Larry O’Brien

The market area will be a lot cleaner today as the razor sharp street crime team completed two more months of dangerous work by laying 232 drug related charges. The arrests started this morning and many of the 65 drug traffickers were off the streets by dinnertime. Well done to all in the Street Crimes Unit and all members of the OPS who put their lives on the line day after day to create a safe and secure city. You make this city better.

Congratulations to Chief Vern White and your entire team. Crime is down and safety is up yet again!

This morning Police Chief Vern White presented his budget to the Ottawa Police Services Board.  In years of business I have seldom seen a presentation as professional and credible as the one he and his staff put forward this morning. The presentation highlighted that we live in the safest major city in Canada and clearly detailed the department’s working priorities for 2009 that will make that even better. Well done to the team and congratulations.

The police will be on budget for 2008 and we will see an increase in spending in 2009 of $9.9 million or about $27 per household.  That increase is a direct result of $5 million in unexpected federal events in Ottawa and the $5 million in provincial court costs paid by the City. Both of these expenses more rightly belong to the federal and provincial governments respectively. Without these expenses we would be at a zero increase for 2009.

It is Council’s responsibility to help the police upload these expenses to the level of government that incurs them and I plan to raise this issue during the upcoming federal election campaign and with local members of provincial government. Well done Chief White and we will do our best politically to help you upload these costs.

For immediate release:
July 17, 2008

Mayor Larry O’Brien: crime rate down, safety up

Mayor Larry O’Brien welcomes today’s news that citizens of Ottawa are enjoying a greater sense of safety and security in their community.

In a report released today, Statistics Canada found that Ottawa’s crime rate decreased by 5.1 per cent in 2007, giving Ottawa the third lowest overall crime rate and the lowest rate of violent crime in large Canadian cities for 2007.

“I want to express how proud I am of the Ottawa Police Service, under the leadership of Chief Vern White, for their ongoing dedication to lowering crime in the City of Ottawa,” said Mayor Larry O’Brien. “As Mayor my goal is to ensure the safety of our residents and today’s report is a clear indication we are heading in the right direction.” 

During the election campaign in 2006 Mayor O’Brien clearly identified improving public safety as one of his goals and will continue to work closely in support of initiatives to keep Ottawa one of the safest cities in the country.

“Through initiatives such as the Street Crime Unit we can see a marked improvement in our downtown core and citizens have expressed an increased sense of security,” said Mayor O’Brien. “I am delighted with the progress we have made so far and remain committed to working with the police and our community support organizations to sustain and improve safety in the City of Ottawa.”

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The lower south-side stands in Frank Clair Stadium at Lansdowne Park are scheduled for implosion on July 20th .

For safety purposes, the City is asking that residents not visit the site and instead view the implosion on a live web cast at www.ottawa.ca.

The demolition is being done as a result of a structural review that occurred last fall that found the south-side stands posed a safety issue.

This is good news for Ottawa in a number of ways as we work to revitalize Lansdowne Park for all residents to enjoy. Demolishing the south-side stands does not stand in the way of us hosting large sports events this summer at Frank Clair Stadium as we will have the opportunity to erect temporary bleachers.

Another interesting fact is this demolition will see a waste diversion of more than 90 per cent and some of the seats have already been moved for use in other City facilities.
 
It is important to note this implosion does not have anything to do with the proposed changes to Lansdowne Park. Council is expecting to receive a business plan from the CFL consortium in mid-July and we will proceed with the recommended course of action this fall.

This morning, City staff released the following memo regarding the implosion:

M E M O   /   N O T E   D E   S E R V I C E 

 To / Destinataire Members of Council File/N° de fichier:Lansdowne Park
From / Expéditeur  Doug Moore, Manager, Venture Properties 
Subject / Objet Implosion of the lower south-side stands in Frank Clair Stadium at Lansdowne Park Date:  11 July 2008

The lower south-side stands in Frank Clair Stadium at Lansdowne Park will be imploded on Sunday, July 20, 2008 at 8 a.m. For safety purposes a 250-metre radius will be blocked off and members of the public will not be permitted on site.  In addition, at the request of the Ottawa Police Service the following road closures will be in effect from 6 a.m. until shortly after the implosion. A return to normal traffic activity is anticipated by 8:30 a.m.

· Bank at Sunnyside (local traffic only)
· Aylmer at Bank (local traffic only)
· Colonel By at Rosedale
· Colonel By at Riverdale and Echo
· Queen Elizabeth at Broadway
· Bank at Holmwood
· Queen Elizabeth at Holmwood
· Wilton Crescent
· Oakland Avenue
· Woodlawn Avenue

Airspace above Lansdowne Park will also be off limits, as will portions of the Rideau Canal waterway (east and west of Lansdowne Park). 

Residents in the surrounding area have been notified that there may be a loud noise lasting a few seconds; the implosion may also create a cloud of dust over the demolition site that should disperse quickly.

Media and select City staff will have access to the site from the Gate 4 parking lot entrance from Queen Elizabeth Drive. A small projection screen will be set-up in the parking lot for simultaneous viewing of the implosion.

Residents will be able to view the implosion by web cast online at www.ottawa.ca

The attached Qs and As have been prepared to provide you with additional information regarding the implosion.

In the case of a severe electrical storm, the implosion will be rescheduled for the morning after at 8 a.m. on Monday July 21.

Doug Moore
Manager, Real Property Asset Management Branch
J.A.E