Today’s letters: Rural Ottawa deserves more respect

Hydro Ottawa helps rural areas last

Re: Deachman: Ottawa’s rural population, often neglected by city hall, plans to make its voice heard, Oct. 31.

Thank yo for writing about this topic.

My particular bugaboo (perceived or otherwise) is the focus Hydro Ottawa puts on getting power back to the city core when there’s an outage. I am not referring to hospitals and emergency services. So many of us are on wells and septic systems, so that when the power goes off we have no running water or the ability to flush toilets. Not to mention that many of us have stocked freezers owing to the distance to the city to drive for provisions.

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The city, however, thinks it’s OK to provide bottled water for us to collect as required. Wouldn’t it be simpler to prioritize the rural areas for power, then the urban ones?

And you really need to take a drive on the gravel roads in the spring. Not only do you get to experience the “DoHiles” as Bruce Deachman termed them, but you get muck coming up onto your car that has cement-like consistency. God forbid your clothes touch your car as you get out.

Leah MacLean, Ashton

Baseline transit plan isn’t a practical idea

Re: Today’s letters: Baseline Road rapid transit plan needs a rethink, Nov. 5.

I agree with the letter-writer who is against turning Baseline Road into a reconstructed rapid transit route. If one lane in each direction were designated a high occupancy lane to encourage drivers to share their drives with neighbours, it would reduce the number of vehicles on the road without the need for reconstruction. The sidewalk could be made into a multi-use path so cyclists could be separated from vehicles. Education on safe ways to keep rare pedestrians safe would be essential.

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Pausing this project seems wise. Make the existing transportation system less expensive for users, and more reliable: get more buses and drivers, then increase bus frequency and where bus routes go.

Carolyn Herbert, Nepean

Book award winners deserved better

Last month, the Ottawa Book Awards recipients were honoured at City Hall. This wasn’t the usual gala ceremony because the city’s Cultural Funding Support Section no long has the resources to host a ceremony celebrating the immense talents of Ottawa’s writers.

Instead, the ceremony was a small, private gathering in the mayor’s board room. The mayor wasn’t even in attendance. How can he claim to support the arts, and why wasn’t this covered?

Chris Johnson, Ottawa

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