Cycling in the National Capital Region

[rocketphish]

Bill 60 threatens 'dream' of multi-use pathway in Orléans, says councillor
Proposed law could affect projects across the city, Laura Dudas worries

Gabrielle Huston · CBC News
Posted: Nov 09, 2025 4:00 AM EST | Last Updated: 5 hours ago

Coun. Laura Dudas says she has been trying to make Orléans Boulevard safer since 2018, but new provincial legislation is threatening Ottawa's ability to alter its own roadways.

"I'm utterly disappointed," Dudas said. "When the province makes a decision that really dictates what the municipality can do on its own roadways, that is a significant cause for concern."

Bill 60 is an omnibus bill proposed by Premier Doug Ford's government in October. The provincial news release says the legislation aims to "protect Ontario's economy" and increase the housing supply.

But Bill 60 also prohibits municipalities from reducing the number of lanes available for motor vehicles to add bicycle lanes or "any other prescribed purpose."

"[Ottawa city] staff advised me that, you know, not only this project, but projects across the city — anything that includes any piece of cycling infrastructure that would reduce the lane size, that would impact vehicular traffic — could either be on hold or killed outright," Dudas said.

Orléans Boulevard is a major artery in the city's east end, connecting residents to schools, libraries and homes.

Dudas said she first heard residents' safety concerns when she was door-knocking before being elected to council in 2018.

"They wanted something safe [so] that they can take their kids to all these places along Orléans Boulevard in one fell swoop and not have to interact with truck traffic or buses," she said.

Dudas said she had proposed a multi-use pathway for cyclists, rollerbladers and pedestrians, one that would run from the Ottawa River past the future LRT station at Convent Glen and all the way to Innes Road.

<more>

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/ottawa-bill-60-bike-lanes-orleans-boulevard-roads-9.6963631

[Richard Eade]

Spoken as if it was from someone who doesn’t realize that cities are creatures of the Province. Sheesh! It sounds as if she believes that Provinces shouldn’t have control over what municipalities do to the local roads? Dudas doesn’t seem to realize that all highways fall under Provincial regulation. That is why the Highway Traffic Act is a Provincial thing.

Then there are statements like this that just reinforces my belief that she needs to actually think about what the legislation actually says:

"[Ottawa city] staff advised me that, you know, not only this project, but projects across the city — anything that includes any piece of cycling infrastructure that would reduce the lane size, that would impact vehicular traffic — could either be on hold or killed outright," Dudas said.

Emphasis added by me.

Seriously? Where in the legislation does it forbid decreasing “lane size”? It doesn’t. If you can add a 1.5m bike-lane by reducing two 4m traffic lanes to 3.25m each, then that is allowed – because there are still two vehicle lanes at the end.

That said, I think that Orleans Boulevard would be a great place to ADD Cycle Tracks. Not removing general traffic lanes, but ADDING peripheral Cycle Tracks. The RoW is wide enough for the addition without needing any extra property, so (as Kitchissippi points out) they could be added relatively inexpensively.

What the legislation is trying to ‘fix’ is municipalities choking off easy movement. The ease with which movement happens determines the economic health. Like it or not, traffic movement generates business.

But it is not always bad to replace a vehicle lane with something else – like a bike-lane or wider sidewalk. The key is that the lost capacity needs to be replaced with something better. If, for example, a subway was run under Bank Street, then there should be no issue with reducing the traffic lanes from two per direction to one, and installing bike-lanes and wider sidewalks. That is, of course, assuming that the subway connects useful places, thus drawing many riders from their vehicles. A successful subway would drastically reduce the traffic along Bank Street, and thus, a single lane would be sufficient for the remaining volume.

Alas, in Ottawa, converting a vehicle lane from a busy road into a bike-lane is not the same thing. It does not provide an improvement in the ease of movement. Although some will point out that ‘theoretically’ a bike-lane can carry more people per hour than a car lane, that is not the reality during a Wednesday morning in January. Ergo, for much of the year, traffic is throttled due to the lane loss.

Personally, I think that Bill 60 is necessary because some municipalities have a very piecemeal way of planning and constructing transportation infrastructure. Those municipalities are not taking a holistic view to improve ALL movements within the city. The Province now needs to step in and regulate what happens for the good of the economy.

That said, I would say that there should be a clause in Bill 60 that allows an over-ride of the very restrictive wording. Something like: “Unless permitted by the Minister”. There should be a process through which a municipality can apply to remove a vehicle lane with sufficient cause and compensation for the economy.

[J.OT13]

From the Councillor who killed the active transportation improvements that were proposed for the Orleans Boulevard by the City.

In any case, although the Province has the authority to meddle in municipal affairs, it should not. We have enough problems in Ontario without them wasting time and money on killing bike lanes and speed cameras.

[phil235]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

From the Councillor who killed the active transportation improvements that were proposed for the Orleans Boulevard by the City.

In any case, although the Province has the authority to meddle in municipal affairs, it should not. We have enough problems in Ontario without them wasting time and money on killing bike lanes and speed cameras.

Absolutely. If planning local road design isn't the domain of municipal governments, then what on earth is? Maybe we are just trending towards eliminating municipal councils and running everything from Toronto, to keep local leaders from making "bad" decisions.

[TransitZilla]

Originally Posted by Richard Eade

That said, I think that Orleans Boulevard would be a great place to ADD Cycle Tracks. Not removing general traffic lanes, but ADDING peripheral Cycle Tracks. The RoW is wide enough for the addition without needing any extra property, so (as Kitchissippi points out) they could be added relatively inexpensively.

I was thinking the same thing, but this would be impossible on the Orleans Blvd overpass itself. The legislation as written would seem to make it illegal to (for example) reduce the lanes on the bridge from 4 to 3 to make room for a cycle track. The only way to do it legally would be to widen the overpass, which would likely be prohibitively expensive.

Alas, in Ottawa, converting a vehicle lane from a busy road into a bike-lane is not the same thing. It does not provide an improvement in the ease of movement. Although some will point out that ‘theoretically’ a bike-lane can carry more people per hour than a car lane, that is not the reality during a Wednesday morning in January. Ergo, for much of the year, traffic is throttled due to the lane loss.

This would only be the case if the road was at capacity. The bill also makes it illegal to change any roads that are underutilized and overbuilt. This is a clear overreach and an undemocratic override on local decision making.

[rocketphish]

Enthusiastic cyclists gearing up for another Ottawa winter
The city's winter network includes multi-use pathways and on-street bike lanes, primarily in the downtown core and surrounding areas, which are maintained to the same level as sidewalks and vehicle travel lanes.

By Natasha Baldin, Ottawa Citizen
Published Nov 13, 2025 | Last updated 8 hours ago

Like many others in Ottawa, one of Dave Robertson’s first thoughts when snow hit the ground for the first time this season was about when he should put on his winter tires.

But, as an all-season cyclist, Robertson isn’t talking about car tires. He’s thinking about putting studded winter tires on his bicycle, which he uses for everything from commuting to the office to going for groceries.

“People who drive cars have similar conversations: When do I push that button and get the winter tires on?” said Robertson, who also owns the bike rental company Let’s Go Cargo!

Robertson is one of the growing number of cyclists choosing to keep using their bikes in the colder winter months, adjusting their daily routes to stay on Ottawa’s 60-kilometre network of winter-maintained cycling infrastructure.

The winter network includes multi-use pathways and on-street bike lanes, primarily in the downtown core and surrounding areas, which are maintained to the same level as sidewalks and vehicle travel lanes, according to the City of Ottawa’s website. This means they’re plowed after 2.5 centimetres to five centimetres of snow hits the ground, with snow removal scheduled after snowbanks encroach onto 50 per cent of the existing bike lane.

For Robertson and other winter cyclists, the multi-use pathways are often the most reliable way to get around the city. Plows are often “out there right away” after snowfall, he said.

<more>

https://ottawacitizen.com/news/cyclists-ottawa-winter

[lrt's friend]

I attended a public meeting at Leitrim on Monday evening. I see plans for a gold standard complete street that delivers sidewalks and cycle tracks on Bank Street. Great except that it eliminates parking at our building and transit service was eliminated earlier this year as well. My complaint is to have a grass strip between the road and the cycle track that crosses right through our parking lot and wastes space. Why is this necessary when the cycle track ends immediately to the north. There is no safe cycling or pedestrian access beyond that towards the city, not even a road shoulder. This leaves us in a terrible bind while we build gold standard complete street the leads you nowhere and will serve almost nobody. There seems to be no compromise We lose while the bike lobby gets the absolute best outcome

[TransitZilla]

Originally Posted by lrt's friend

I attended a public meeting at Leitrim on Monday evening. I see plans for a gold standard complete street that delivers sidewalks and cycle tracks on Bank Street. Great except that it eliminates parking at our building and transit service was eliminated earlier this year as well. My complaint is to have a grass strip between the road and the cycle track that crosses right through our parking lot and wastes space. Why is this necessary when the cycle track ends immediately to the north. There is no safe cycling or pedestrian access beyond that towards the city, not even a road shoulder. This leaves us in a terrible bind while we build gold standard complete street the leads you nowhere and will serve almost nobody. There seems to be no compromise We lose while the bike lobby gets the absolute best outcome

The plans for the Bank/Leitrim intersection shows that Bank will be rebuilt to the north with paved shoulders; these will connect with the paved shoulders on Conroy, so there will be a route into the city.

I agree it would be even better if the cycle tracks continued up to Conroy Rd. At one time there was talk of an NCC MUP along Conroy but I'm not sure if that is still being contemplated.

Are you referring to parking for the church?

[Aylmer]

Why is it that it's always the minimum-width bike lanes and the barest little patch of greenery that are the unacceptable waste of space... and not the massive double-left-turn lanes?

[urbanforest]

Originally Posted by lrt's friend

My complaint is to have a grass strip between the road and the cycle track that crosses right through our parking lot and wastes space.

Is the city buying that section of your parking lot from you to build the cycle track or has your parking lot actually been using public, city-owned land this whole time?

Somehow I don’t feel very sympathetic to your plight.

[roger1818]

Originally Posted by Aylmer

Why is it that it's always the minimum-width bike lanes and the barest little patch of greenery that are the unacceptable waste of space... and not the massive double-left-turn lanes?

This!!! I find it ridiculous the amount of land that is wasted for for wide stroads that take forever to walk across and effectively act as a pedestrian barrier, thus contributing to more car use which "requires" even wider roads. If we could make our streets more pedestrian, cyclist and transit friendly we wouldn't need such wide roads and so much parking. I am not saying we need to "ban cars" but instead that we need to make our city more equally accessible to all modes of transportation instead of taking a car first mentality.

[rocketphish]

Bill 60 likely forcing Ottawa to cut at least 3 bike lane projects
City staff believe 2 downtown projects, 1 in Orléans cannot move forward

Nathan Fung · CBC News
Posted: Nov 27, 2025 8:57 AM EST | Last Updated: 9 minutes ago

New provincial legislation prohibiting how municipalities can build bike lanes means three projects in Ottawa likely can't move forward and others will get more expensive, according to a city report.

The report to the city's public works and infrastructure committee Thursday goes over some of the high-level effects of Bill 60, an omnibus bill that passed third reading Monday.

Part of that legislation prohibits municipalities from reducing the number of lanes available for motor vehicles to add bicycle lanes or "any other prescribed purpose" if they haven't already signed a construction contract.

Two such projects are in downtown Ottawa: extending the bike lane on O'Connor Street north to Wellington Street and changes to Albert and Slater streets when existing bus lanes are decommissioned.

About $1.7 million has already been spent on them, city staff said.

<more>

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/bill-60-ontario-bike-lane-ottawa-cancel-9.6993815

[phil235]

Originally Posted by rocketphish

Bill 60 likely forcing Ottawa to cut at least 3 bike lane projects
City staff believe 2 downtown projects, 1 in Orléans cannot move forward

Nathan Fung · CBC News
Posted: Nov 27, 2025 8:57 AM EST | Last Updated: 9 minutes ago

New provincial legislation prohibiting how municipalities can build bike lanes means three projects in Ottawa likely can't move forward and others will get more expensive, according to a city report.

The report to the city's public works and infrastructure committee Thursday goes over some of the high-level effects of Bill 60, an omnibus bill that passed third reading Monday.

Part of that legislation prohibits municipalities from reducing the number of lanes available for motor vehicles to add bicycle lanes or "any other prescribed purpose" if they haven't already signed a construction contract.

Two such projects are in downtown Ottawa: extending the bike lane on O'Connor Street north to Wellington Street and changes to Albert and Slater streets when existing bus lanes are decommissioned.

About $1.7 million has already been spent on them, city staff said.

<more>

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/bill-60-ontario-bike-lane-ottawa-cancel-9.6993815

What a shame. This is going to result in a much worse situation where bike lanes that have already been partially build start and stop and throw cyclists into traffic. That creates danger for virtually no gain in mobility for anyone.

The one on O'Connor is particularly bad. There is so little traffic on the remaining stretch that it makes no sense to force the city to keep 3 or 4 traffic lanes there. It's ridiculous that the province has any involvement whatsoever in this kind of local planning. Hopefully the next government comes in and kills this law immediately, as the opportunity cost it is creating is huge.

[DarthVader_1961]

Originally Posted by phil235

What a shame. This is going to result in a much worse situation where bike lanes that have already been partially build start and stop and throw cyclists into traffic. That creates danger for virtually no gain in mobility for anyone.

The one on O'Connor is particularly bad. There is so little traffic on the remaining stretch that it makes no sense to force the city to keep 3 or 4 traffic lanes there. It's ridiculous that the province has any involvement whatsoever in this kind of local planning. Hopefully the next government comes in and kills this law immediately, as the opportunity cost it is creating is huge.

Wondering if the Bank street revitalization efforts will be impacted. Brand new bike lanes being installed from Riverside west head south in bank…. Such short sightedness in Ford’s part

[J.OT13]

Absolutely horrible legislation. This pauses major progress towards a solid north-south and east-west bike corridor that are desperately needed.

[dougvdh]

Originally Posted by DarthVader_1961

Wondering if the Bank street revitalization efforts will be impacted. Brand new bike lanes being installed from Riverside west head south in bank…. Such short sightedness in Ford’s part

That one should be safe since it doesn't remove any vehicle lanes.

[rocketphish]

Study suggests public bike-sharing system feasible in Ottawa-Gatineau

By Ted Raymond, CTV News
Published: April 09, 2026 at 5:37PM EDT

A feasibility study into bringing a bike-sharing system back to Ottawa suggests a public system could work in the National Capital Region, but city staff say it could cost up to $10 million to launch.

Capital Ward Coun. Shawn Menard got the wheels moving on a study back in 2023, with a motion looking for recommendations on a new bike-sharing system in the region. Several bike-share programs have operated in Ottawa in the past, including the Capital Bixi Bike program and operations such as Right Bike, VeloGo and CycleHop. The last bike-share program ceased operations in Ottawa in 2018.

Menard shared the feasibility study on his website, which suggests Ottawa develop a program that runs three seasons out of the year to start, to reduce initial capital costs.

Options to explore having e-bikes as part of the system were also looked at.

“It is anticipated that e-bikes would increase the number of people that would use the system, and help people travel further, but would introduce increased capital and operational costs,” a memo to members of the public works and infrastructure committee said.

Using a docking system for the bikes would be more intuitive for riders and would also alleviate concerns about inappropriate parking but would be additional infrastructure costs, the memo says.

An initial service area covering approximately 7.5 square kilometres in Gatineau and 22.5 sq. km in Ottawa is suggested, according to the study. This would serve approximately 157,000 residents and encompass areas such as Hull, Centretown, Hintonburg, Lowertown, the ByWard Market, Sandy Hill, Vanier, The Glebe, and Old Ottawa South. The study suggests launching with 1,200 bikes across the region — 900 in Ottawa and 300 in Gatineau.

City staff say it could cost up to $10 million up front to build the infrastructure required and to launch a bike-sharing system on the Ottawa side, and between $450,000 and $2.2 million per year to operate it, depending on e-bike inclusion and revenue generated by users and sponsors. Additional funding could also come from grants from other levels of government or partners such as the National Capital Commission, the memo says.

Staff say, however, some additional review is required.

In particular, staff want to complete a more comprehensive review of the difference between a public or private model, assess the market for more information on options and potential interest in a private system, develop a funding strategy, and see if there is a lower cost option for an initial launch. This could take up to a year, with a presentation to the public works and infrastructure committee in the spring of 2027.

Menard said there will be an information item presented to the committee on April 23.

https://www.ctvnews.ca/ottawa/article/st...ring-system-feasible-in-ottawa-gatineau/

[J.OT13]

Starting with pre-WWII neighborhoods makes sense. It's too bad we can't continue to build the bike infra at the rate we were before because of the blond bumbling idiot at Queen's Park.

I do with the NCC could take over bike share, and frankly transit, in the entire region.

[J.OT13]

• Video Link

[lrt's friend]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

Starting with pre-WWII neighborhoods makes sense. It's too bad we can't continue to build the bike infra at the rate we were before because of the blond bumbling idiot at Queen's Park.

I do with the NCC could take over bike share, and frankly transit, in the entire region.

I think this is more nuanced about bikeways on urban streets. When there are only 4 available lanes, you can't have everything.

We want wider sidewalks, cycle tracks, bus lanes and some room for traffic. This is not possible in a 4 lane scenario.

At some point, we have to prioritize. In some cases, we have been placing transit at the bottom of the heap. This is not a good thing. I have argued that when there is a grid street pattern and only 4 lanes available, cycle tracks should be one block over.

When your urban street includes retail and is also an arterial, your priorities need to be pedestrians, transit and general traffic. When there is not enough space, cycling should be nearby. On-street parking is the lowest priority, by far.

Almost all of Ottawa's urban arterials in centretown and other urban neighbourhoods are only 4 lanes wide and this creates a major challenge to satisfy everybody.

Montreal Road in Vanier has been one of the biggest challenges. Urban, retail, arterial, only 4 lanes available and the lack of a grid street layout.

Old Ottawa has greatly outgrown its available infrastructure. But we also want much more intensification too. I am not sure how this is sustainable in the long term without going underground.