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Upcoming Events
Pedal and Play – Weekly Family Bike Rides
Upcoming Rides
Sunday May 4th, 2025 at 1:30 PM
- Starting point – des Voyageurs school parking lot
- Destination – Voyageur Park
Saturday May 10th, 2025 at 1:30 PM
- Starting point – des Voyageurs school parking lot
- Destination – Hiawatha Park
In short, we will be starting from a planned time and location each weekend and exploring our community on two wheels (bike, scooter, etc.), before ending up at a pre-determined local park or other destination. Once we arrive at the destination, the kids can stay and play, have a snack, and we can all get to know each other better.
Strong Towns Ottawa – Spring Orleans Meetup (May 9th – 8 PM)
Friday May 9 at 8 PM – The Bad Alibi
Strong Towns Ottawa focuses on making fiscally strong places that are self-sustaining, resilient, and nice to live in. Together, we can make a difference in the city we love.
Join the local Strong Towns conversation in Ottawa! This is our first east-end hosted social gathering, RSVP is totally optional, just show up, have some drinks/food, and have a good time!
Community Clothing Swap (May 24th – 12:30 PM)
Environment Committee
To arrange drop-off/pick-up ahead of the event: [email protected].
Leftover items will be donated to local support organizations.
Events Recap
Pedal and Play Kickoff
On Sunday April 27, we had about 60 people show up to our Pedal and Play meet and greet, including several dozen bicycles! Thanks to everybody who joined us on Sunday (morning and afternoon). It was a great turnout despite the cool morning and windy afternoon, and it was awesome to meet all of you.
Cleaning the Capital
Environment Committee
Volunteers from our community joined us for Cleaning the Capital on April 27, which collected over 500 lbs of garbage and removed 7 old shopping carts from our waterways. The phenomenal success of removing so much trash from our natural areas was made possible by the many volunteers who came out to help and our sponsors, including Golden Fries Orleans, Crown Pointe Animal Hospital, Home Depot, Metro and the Ottawa Riverkeepers. Join us next year for this annual event!
Environment Committee Updates
Rethinking Spring Cleaning
By Chantal Boudreau, Environment Committee
Spring is finally here, and with it comes Spring Cleaning! Here are 10 spring cleaning activities to help make the most of your efforts while supporting the environment!
Earthub Residential Bins
If you’re frustrated about how to dispose of hard-to-recycle materials or want to boost your reuse efforts, Earthub has launched its residential collection service! This service offers bi-weekly or monthly pickups in the Ottawa area for specific materials that will be reused or recycled. Many flexible plastics don’t belong in our City’s blue bins. By using Earthub’s service, we can divert more materials, helping to extend the life of the Trail Road landfill. Feel good about where your materials go – sign up today!
Suburban Robservations
Rob Attrell, Board Director
Outreach Committee
City Zoning FAQ – Neighbourhood Change
🏘️ Why consider more flexible zoning in our suburban community?
After posting lots of content talking up gentle neighbourhood urbanization over the last 6 months or so, I’ve put all of the big questions and concerns raised by residents over zoning and community character in one place. I’ve also provided some information in response to those questions and specifically making it clear what gentle densification and walkable neighbourhoods actually mean.
You’ve Tried “Buy Local.” Next, Try “Live Local.”
Most of us have heard the phrase “Buy Local.” It’s a feel-good reminder that shopping close to home supports small businesses and keeps money circulating in our community. And in Convent Glen – Orléans Wood, we’re lucky to have a growing number of independent shops, markets, and services that benefit when we choose to spend locally.
But I want to challenge us to go one step further. If “Buy Local” is about where we spend our money, “Live Local” is about where we spend our lives.
Ideas For A More Green and Resilient City
Engage Ottawa just launched a new wave of public consultations on making the city more green and resilient. I’m sure I won’t be pitching any new ideas, but I went through the exercise of putting together a few key thoughts on this. Go ahead and steal any of these ideas when you go fill out their survey.
A Focus on Transportation
City Transportation Master Plan Updates
City of Ottawa
Ottawa has grown into a city of one million residents. Over the next 25 years, that number is expected to grow to more than 1.4 million. With that kind of growth, we need to revisit how people, vehicles and goods move through our city.
As we update the Transportation Master Plan, we have important decisions to make as individuals and as a city. While some might be easy, others will require more thought. We need to have thoughtful and meaningful discussions to ensure Ottawa becomes the most liveable mid-sized city in North America.
The city will be taking feedback until May 12. Virtual consultations with the city continue until then.
10 Ways to Reduce Car Dependence in Ottawa
Shared by Rob Attrell
By focusing on active mobility and becoming a transit-first city, Ottawa has enormous potential to shift away from car dependence by reorienting infrastructure, policy, and land use toward walking, cycling, and transit. Below are ten revolutionary interventions that could reshape how Ottawa moves—dramatically reducing car mode share and making sustainable options the default choice for most trips.
A Superpowered City
A story shared by Rob Attrell
In the bustling city of Metropolis, a groundbreaking research project promised to change the world. The project, funded by the wealthiest citizens, aimed to replicate the powers of Superman. For a hefty fee, participants could gain super strength, flight, and other extraordinary abilities.
Sprints and Marathons: What Track Meets Can Teach Us About Cars, Bikes, and Better Cities
Shared by Rob Attrell
When we talk about city planning and transportation, the conversation often turns into a battle of extremes—cars versus bikes, highways versus bike lanes, speed versus sustainability. But maybe we’re framing the issue all wrong. What if, instead of pitting one against the other, we thought of our transportation network the way we think about a track meet?
April 2025 – Orleans Cycling Newsletter | Bike Ottawa
The city just dropped a new draft of the transportation master plan with cycling projects listed and mapped for us to comment on. I wanted to highlight one particular map of cycling projects: Transportation Master Plan Update | Engage Ottawa (the ‘Map for prioritized cycling projects’ link) on the plans in Orleans.
If you’d like to get involved with plans to advocate for safe cycling infrastructure in Orleans, please send a message to [email protected] and let us know you’d like to receive messages about ongoing advocacy and activities to broaden the cycling culture that already exists in Orleans.
Matt’s Musings
Matthieu Gagnon, Vice-President
Injured For a Driver’s Convenience
On April 7, 2025, as I was riding to work from Orléans, I was cut off by a vehicle at Beechwood and Acacia. I am not sure exactly what happened since the collision robbed me of those memories. However, I do know that someone decided to turn left without making sure the bike lane was clear.
I have been wondering about the nature of driver entitlement. I think the way we build our city has a huge impact on the perceived superiority of drivers. The infrastructure in our city always compromises to allow for the free flow and comfort of cars, but never for the safety of people outside of cars.
Who Are Bike Lanes For?
Bike lanes are a misnomer. There are more users of bike lanes than just people on bikes. When riding in bike lanes, it is common to see people in wheelchairs, scooters, skateboards, etc. I use the term bike lanes because it is the most commonly used term but they should be called something like “micromobility lanes” to reflect the variety of vehicles who use them.
Miscellaneous Items
Spring Community Activities Roadmap
Spring is fully in the air, and that means this season’s activities are well underway. Have a look at our spring (and summer) roadmap and see what events and activities you might find interesting. If you’d like to volunteer with the Community Association on any event here or a new one, please reach out: Contact Us.
Featured Photo(s)
Taken by Marc-Andre Blais
Rail Fans Canada also recently made a video with a lot more footage and info about the extension:
Tracking the Progress: Ottawa’s O-Train Stage 2 Eastern Extension – April 2025 – YouTube
The city is also holding an info session on Stage 2 LRT on May 20th at 7 PM. Stay tuned for more details.
Get Involved
Other Community Newsletters
March 2025 Newsletter – Laura Dudas
The Beat – Heart of Orleans Newsletter
Orléans Connect – Weekly Orleans Newsletter
Thanks to Our Sponsors
Check out our sponsors or get information about becoming one at cgow.ca/sponsors.
Gold-Level Community Builders
Almanac Urban Mill & Bakery
Almanac is an urban mill and bakery in Ottawa’s East End, and Gabrielle Prud’homme is the owner who calls Convent Glen home.
Dominion City Brewing Company
Dominion City was established to make great beer and bring people together in community. Today, their beer reflects the people and land that make it possible.
