It’s official!
The City of Ottawa’s Bird-Safe Design Guidelines, a set of directives to prevent bird-glass collisions, were approved by Planning Committee on Nov. 10, 2020, and by City Council on Nov. 25, 2020. Read the staff report recommending the adoption on these guidelines here (full agenda here).
We’re thrilled to see a key recommendation of the Ottawa Bird Strategy being implemented.
As knowledge of bird-glass collisions grows, so does public support for measures that will help reduce preventable deaths. Safe Wings is proud to have initiated the adoption of bird-safe building policies by the National Capital Commission, Public Services and Procurement Canada, the University of Ottawa, and Carleton University. Now, it’s the City of Ottawa’s turn.
While we would prefer Ottawa to have mandatory standards for bird-friendly design, this would require the City to ask the province for the authority to do so. However, the City can require certain projects to adhere to these guidelines, and it has the power to specify bird-friendly design for its own properties.
The guidelines are based on current best practices for preventing collisions from CSA standard A460:19 and the Toronto Green Standard. They focus on rethinking the use of glass, but this does not mean getting rid of windows. Instead, the aim is to eliminate lethal reflections and transparency by using patterned glass and other bird-safe glazing; building-integrated features such as exterior screens and grilles; overall building and site design; light pollution mitigation strategies; and bird-safe landscape design. When these features are incorporated early in the project planning process, they can be cost-neutral, and complement other design goals such as energy efficiency, glare reduction, aesthetics and even public art.
Comprehensive bird-friendly design requirements are the most efficient, reliable and cost-effective opportunity for cities to address the serious problem of bird-glass collisions, and in the process help achieve biodiversity and sustainability goals. Their adoption in Ottawa will place us among the ranks of cities such as Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, New York, Chicago and San Francisco that are working to reduce the significant toll modern buildings are taking on the continent’s birds (estimated 1 billion/yr).
Safe Wings would like to thank City of Ottawa staff for giving us the opportunity to contribute to and comment on the Bird-Safe Design Guidelines. This is an important first step towards implementing the Ottawa Bird Strategy and addressing a critical threat to the birds that live in and pass through our community.
With the implementation of these guidelines, the City of Ottawa will take its first steps towards becoming a Bird-Friendly City.
