More access to healthcare for the Civic's Centennial?

If you didn't see the story in the Metro last week regarding the future of the Civic here is the link: http://metronews.ca/news/ottawa/254085/ottawa-needs-a-new-hospital-maybe-at-the-experimental-farm-kitts/

Access to healthcare is difficult now and will only get worse as the population ages. 

Our local icon-the Civic Campus of the Ottawa Hospital was built in the 1920's to support the community needs during the Spanish Flu epidemic and over the years has been added on to, reconstructed in areas and renovated to the extent that they could in order to deliver the best possible healthcare to not just our community and our city but nationally as it is home to Canada’s largest and foremost cardiovascular health centre which sees over 80,000 cardiac patients a year. 

On May 17th, Dr. Gisele Microys and myself met with Cameron Love, the Senior Vice President of Clinical Programs, Planning and Support Services at TOH to discuss updates to their plans to provide parking in support of the Heart Institute expansion.  It was then that we learned about the possibility of the Civic moving across the street to the experimental farm.  Financing, building and moving a hospital of this size is not a quick or easy task regardless of the location.  We were told that a project such as this would likely take 15-20 years to complete but the migration of some buildings would occur incrementally as the new buildings were constructed.  If, it were to move across the street to the farm, the first phase would be to construct a parking lot to accommodate the heart institute expansion and provide parking for staff that are currently parking on Champagne Ave and taking a shuttle bus to the hospital.  (The Champagne lot will cease to exist soon because of a new development that will be built.)  

There is no plan at this point to make any major changes to the Ruskin Lot.  The lot will likely continue to be used as it currently is for parking until the migration of the hospital is complete at which time the hospital expects to return it to the community as a green space or park.

We will be meeting with Mr. Love again in the Fall for another update.  He has offered to attend one of our public meetings to do a Q&A session on this topic as well so we will invite him to attend our end of year public meetings.

40 km campaign update

So far, 16 of 39 streets have agreed to join CHNA's 40 km campaign.

The campaign is also receiving a fair bit of media attention. For example,
CTV reporter Joanne Schnurr covered it on May 21st. Many thanks to our neighbours for agreeing to be interviewed. You can view the CTV report at:
http://ottawa.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20120521/OTT-speed-limit-lower-campaign-120521/20120521/?hub=OttawaHome

To find out more, go to our Facebook group: CHNA 40 km Campaign - Take Back
the Streets at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/207781535997754/

CHNA 40km Campaign - Take Back the Streets

Feel like your street belongs to cars, not people? Tired of having vehicles speed through your community? Worried about your children or the neighbourhood kids as cars and trucks zoom by? Want to know what you can do to make your street safer and more people friendly?

Join the Civic Hospital Neighbourhood Association's (CHNA's) campaign to make the speed limit on our streets 40 kilometres per hour.

The CHNA Traffic Committee has determined that this issue is a priority and the CHNA is currently working on the following streets:

·         Fairmont

·         Kenilworth

·         Bayswater

·         Loretta

·         Hickory

·         Beech

·         Sherwood*

You can help by adding your street to this list.

How to help  

1.   Email CHNA Traffic Committee chair Peter Eady and let him know you would like to petition the City to make the speed limit on your street 40 km per hour (peady23@sympatico.ca).

2.   Read the City of Ottawa's instructions for requesting a 40 km/hour speed limit on your street by way of a petition. See below.

3.   Find out if neighbours are willing to help you go door-to-door with the petition. Let CHNA Traffic Committee chair Peter Eady know if you need assistance (peady23@sympatico.ca).

Join our Facebook group CHNA 40 km Campaign - Take back the Streets by going to: https://www.facebook.com/groups/207781535997754/

City of Ottawa's Instructions for Requesting a 40 km/hour Speed Limit on your Street

The City of Ottawa offers residents the ability to request, by means of a petition, a reduction in the speed limit to 40 km/h on streets designated as ‘local residential’ in the City of Ottawa Transportation Master Plan 2008. To qualify, there must be a consensus of 66 per cent of residents on the entire street.

There are three steps involved in the process:

Step 1 – Confirm your street qualifies as a ‘local residential street’

Contact the Traffic Inquiry Desk by e-mail at traffic@ottawa.ca, call 613-580-2424, extension 27777.

Note: If your street is not designated as a ‘local residential street’, you may request a speed limit review to determine if the posted speed limit is appropriate. To request a review, contact the Traffic Inquiry Desk and your concerns will be forwarded to a Traffic Assessment Specialist who will assess your request.

Step 2 – Petition

The Traffic Inquiry desk will generate the petition (including all affected addresses) and forward it to you for completion. Once completed, please forward to:

City of Ottawa
Traffic Inquiry Desk
100 Constellation Crescent
Nepean, ON K2G 6J8
Mail Code: 26-63
Fax: 613-560-6069   Attention TIS

Step 3 – Review and Implementation

Upon receipt of the petition, your request will be assigned to a Traffic Assessment Specialist who will then send the request to the Ward Councillor for their concurrence. Once this is received, a work order will be issued and the 40 km/h speed limit signs should be installed within approximately one month.

Please note that a speed limit sign is required after every cross street and therefore this may result in the installation of a 40km/h speed limit sign on your property frontage.

Source: http://ottawa.ca/en/roads_trans/driving/traffic/40k/

*Sherwood is not classified as a residential street, but CHNA is nevertheless working to get the City to make the speed limit 40 km/hour.

MAY 15, 2012 Meeting- Campaign Launch

Don't forget the CHNA 40 km Campaign Launch and Orientation

When: Tuesday, May 15, 2012 at 7:00 pm

Where: Civic Hospital Theatre (up the stairs from the Hospital’s main entrance)

Why: The CHNA is spearheading a campaign to lower the speed limit
on some of our streets to 40 km/h due to safety and quality-of life
concerns. Come find out more.

*note the public meeting previously scheduled for this date will be moved to on the next scheduled date.  The May 15th meeting is for the 40km Campaign Launch and Orientation only.

CAMPAIGN ALERT- 40kmh

CHNA is campaigning to make the speed limit on residential streets 40 kilometres per hour. You can help. To find out more, read the April 2012 posting below and join our Facebook group CHNA 40 km Campaign - Take back the Streets by going to: https://www.facebook.com/groups/207781535997754/