mayoral candidate because he has “never been on council”. Why would anyone believe that? Look at the evidence. Jim Watson, for example, was an excellent politician — never missed an opportunity to shake a hand, cut a ribbon, etc. But what is his legacy? A malfunctioning (to say the least) LRT, an ever-increasing number of homeless people, pot-holed city streets and so on. Admittedly these are not easy problems to fix.

However, the skills required do not necessarily come from years spent on city council. What is needed is an effective manager. Someone who, above all, is a good listener rather than a good talker.

Something to ponder before we cast our vote on Oct. 26.

Andrew Lumsden, Ottawa

You don’t have to be a politician or read the news of the world to know for sure that the single most contributing factor to this paralyzing gridlock that commuters face every hour and every day here can be attributed to the fact that our elected officials have, in the past 10 or 15 years, giddily and irresponsibly approved housing developments galore without first ensuring that the necessary road infrastructure was in place.

It sure doesn’t help that, in the same relative time frame, they have actually reduced traffic lanes in favour of bike thruways, an active transportation mode that certainly has its merits for numerous reasons, but, alas, can only safely be practised in clement weather, an adjective that clearly does not apply here anymore, what with four or five months of harsh winter conditions exacerbated by the recent unpredictable springs and summers.

It is sincerely hoped that the elected morning mayor wakes up and takes an afternoon joyless ride anywhere on major arteries to come to the evidence.

Jean-Pierre Allard, Orléans

So, it seems every day Mayor Mark Sutcliffe is promising something he will do if re-elected. We wonder, of course, why he did not do those things in this term.

He is also endorsed by our former mayor, Jim Watson. Watson, we may recall, was found by an independent inquiry to have committed an egregious violation of public trust. Those are the inquiry’s words, not mine. A heck of an endorsement. With a friendly endorsement like that, who needs enemies.

Enough said. Let’s vote.

Raymond Kostuch, Nepean

Randall Denley correctly identifies the need to address the city’s aging facilities and infrastructure, but fails to account for where mayoral candidate Mark Sutcliffe finds the funds to address this $10.8-billion problem. Sutcliffe claims he can fix this over 10 years using funds from increased water rates, development charges, taxes, debt, efficiencies and federal/provincial support. Yet Sutcliffe continues to deploy the same low-tax strategy that created the problem in the first place.

Sutcliffe’s 2.5 per cent tax cap is woefully insufficient to make a dent in the city’s infrastructure funding deficit, not after accounting for inflation, contract obligations and his other campaign promises. Development charges are collected to build new infrastructure for new housing development, not to replace aging sewers in established neighbourhoods. Debt has to be repaid, and the city has loads of it. Finding efficiencies in city operations only raises the question of what is to be cut. And relying on yet-to-be-confirmed federal/provincial support is akin to counting your chickens before your eggs are hatched and will compete for funding requests for LRT3, which Sutcliffe has also promised.

In short, while the problem is real, Sutcliffe’s solutions are not. A more sensible approach is the one suggested in the city’s Long Range Financial Plan — a one per cent dedicated infrastructure levy. It is either pay me now or pay more later.

Alex Cullen, Ottawa

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