Ariel Troster
@arieltroster.bsky.social
Running for reelection as City Councillor for #SomersetWard in Ottawa. Queer Jew. A better city is possible. Let’s build it together. 🏳️🌈
Last week, my daughter asked why there were security guards in front of our synagogue during Rosh Hashanah services. And this morning, I had to tell her what just happened in Belleville.
Toronto Star@thestar.com · 11h agoLive updates: Shooter, officer injured in Belleville synagogue shooting identified
Over the last four years, I have been a leading voice on city council, fighting for safe infrastructure for cyclists, pedestrians, and people who mobility devices. In a ward where nearly 50% of residents don’t have a car, we need to make sure we have safe streets for all vulnerable road users.
This week’s canvass schedule is up — lots of opportunities to help us to talk to neighbours and help build a better city together. It’s fun, I promise! Sign up at troster2026.ca/shifts.
And I am grateful to have supporters like Cllr Troster who champion safe and active spaces for kids around the council table and in the community.
Ariel Troster@arieltroster.bsky.social · 2d agoI am ever grateful to @cassiesmith.bsky.social for organizing Kidical Mass, the bike bus, and so many other fantastic initiatives that introduce kids and families to riding bikes for fun and transportation.
I had the best time at the Kidical Mass ride to the Climate March rally this morning. Safe cycling facilities give kids independence, reduce emissions, prevent accidents and improve health outcomes.
Hope to see you at two fun events in Centretown today. First: the Kidical Mass bike ride to the Climate March, leaving from St. Luke’s Park at 11:15. Then I’ll be in Dundonald Park from 1-3pm, for the Candidate Meet + Greet, organized by the Centretown Grassroots Group. Come by and let’s chat!
My family and I went to see the Suzart production of Come From Away last night and were blown away. There are two more shows left today — GO. It is being held in the theatre at De La Salle High School — they had to scramble for a new venue after Centrepointe flooded. www.suzart.ca
It was great to stop by the Cornerstone Housing community BBQ on Eccles with @jleiper.bsky.social this afternoon. I am huge fan of all of the work that Cornerstone does to provide shelter and supportive housing to women and gender-diverse people in Ottawa.
We need to change the way we consult on city budgets, encouraging citizen participation before the ink is dry and things are more or less set in stone. Setting arbitrary tax increases before assessing our city’s real needs is leading to a downward spiral, fueled by austerity. We deserve better.
More than 100 people showed up at the city’s public engagement session to plan the new park and recreation centre that we will be building adjacent to the Plant Recreation Centre.
Today, I joined the Centretown Sweep, a volunteer street clean-up organized by the Centretown BIA and Operation Come Home. We picked up A LOT of cigarette butts. I am super grateful to the BIA for their Clean Team, as it has made a huge difference on Bank Street and the surrounding area.
Last night I canvassed in a condo building where a 96 yr old woman lives next door to her son, and where two seniors are dating who live on the same floor. Another woman spoke of raising her two kids in their apartment, which they have lived in since 2001. Community IS possible in a highrise tower.
Daisy remains the best assistant campaign manager — pictured below in 2022 and today.
Join us on October 8 for a fundraiser at Spark Beer! We’re entering the final stretch of the campaign, and we need your help to make it happen. You can RSVP through my website via troster2026.ca/pints_and_politics
A city rent bank could help stop people from falling into homelessness, while actually saving taxpayer money at the same time. The best way to stop homelessness is to prevent it from happening in the first place.
I had a great visit with Carling Miller at Kind Space today. This essential community organization in Centretown offers services and support to the 2SLGBTQ+ community and has been facing a funding shortfall. Donate here, if you can: www.kindspace.ca/donate.
On Friday, it was lovely to visit the Elizabeth Fry Society and learn about the work they do to house and help women exiting incarceration. The majority of the women they help have experienced either childhood abuse or intimate partner violence. I am so grateful to have this org in our community.
Daisy would like you to know that she is INNOCENT of the charge of stealing and eating an entire pepperoni pizza.
Come knock on doors with us, and help build a better city. It’s a lot of fun, I promise. There are even note-taking jobs for introverts. Sign up at troster2026.ca/shifts.
Findings of new study – released as fuel prices for motor vehicles soar internationally – include fatality rates dropping, per 10 million trips, by 88% in Paris, 82% in London and 62% in New York City Meanwhile in Ontario…Doug Ford is demanding that bike lanes are removed! 😱
Post-pandemic cycling boom in major cities, as cyclist safety improved thanks to more and better cycling infrastructure - Taylor & Francis Newsroom
Cycling in some of the world’s largest cities has continued to increase since the pandemic, thanks to safer and improved infrastructure which is also leading to a drop in fatality rates. Tracking data...
newsroom.taylorandfrancisgroup.com
Displacing problems doesn’t make them go away. We have fought for and won ANCHOR, more responsive community policing + outreach services. But we still need sustainable, long-term solutions to chronic addiction and homelessness— specifically a significant scale-up of high-needs supportive housing.
It’s hard to sum up four years in 60 seconds, but this was my opening statement today, during the Rogers TV debate for Ward 14. Thank you to my fellow candidates for a thoughtful and nuanced conversation.
I am so grateful to our midnight sign crew, as I am decidedly not a night owl. We will be delivering lawn signs all week, there’s still time to reserve yours: troster2026.ca/sign.
The glamour of running for municipal office: we spent yesterday power washing my campaign signs and removing last bits of graffiti (and moustaches) from 2022. They will be ready for tonight’s midnight sign blitz and distribution over the next week. Reserve yours: troster2026.ca/sign
I had a great time at the Seniors Active Living Fair and Open House at The Good Companions with @jleiper.bsky.social and @catmckenney.bsky.social yesterday. A whopping 544 people dropped by, and 380 free meal were served — that’s community impact.
When the community rallies, we achieve meaningful change together. The Gladstone-Gilmour Bikeway will get the trucks off of Gladstone and offer a new protected east-west route through downtown Ottawa. I am so proud of this major victory for safe cycling in Somerset Ward. www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
City council votes to remove truck route, add bike lanes on Gladstone Avenue | CBC News
Ottawa is moving forward with a plan to make Gladstone Avenue safer for biking three years after a collision involving a dump truck left a cyclist seriously injured. Gilmour Street is getting a new bi...
cbc.ca
The Gladstone-Gilmour Bikeway was unanimously approved by city council today 🎉🎉🎉
Ariel Troster@arieltroster.bsky.social · 4w agoHUGE win for cycling safety in Somerset Ward today! The Gladstone-Gilmour Bikeway was unanimously approved by the Public Works and Infrastructure Committee. Thank you to everyone who advocated for this important project after a terrible collision on Gladstone in 2023.
