Photo radar camera issues 19,000 tickets and Glebe business damaged by fire: Top stories in Ottawa this week

One of Ottawa's newest photo radar cameras issued 19,000 tickets in six months, the 'Freedom Convoy 2.0' doesn't plan to stop in Ottawa and a mild end to the year.

CTVNewsOttawa.ca looks at the top five stories on our website this week.

This Ottawa photo radar camera issued 19,000 tickets in six months

A new photo radar camera set up on St. Laurent Boulevard issued an average of 91 tickets a day for speeding in its first six months of operation.

The city expanded the Automated Speed Enforcement Program in 2022, with plans for 15 new locations, all near school zones.

Data shows the new camera on St. Laurent Boulevard, between Noranda Avenue and Clarke Avenue, issued 19,430 tickets between April and October.

Photo radar cameras switched on at St. Laurent Boulevard and on Abbott Street East in April. The city says "Coming Soon" warning signs are installed for at least 90 days wherever a speed camera will be placed to alert motorists of its upcoming installation.

The 17 photo radar cameras set up across Ottawa issued a total of 106,327 tickets for speeding in the first 10 months of 2022. Eight photo radar cameras issued 80,944 tickets for speeding in 2021, however, the city said 13 per cent of speeding incidents captured by photo radar cameras were not processed within the 23-day limit and the tickets were not issued.

A new photo radar camera was installed earlier this year on St. Laurent Boulevard, between Noranda Avenue and Clarke Avenue.

Beloved Glebe business closed due to Boxing Day fire

A popular store in the Glebe is closed and several people are displaced following a Boxing Day fire.

The fire broke out in the building that houses The Papery and several apartments at the corner of Bank Street and Fifth Avenue Monday afternoon.

The owner of the Papery says the store will remain closed until further notice due to the damage.

"We will reopen once repairs have been completed. Thank you for your support!”

The Papery opened in 1986 and has become a local favorite, selling paper products of all kinds.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

Tarps sit atop products in The Papery in the Glebe. Dec. 27, 2022. A fire in the building on Boxing Day damaged the store and displaced several people from the apartments above. (Shaun Vardon/CTV News Ottawa)

'Freedom Convoy' organizers now promising 'world unity convoy' in Winnipeg in February

Plans for a "Freedom Convoy 2.0" in February have been changed, and the convoy no longer plans to stop in Ottawa.

James Bauder, co-founder of Canada Unity, announced in November that a 'Freedom Convoy' reunion would be held in the capital from Feb. 17 to 21.

However, on Christmas Day, Bauder and other organizers announced the second convoy, dubbed a "World Unity Convoy", will travel through Ottawa and stop in Winnipeg.

In the video, Canada Unity founder James Bauder said they chose Winnipeg because it’s the middle point of Canada.

"People can come from the east coast, the west coast, people will be able to convoy across the nation… and we’ll meet in the middle, the heartbeat of Canada,” he said.

In the comments to the Facebook post, Canada Unity said the city of Ottawa was hostile to them. 

A large Freedom Convoy blockade in downtown Ottawa is seen in this file image from February 2022. (Tyler Fleming/CTV News Ottawa)

Travel headaches over Christmas

People travelling by planes, trains and automobiles faced headaches this week, as severe weather and other factors disrupted travel plans.

Thousands of travellers at the Ottawa International Airport and Toronto's Pearson International Airport reported missing luggage while flying over the Christmas weekend. Pearson Airport reported a broken luggage belt in Terminal 3 slowed down luggage operations over Christmas.

One team affected by the luggage situation was the Orange County Hockey Club, who arrived in Ottawa without several pieces of luggage and hockey equipment. Their equipment arrived in Ottawa hours before their first game in the Bell Capital Cup.

Meantime, VIA Rail passengers faced long delays on Tuesday as train service resumed following a CN Rail derailment near Kingston on Christmas Eve. VIA Rail resumed service, but could only run double trains through the Kingston area which caused significant delays on the route. Train service was back to normal on Wednesday.

And drivers faced some delays on the road through the week due to heavy snowfall over the Christmas weekend and on Wednesday.

Unclaimed luggage sits at the Ottawa International Airport on Wednesday, as airlines warn of luggage delays over the holidays. (Jackie Perez/CTV News Ottawa)

Mild end to 2022

It was a mild end to 2022 in Ottawa, with two straight days of record-breaking temperatures.

The temperature hit 7.5 C on Thursday, setting a record for the warmest Dec. 29 in Ottawa history. Friday's high of 9.8 C set the record for warmest Dec. 30.

The weather this week included a surprise 15 cm of snow on Wednesday and heavy rain on New Year's Eve.

Crews clear snow at the National War Memorial in downtown Ottawa. (Josh Pringle/CTV News Ottawa)

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