Parks maintenance update

Grass cutting 

Parks Maintenance is responsible for around 4,300 hectares of green space across the City, split into 286 maintenance beats. The beats cover parks and roadsides and are on various cycle lengths based on the area’s use and the City’s maintenance quality standards. Issues that could affect our level of service include weather, grass growth rate, soil conditions, staffing or vehicle levels, emergency responses, nearby construction projects and park designation. You can learn the designations of the various parks in your ward by visiting geoOttawa. Most park beats are weekly and biweekly, some are less, and destination parks such as Andrew Haydon Park, Mooney’s Bay Park and Britannia Park receive more maintenance than other locations. 

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Parks  

We cut passive areas in our parks every seven to 14 days. Regular mowing is good for the health of the turf making it denser, discouraging weeds. We cut grass height in our parks between 60 and 75 millimetres unless the area is in a designated naturalization area. You may notice longer grass around the base of some trees this year. Getting too close with our trimmers can open some wounds that could attract beetles carrying the oak wilt virus. Oak Wilt is not in Ottawa, and we’d like to keep it that way!

Sports fields 

We maintain the turfgrass in our sports fields and ball diamonds every three to seven days. Sport fields also have designations based on the events and activities they usually attract. Regular mowing creates safer playing conditions on our fields. We cut our sports fields’ grass at a height of 60 millimetres with a maximum height of 80 to 90 millimetres. 

Naturalization 

We typically mow naturalized areas one to two times a year to control invasive species and other vegetation control. These bio-diverse habitats slow and help to filter surface water run-off while creating homes for birds, butterflies and other wildlife. It also helps us improve the maintenance of the areas we do mow. Mowing in naturalized areas still occurs along vehicular, cycling, or pedestrian corridors to define sight lines. 

Roadside 

Parks Maintenance cut grass along our urban, suburban, and rural roadsides and boulevards between five to nine times a year. This is to maintain safe sightlines along roads, paths and sidewalks. All of our roadside beats have seen at least one pass. Grass cutting is a collaborative affair as our partners in Roads and Parking Services cut grass in the ditches and along guard rails. Residents are reminded of requirements of Use and Care of Roads By-Law, particularly the section which covers residents’ responsibility for cutting the grass and weeds on the boulevard abutting the owner’s land . 

Summer students

We are happy to have 115 summer students working for Parks Maintenance this year to help us keep up with litter cleanup, grass cutting (with the smaller machines) and trimming. They also paint benches, goal posts and various other park features. Seventy-six of them had so much fun with us last year, they are back for more!

Special events

Canada Day is just days away and City parks will host a number of events. The hosting duties don’t end there, though. Parks Maintenance staff are always ready to make sure parks are in great shape before registered events. On top of regular maintenance, staff will make an extra sweep to ensure litter is picked up and attend to repairs of park features. If the event happens to include baseball, crews make sure the diamond is groomed in advance.