Environmental lobby group Ecology Ottawa released its annual report card Tuesday assessing the city councillors environmental strategies based on how they voted on key motions. Centretown’s Diane Holmes scored A+.
“The report card performs a watchdog function,” said Janice Ashworth, community organizer at Ecology Ottawa. “Our role is to provide information to voters on how their councilors are performing on environmental issues.”
The report lauded Holmes as one of the “few bright stars” making an effort for the environment by displaying leadership with her “Sidewalk Summit” that addressed how proper pedestrian infrastructure is lacking in the city.
Key environmental votes related to transportation including the segregated bike lane on Laurier Avenue. Public transit took a major hit when OC Tranpso’s operating budget was slashed, leading to several service reduction and route cancellations.
Council did approve an increase in O-Train frequency to take effect in 2014, according to the report.
The council was far less divided than previous years with most councilors voting the same way. The unity in voting patterns resulted in less differentiation with the majority of Council members scoring an average of B, the report said.
Mayor Jim Watson scored a B, which is a significant improvement over his predecessor, Mayor Larry O’Brien, who generally received the lowest score in previous years.