Month: February 1998

Businesses team up to help police fight street crime

By Tom McLean
A part of Centretown once considered a haven for prostitution, drug-pushing and panhandling is enjoying a revival thanks to police, residents and Ottawa’s self-proclaimed gay village.

The area around Bank Street and Gilmour Avenue has long had the reputation of a city slum. Robert Giacobbi, a part-owner of Wilde’s sex shop on Bank, says the reputation was somewhat warranted.
“A lot of people were doing their drugs and just hanging around, and there was prostitution,” says Giacobbi. read more

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Possible strike could hurt art show

By Zachary Houle
A labor dispute at the National Art Gallery could keep an anticipated Picasso exhibition under wraps should union members strike or be locked out.

The Gallery’s union, part of the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), voted for a strike mandate last week after being in a contract dispute with Gallery management since April. Details of the vote aren’t being released. read more

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News Brief for February 6, 1998

Airport ramps approved

Regional council has also given the go-ahead for the construction of ramps that will give commuters from Hunt Club easier access to the Airport Parkway.

But this decision has been met with criticism.

John Kane, president of the Glebe Community Centre Association, says increased traffic on the Airport Parkway will mean traffic congestion in the Glebe and Centretown. read more

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Light rail cost, route uncertain

By Brent Kerrigan and Jennifer Lee
Regional council is going ahead with a pilot light rail project it says will be quick, easy and inexpensive.
The full cost of the project, however, remains unknown and the route itself is still in the planning stage.
John Braaksma, a professor of civil engineering at Carleton University, worked with the region to develop a proposal for a possible light rail station at Carleton University. read more

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