The 311 on global warming

ALEX CULLEN

With the amalgamation

of the City of Ottawa in

2001 came the establishment

of the City’s call

centre for information on

City services, at 580-2400.

However, Bell Canada will

be moving to a ten-digit

telephone number system

for Ottawa in 2006, due to

population increases in the

613 area code. Ten-digit

telephone numbers are

already in effect in the

Toronto 416 and 905 area

codes. As a result, the City

will be implementing a

convenient 311 phone

number for one-stop

access to non-emergency

City of Ottawa services

and information later this

year.

The new 311 service

provides user-friendly,

easy-to-remember access

to City services and information

at no extra cost to

taxpayers (emergency service

for fire, police and

paramedics continues as

911 in Ottawa). The City

of Gatineau will also be

implementing a 311 service

at the same time as

Ottawa’s (to reach

Ottawa’s from Gatineau

will still require dialling

613-580-2400, however).

Ottawa’s 311 service will

be accessible throughout

Ottawa (including the rural

area).

The new 311 service

will not only provide

information on City services

but also handle service

requests (i.e. fallen

trees, recreation program

registration, missed

garbage pickups, water bill

inquiries, etc.). Hours of

service will mirror today’s

standard of 7 a.m. to 7

p.m., with an answering

service for after-hours

calls on urgent matters

(i.e. watermain breaks,

noise complaints).

Ottawa is unique in

many ways – the 4th

largest city in Canada,

covering 2,760 sq.m. (larger

than Toronto, Montreal,

Vancouver, Calgary and

Edmonton combined),

with 5,440 km of roads

and 1,500 km of sidewalks.

And Ottawa is the

3rd coldest capital in the

world. As a result it is no

surprise to learn that

Ottawa’s winter operations

are a big ticket item in the

City’s budget - $52 million

a year.

However it will surprise

many to learn that global

warming trends are having

an impact on Ottawa, and

costing taxpayers more.

Why? Because as a result

of these trends Ottawa is

experiencing more

freeze/thaw events and

more episodes of freezing

rain. These events create

significant challenges in

the City’s ability to clear

our streets and sidewalks

effectively and maintain

safe conditions.

A good example of this

is what happened last winter,

when Ottawa received

more freezing rain than

during the Ice Storm of

1998. For the winter of

2004-2005 Ottawa

received nearly 90 hours

of freezing rain, more than

double the seasonal average

of 40 hours. In

December 2004 alone

there were 6 rain/freezing

rain/flash freeze events,

leading to icy sidewalk

and road conditions as

City crews were not able

to clear quick enough to

avoid ice accumulation.

The response by City

Council to these challenging

conditions last winter

was to spend an additional

$3.4 million in extra gritting,

salting and ice-cutting/

scarifying to create

safer road and sidewalk

conditions. However,

despite our efforts, for

many the icy conditions

posed significant safety

concerns.

These challenging

weather conditions –

directly attributable to

global warming – will add

some $4.5 million in additional

costs to the City’s

budget. The alternative?

Take up the One Tonne

Challenge and do your bit

to reduce greenhouse

gases and global warming.