City swats down blooming bus stop idea for bees

An Ottawa city councillor wants to plant flowers atop bus shelters to attract butterflies and bees, but city staff say that idea won't fly.

Barrhaven West Coun. David Hill asked staff to explore a pollinator program that would install green roofs on bus shelters. He said he was inspired by beekeepers in his ward to pursue the idea as a way to make the city more resilient to climate change.

"Everything that we can do in order to encourage a sustainable and long-term pollinator ecosystem I think needs to be on the table," said Hill.

In his view, blossoming bus shelters could become a "landing pad" for pollinators.

"That doesn't necessarily mean that there's always going to be 400 hornets in front of you," Hill said. "It means that, from time to time, there will be some … pollinators that can come by and come sit on a flower for a while and fly to the next one."

But in a response to council's environment and climate change committee, staff concluded the plan isn't feasible.

They said they would have to figure out whether existing flat-roofed bus shelters could even bear the load of a green roof. That would be pointless, though, since the city is phasing out flat roofs in favour of sloped roofs, which better prevent rain, snow and ice from accumulating. 

New roof design 'unsuitable'

The response said those new translucent roofs would be "unsuitable" for green roofs unless they're customized, at added cost. They already cost $12,000 each, and there is no extra funding in the transit capital budget.

Further, staff said there are more promising ways to help pollinators thrive in the city, such as "naturalization targets" in city parks and recent bylaw changes that allow residents to plant diverse vegetation along roadsides.

"Even in the most urban neighbourhoods, planter boxes and street trees provide opportunities for pollinator foraging," the response said.

"We do not believe that installing green roofs on bus shelters would significantly improve pollinator habitat in Ottawa."

Hill said he's disappointed but undaunted.

"I will continue to be advocating on this issue in the future..." he said. "If bus shelters isn't the right option and there are other options that could become opportunities in the future then I'm happy to look at that."

Rural ditches could be pollinator paradise

Hill cited pollinator programs in Kemptville, Ont., and Lanark County as potential models. Elizabeth Gallant, climate environmental coordinator for Lanark County, said that region's program has successfully increased pollinator habitat in the county.

She said it doesn't rely on bus shelters, but instead plants wildflowers in roadside ditches. Gallant added there's more to the program than bees and butterflies.

"There's also a lot of other beneficial pollinators that people might not think of, like moths and flies, even bats, which we might not see very often," she said. "They're also known as really good pollinators. So we're trying to attract the whole spectrum of pollinators."

She said the Lanark program could be a good model for Ottawa, which has wide expanses of rural land with ditches.

In her view, ditches don't get nearly enough respect.

"They're often seen as just a bleak landscape that doesn't really have much value," she said. "But really, if you think of it, our roadsides connect everything. 

"So if we could turn those ditches into beneficial places for pollinators, we could really create a pathway for these pollinators throughout Ontario."