Hi Briargreen Neighbours! I’m so glad to again have the opportunity to contribute to the Spring Briarvine publication. A big thank you to the amazing volunteers who bring this publication together; it is such a valuable resource and is a great way to keep everyone in the loop and connected on things happening in the neighbourhood. Here are some recent updates on City projects and programs that might be interesting for you and the Briargreen community:
Baseline / Greenbank Intersection Construction
One of the major reasons why OC Transpo buses can’t keep to their scheduled routes is that they get caught in traffic congestion. And the intersection of Baseline and Greenbank has been identified as a major choke-point for buses.
I hear every week from residents who can’t count on our bus system to get them to their destination on time. They’re late for work, missing important school classes and exams, or late for medical appointments. It isn’t how our transit system is supposed to work.
The work at Baseline and Greenbank will provide transit priority lanes and signals to help buses get through the intersection faster. The work, which will recommence at the end of March, will continue through the summer and is expected to be complete in late fall. Drivers going through the intersection should expect some delays during construction.
You can learn more about the Baseline and Greenbank intersection project at the Engage Ottawa landing page linked here: Baseline/Greenbank transit priority intersection improvements | City of Ottawa
Greenbank Road Automated Speed Enforcement (ASE) Camera Removal
Last Fall, the Province passed legislation to prohibit the use of municipal automated speed enforcement cameras (ASE), leading to the removal of these cameras in various areas of the Ward that see high speeding, especially around schools and students. The camera on Greenbank near Harrison Street was removed, which addressed speeding to protect students near Sir Robert Borden High School.
While the Province established the Road Safety Initiatives Fund (RSIF) to provide municipalities with funding to help facilitate targeted enforcement resources and implementing traffic calming measures, staff are currently only able to use these funds on local roadways, not arterial roadways like Greenbank. This means that the only measures that will be implemented to address speeding here will be a speed display board with flashing beacons. While this will get drivers’ attention, it does not actively ensure and enforce drivers to slow down.
As there is more work that needs to be done to increase road safety on ALL of our roads, from the local to the arterial, I brought a motion to the Public Works and Infrastructure Committee last week asking the City to leverage advanced data analytics and technology to enhance the City’s ability to identify, monitor, and respond to speeding trends and inform road safety priorities. This motion also asked staff to consider speed management as a focus area in the Road Safety Action Plan they bring forward to Council in 2027.
I’m happy to see this motion approved in committee and will be brought forward for Council approval on May 13th. Especially with the removal of ASE cameras as a tool in our toolbox to address speeding and safety concerns in our neighbourhoods, the City needs to broaden the scope of data it collects, and think creatively in the available options they have to address speeding.
Sidewalk Panel Replacements – Meadowbank Drive
Last year, many residents reached out to us with concerns regarding large, unsightly asphalt patches used to address cracks on the sidewalk along Meadowbank Drive. I reached out to the General Manager of Public Works to ask more information on these patches, and why almost the full sidewalk was covered in asphalt to fill specific cracks. We requested staff to review when we could see sidewalk panel replacements here to address these issues.
I’m happy to say that Meadowbank will be having sidewalk replacements of these effected areas over Summer 2026! More specifically, there will be replacements of the sidewalk panels on two sections of Meadowbank: from Crofton to Briargreen (south side sidewalks), and from Carlaw to Ashgrove (south side sidewalks).
My team will have more information soon regarding when this work is scheduled for this summer, which we will plan to share with the community association for everyone’s awareness! Thank you again to residents who reached out about the sidewalk maintenance quality here – I’m glad I was able to advocate for these replacements to come quicker to address this.
Ball fields
To get our ball parks ready for the new season, our staff have been busy with inspections, necessary fencing repairs, and reinstallation of any bleachers that were removed for the winter. We are also turning our irrigation systems back on and checking for leaks.
The infields have been groomed and staff are also doing turf repairs and lip maintenance and hand raking where staffing is available. They are also fertilizing, overseeding, topdressing, and aerating the fields. Overseeding and topdressing are our most effective methods of preventing weeds, and aerating the fields reduces compacted soil and promotes healthy turf grass for safe and fun season. Grass cutting is also underway as well. Staff are feeling optimistic that fields should be open for the May 6thopen date, but it depends on if we get a lot of rain in the next little while. Stay tuned!
Warm regards,
Laine
