Ottawa is the City that Fun and Common Sense Forgot

 It seems like summer has finally arrived in Ottawa. The past several days have been hot and sunny, so I’ve been able to get outside and roll around. While I love getting out and rolling around, it’s a fresh reminder of the lack of wheelchair accessibility, especially downtown. For example,

Looking at Self-Care Through a New Lens

 Life can get pretty hectic. We’re all guilty of forgetting to take a breather and do the things that bring us joy and relaxation. Whether you’re busy at work, with your family, or just with life, it can be easy to forget to relax and treat yourself. We all need

Take Time for Yourself and be Grateful

 It’s been a while since I’ve discussed mindfulness and trying to stay present in a world that runs so fast. Last week was relatively busy, including two hospital trips for appointments. As I’ve mentioned before, going to the hospital can be a stressful experience for me. Thankfully, I was in

Where do I Roll From Here?

 Over the past three articles, I talked about being born with Nemaline Myopathy and the doctors telling my parents I would only survive a year. A year would turn into living at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario. When I turned seventeen years old, upper management approached my mom and

At 66 percent, OC Transpo Ridership Continues to be Well Below Pre-Pandemic Levels

 The Ottawa Transit Commission, tasked with running OC Transpo affairs, met on Thursday, February 8, for the first time in 2024. The meeting shed light on several serious problems facing the transit service under the tenure of boss Renee Amilcar. In her briefing on the state of OC Transpo, Amilcar’s

Finding a Healthy Way to Manage Anger and Frustration

 We live in an extremely noisy world where we’re constantly bombarded with information. Whether through constant news cycles, social media, or paying attention to our “smart” devices, we have a continuous stream of information coming at us. The easiest thing for many people to do is to read, react, and

Meeting with OC Transpo General Manager Renee Amilcar and Management

 Last week, I had the opportunity to attend a meeting with OC Transpo General Manager Renee Amilcar. Sally Thomas invited me from Ottawa Transit Riders. Laura Shantz, also from Ottawa Transit Riders, was also present. With Renee Amilcar were Rami El Feghali, Pat Scrimgeour, and Lisa Bishop-Spencer. Before I dive

Paying For Public Transit Has Never Been Easier!

 It happens to those of all ages and often at the worst time - the surge of panic when running late to work, class or an appointment and your transit pass is declined due to insufficient funds. With it often comes the worst case scenario- you end up missing your

My Experience at CityFolk Can Serve as a Model for Other Festivals

 As soon as I heard Iggy Pop was coming to City Folk, I was so excited. Iggy Pop has been on my concert bucket list for a long time. I’ve been a fan for many years, and not just of his music. I’ve always found him fascinating, especially during interviews

PWD Demands Left Behind as On-Demand Service Arrives

 Last Thursday, city staff decided that Blackburn Hamlet would be a good area to begin the test pilot to see if on-demand transit service would work in Ottawa. A Para Transpo bus will be used as part of the test pilot. Users will be able to book a ride through

Taking a Trip Down Memory Lane Should be Wheelchair Accessible

 During the summer months, Ottawa comes alive with festivals. So far, I’ve attended RBC Bluesfest, the Fringe Festival, ​​and the Buskers Festival. Still to come is CityFolk, which takes place from September 13th to 17th. One festival that I didn’t attend was the Nostalgia Music Festival, which took place this

OC Transpo On-Demand Service Will Leave More People Stranded

 One of the big stories locally last week was the announcement by OC Transpo that they will be testing an on-demand service this fall. Transit General Manager Renee Amilcar said the service will be similar to Uber. People will be able to book a ride through an app. To implement

Ottawa to get on Demand Transit Service Pilot

 Today's Ottawa Transit Commission meeting began with OC Transpo boss Renee Amilcar pointing to some operational successes in the last few months, including the integration of red card readers on all buses and the O-Train Confederation line. The readers can accept debit and credit cards as well as Presto cards

Beautiful things happen when everyone is included

 The Ottawa Fringe Festival has returned, and I’ve been having a blast so far. Before I get into the good stuff, I must mention Para Transpo. I had planned to attend the Ottawa Fringe Festival last Thursday night with my friend; My ride was booked for 4 pm. After waiting

When Our Air Suffers, We All Suffer

 By Ryan Lythall As a ventilator-dependent person, last week was quite scary. Ottawa was under a poor air quality advisory for three days due to smoke about two hours away. It was my first experience with poor air quality in Ottawa. I heard reports of staying indoors. I had errands

Why Has the Mayor and Council Allowed Para Transpo to Become Unsafe?

 I planned to discuss a different topic this week, but life throws curveballs. When you’re a person with a disability, and you rely on Para Transpo, well, they don’t make it easy on you. It can become very frustrating and sometimes even risky. So, get comfortable if you can because

Please get out to vote today and keep PWD in mind!

 Last week, I posted a list of local candidates who are including and LISTENING to people with disabilities and PROMISING to help us. Since today is Election Day, I’ll repost the list for those who missed it last week and those who didn’t vote early. I’m happy to say that

A list of local candidates that actually listen to PWD

 Last Thursday, I watched the Mayoral debate on CTV Ottawa. Full disclosure: I get bored the few times I’ve watched debates. Sadly, I get bored because issues that people with disabilities face are rarely mentioned. Scratch that. They’re never mentioned. This was also the case during the debate on CTV

The cost of voting municipally if you’re on ODSP

 I planned to cast my vote last weekend at city hall, but I was sick. Even now, I’m still feeling rough. For me, Ottawa City Hall is an ideal location. Not only is it near me, but city hall also has wheelchair accessible bathrooms, a small art gallery, and space

How the Ottawa Transit Challenge continues to fall short of addressing PWD’s concerns

 ABOVE: Tweets from Transit riders participating in the 2022 Ottawa Transit Challenge. Now, imagine the reactions if these people were wheelchair-bound and forced to use ParaTranspo/ In 2019, the Ottawa Transit Riders, a local advocacy group pushing for better public transportation, came up with an idea named the Ottawa Transit

Unelected councillor angry about accusations of OC Transpo gaslighting

 ABOVE: Ward 4 Kanata North Councillor Cathy Curry took great offense to criticism of OC Transpo's new ad campaign. The Ottawa Transit Commission met today for its final time with its current board. It was Sarah Wright-Gilbert who kicked things off quickly with a contentious discussion. The publicly appointed commissioner accused Commission Chair

A broken chair in a broken system can leave you in a dangerous spot

 I have a quick update regarding last week’s article. Last week, I wrote about a friend being stranded at the hospital because Para Transpo initially refused to pick her up, and Westway Taxi never showed up. A person from OC Transpo reached out to them to apologize and mentioned that the

Another broken promise to PWD from the City of Ottawa

 Before I get rolling in too deep, I want to say hello. Hello and welcome, especially to those reading me for the first time. Thank you for stopping by, and I hope you stick around. In case you missed reading this past Saturday’s edition of The Ottawa Citizen, there was

Please continue to wear your masks in indoor public spaces

 On Saturday, Ontario removed mask mandates in public transit and healthcare settings. I should point out that all hospitals in Ottawa will continue with mask requirements. This means we will no longer be required to wear masks in public transit, healthcare settings, and indoor spaces. Here’s where things get a

With one roll at a time, we’ll get there eventually

 In last week’s column, I gave detailed instructions on using the new My Para Transpo website. This week, I wanted to give a little insight and talk about my experiences with the My Para Transpo website. On February 21, 2020, online booking became a reality. In the beginning, the website