NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH

uNepean

uHintonburg

Once notorious for being on the seedy side, this hip ’hood will get a bit “seedier” when National Access Cannabis, a marijuana education centre, opens its doors this spring to assist licensed marijuana users (or those seeking licences) in the process of acquiring cannabis safely and legally. BMX racing is making a comeback. To accommodate growing interest in the sport popularized in the 1970s, Epic Indoor Bike Park in the west end will offer a facility for fans to practise yearround. With a cross-country course, half-pipe, foam pit, and camps for BMXers of all ages, it’s far out!

uCentretown

Looking for a loo? Unless the city forces the Rideau Transit Group — the consortium hired to build the Confederation Line of the LRT — you’ll be left doing the pants dance out in the cold. Pressuring the city for more toilets is GottaGo! a campaign that has enlisted help from Carleton Univeristy industrial design students and the Raging Grannies in recent months. 416

uSandy Hill

It’s increasingly an old person’s world. According to Statistics Canada, the number of Canadians over the age of 65 increased by five million between 2006 174 and 2011. In response, Canada’s first longevity centre opens this month at the University of Ottawa; the International Longevity Centre of Canada will join an alliance of centres around the world that examine issues related to aging.

uSt. Laurent Boulevard

The Atlas rocket — a landmark since it was acquired in 1973 by the Canada Science and Technology Museum — was removed earlier this year because of safety concerns. Despite hopes that the 59-year-old rocket could be relocated to Tennessee’s Discovery Park, it has apparently been cut up into little pieces, per instructions from the U.S. Air Force, which owns the rocket.