This week Council advanced several important initiatives focused on improving transit safety, strengthening community well‑being, managing long‑term growth, and supporting sustainable mobility.
Improving Transit Safety and Reliability
Council unanimously supported a motion directing OC Transpo’s Chief Safety Officer to conduct a comprehensive audit into the recurring cartridge bearing assembly failures that recently forced Line 1 trains out of service. This audit completed under Municipal Act provisions and delivered to the Transit Committee by Q2 2026 will help identify the root causes of these safety issues. A draft will also be shared with the Auditor General, who Council has encouraged to consider accelerating her planned agile audit of the LRT system so that both reviews can work together to strengthen long‑term rail reliability.
Zoning Update for 2510 St. Laurent
Council approved a zoning change for the 2510 St Laurent application that helps move forward the redevelopment of a large underused industrial block into new housing. Many of you have asked about this project over the past year, and this update helps ensure it can continue progressing without unnecessary delays.
The change removes an older planning tool called a Floor Space Index (FSI) from these lands. FSI is a technical rule that limits how much building can go on a property but it isn’t used for townhouse or low‑rise housing, which is the planned form here. Our new citywide Zoning By‑law will be getting rid of FSI in almost all cases, so removing it now simply aligns the zoning with where the City is already headed.
Consultation for the area shown in pink has been completed. Any future development on the orange lands along Walkley Road is expected to require a separate Site Plan Control application (or applications) at that time that would go through a separate public comment process.
The public comments circulation for this site was issued on December 14, 2022, with the formal comment period closing on January 11, 2023. Comments have continued to be accepted beyond that date by city planning staff and they are nearing completion of the zoning approval, draft plan of subdivision approval, and site plan approval for the area shown in pink below:
Expanded Driving School Prohibition Zone Approved
I’m also pleased to share that my motion to expand the Driving School Prohibition Zone around the Walkley DriveTest Centre also passed at Council. This update responds directly to concerns from residents and to a request from the Ministry of Transportation, which recently expanded its test routes in the area. The previous prohibition zone originally established in 2011 to address traffic, safety risks, and congestion caused by high volumes of driving school instruction on residential streets, no longer reflected the realities of the expanded test route.
The newly approved expansion brings the by‑law up to date and ensures that residential streets near the DriveTest Centre are protected from excessive learner‑driver activity, including frequent three‑point turns and parallel‑parking practice that had been generating safety complaints. City staff and the MTO both supported this change, and the amended prohibition zone is expected to come into effect later this year.
Thank you to the residents who raised their concerns, your feedback was essential in moving this forward.
If you see any driving instruction occurring within the prohibited area once the expansion takes effect, you can report it to 3‑1‑1 for follow‑up by By-law Services
