The latest draft of the Infrastructure Master Plan (IMP) will come to a joint Planning & Housing and Environment & Climate Change Committee expected in February 2024. The committee meeting to review the draft IMP was re-scheduled twice this fall.
As our response to the draft IMP, CAFES is planning to continue our intervention that links urban forestry objectives and stormwater management. The draft CAFES position and recommendations are here. We are inspired by the “Green Rainwater Infrastructure” (GRI) approach taken by Vancouver’s Rain City Strategy, which places a heavy emphasis on permeable greenspace and green engineered infrastructure like bioretention sites and tree trenches to capture rainwater where it falls. These cost effective GRI strategies ultimately help to enhance greenspace and tree canopy while filtering pollutants from run-off and reducing the reliance on drain pipes.
If you are interested in hearing more about the connections between tree canopy and stormwater, or feel particularly knowledgeable about these issues and want to share your perspectives, please contact Erica Shardlow at eshardlow@cafesottawa.ca.
CAFES has also been working with our organizational partners to explore how the IMP can better include strategies to address wildlife and biodiversity, wetlands and beaver habitat, as well as concerns about Tewin infrastructure.
