Cycling in the National Capital Region

[acottawa]

Originally Posted by Multi-modal

On the City of Ottawa's public engagement website they've put up feedback on the Mcarther Avenue bike lanes. I'm impressed with they're willingness to improve things using the surveys. They've changed the design after a lot of comments asked them to move to parking protected bike lanes:



Construction is supposed to start this summer. Anyone know if its already started?

http://ottawa.ca/en/city-hall/public-eng...t-laurent-boulevard-and-north-river-road

Similarly, they've revised the design for the Trillium Pathway extension to Prince of Wales... they changed it quite a bit, and removed the two crossings they were proposing. I think that change is less about public feedback and more because they wanted to reduce costs and were scared of the regulatory headaches of the un-signalized crossings they were proposing.

http://ottawa.ca/en/city-hall/public-eng...al-design-study-carling-avenue-dows-lake

I still find it nonsensical that they have just completely reconstructed the sidewalks on both sides of Donald (which has a direct connection to the Adawe Bridge and cycling infrastructure East of St Laurent) and won't install an MUP but are willing to spend money on McArthur, which is a truck route, dead ends at St Laurent and has no direct connection to any bridge.

[Multi-modal]

Originally Posted by acottawa

I still find it nonsensical that they have just completely reconstructed the sidewalks on both sides of Donald (which has a direct connection to the Adawe Bridge and cycling infrastructure East of St Laurent) and won't install an MUP but are willing to spend money on McArthur, which is a truck route, dead ends at St Laurent and has no direct connection to any bridge.

That was the most common comment:

"42 comments mentioned larger planning issues relating to the Ottawa Cycling Plan, more specifically the Donald Street shared use lane project. Some comments requested funding to construct higher order cycling facilities along Donald Street."

The response:

"After reviewing feedback on the recent consultations regarding McArthur Avenue, many residents asked for Donald Street to be improved for cyclists. In the very near term, pavement markings (sharrows) will be added along sections of the Donald Corridor. In the longer term, staff will propose the status of this corridor be re-evaluated during the next cycling plan review to provide a higher level cycling facility with reserved space for cyclists if space permits."

[acottawa]

Originally Posted by Multi-modal

"After reviewing feedback on the recent consultations regarding McArthur Avenue, many residents asked for Donald Street to be improved for cyclists. In the very near term, pavement markings (sharrows) will be added along sections of the Donald Corridor. In the longer term, staff will propose the status of this corridor be re-evaluated during the next cycling plan review to provide a higher level cycling facility with reserved space for cyclists if space permits."

So rather than pay the difference between a brand new sidewalk and an MUP (the ROW on Donald is huge), they are paying for the MacArthur project, paying for the sharrow project, and then will pay for a "higher level cycling facility" at some point in the future.

[Multi-modal]

Originally Posted by acottawa

So rather than pay the difference between a brand new sidewalk and an MUP (the ROW on Donald is huge), they are paying for the MacArthur project, paying for the sharrow project, and then will pay for a "higher level cycling facility" at some point in the future.

Correct.

I agree with you though... they should have saved the money spent on MacArthur to do Donald properly as soon as possible.

I suspect this has to do with the source of the funding .... the City may be using cycling funding AND funding put aside for traffic calming to "kill two birds with one stone". They probably couldn't use the traffic calming portion of the funding for Donald.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by Dr.Z

You are correct. Many cyclist commuters I know take the canal path between Downtown and Glebe/areas south for that very reason. There are different types of cyclist commuters just like there are different types of driving commuters. The more aggressive, on-a-schedule ones will prefer a more direct path and avg 20+ kmh (including traffic light stops (assuming they stop). The less aggressive ones enjoy more scenic routes that are away/separated from vehicular traffic and have the feeling of being safer. In the driving world we call these folk "sunday-drivers".

I thought about this thread on my bike ride home last night.

I was on a shared path (actually it had a concrete sidewalk next to an asphalt bike path), and a speeding cyclist came within inches of running over a three or four year old girl. She was with her mom who had two other kids in tow but the girl who almost got hit was walking maybe five to ten metres in front of her mom and siblings. She was dawdling both on the sidewalk and the bike track. There was just us (me, the family and the cyclist) there and the visibility is good, so I can't fathom how the cyclist didn't see the young family ahead and didn't slow down.

[rocketphish]

New bike repair stations going in across Ottawa
By the end of the day Friday, the city will have 17 stations installed

By: Alex Abdelwahab, Metro
Published on Thu Aug 17 2017



As part of an initiative to improve the safey of Ottawa's road, the city has installed a number of new bike repair stations this week.

By the end of day Friday, 17 stations will be in place across the city, stretching from Stittsville to Cumberland and from the core, to as far south as Carp.

"Every day another station's gone in this week," Rob Wilkinson, coordinator of the Safer Roads Program said, who partnered on the project with Ottawa Public Health, Stantec and the EnviroCentre.

Wilkinson said the idea is to help people keep their bikes in reliable working condition to improve safety.

"Whether that's their tire is full of air, whether that's their chain being tightened, their pedal being tightened, their brakes being tightened," he said.

All of the repair stations are brighly coloured and include a pump, and a number of tools attached to a stand. They have been placed in areas people are likely to travel by bike, including libraries, Park and Ride Stations, community centres and parks.

Stittsville Councillor Shad Qadri said he was particularly proud of the new one in Stittsville because it was put along the TransCanada Trail.

"It's located right on the trail. It's a park setting, to help those riders as they come through and if they have issues with their bicycles, they can now repair them," he said.

"It's so nice to see this kind of thing put in further from the core to try include more people," Heather Sherrar, vice president of Bike Ottawa, said.

"Not everybody always travels with a pump, so the more of these kinds of stations we have around the city, if you run into the trouble, the more likely it is that you might be able to fix yourself up."

The first repair station went in at Ottawa City Hall back in 2015.

http://www.metronews.ca/news/ottawa/2017/08/17/new-bike-repair-stations-going-in-across-ottawa.html

[TransitZilla]

New online consultation for design of cycling facilities on Hunt Club Road between Riverside and Paul Benoit:

http://ottawa.ca/en/city-hall/public-eng...ink-riverside-drive-paul-benoit-driveway

(The page says that this will complete a cycling link on Hunt Club from Hwy 416 to Esson St but this is not true- there is still a gap between Bank and Cahill).

[TransitZilla]

Originally Posted by rocketphish

New bike repair stations going in across Ottawa
By the end of the day Friday, the city will have 17 stations installed

By: Alex Abdelwahab, Metro
Published on Thu Aug 17 2017

As part of an initiative to improve the safey of Ottawa's road, the city has installed a number of new bike repair stations this week.

By the end of day Friday, 17 stations will be in place across the city, stretching from Stittsville to Cumberland and from the core, to as far south as Carp.

Wow, I didn't think Carp was particularly South...

[waterloowarrior]

Woodroffe Avenue Reconstruction Opportunity

During Stage 2 LRT construction, Woodroffe Avenue will be widened between Iris Street and Baseline Road to accommodate OC Transpo bus detours. Once the Stage 2 LRT west extension enters revenue service, Woodroffe Avenue can be rebuilt to achieve the following outcomes and benefits:

-Meet Provincial accessibility standards for persons of all ages and abilities
-Shift cyclists from general traffic lanes to raised cycle tracks
-Maintain pre-construction traffic lanes

The City of Ottawa held a public meeting on August 17, 2017 to discuss reconstruction options for Woodroffe Avenue from Iris Street to Baseline Road after the Stage 2 Light Rail Transit (LRT) Project is complete.

http://ottawa.ca/en/city-hall/public-eng...droffe-avenue-reconstruction-opportunity

[zzptichka]

Originally Posted by waterloowarrior

The City of Ottawa held a public meeting on August 17, 2017 to discuss reconstruction options for Woodroffe Avenue from Iris Street to Baseline Road after the Stage 2 Light Rail Transit (LRT) Project is complete.

Never heard of this public meeting and I usually follow this stuff pretty closely.
Nothing on twitter and elsewhere online. Did it even happen?

Edit: nevermind it did. Here's Chiarelli casually posing with some boards

[roger1818]

Originally Posted by bradnixon

Wow, I didn't think Carp was particularly South...

Ya. I was thinking the same thing. Considering there is one in Stittsville (which is south of Carp), I would guess Alex Abdelwahab failed geography.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by roger1818

Ya. I was thinking the same thing. Considering there is one in Stittsville (which is south of Carp), I would guess Alex Abdelwahab failed geography.

Or just made an honest mistake.

[mykl]

From the LRT updates page (here's the link for pictures: http://www.ligneconfederationline.ca/news/booth-street-bridge-connectivity-improvement/)

Booth Street Bridge Connectivity Improvement

A design solution has been confirmed that will improve connectivity and cycling safety on Booth Street between Albert Street and the intersection of the Sir John A. Macdonald Parkway.

This functional design solution, which features a mix of cycle tracks and bike lanes along Booth Street, will provide safe cycling connectivity within this important active transportation corridor to many current and future amenities in this area, including:

Future Confederation Line Pimisi station
Bike paths between Ottawa and Gatineau
Canadian War Museum and Holocaust Memorial
Future developments in the vicinity, including LeBreton Flats and Zibi

This solution would not have been possible without the collaboration between the City and several active transportation groups including Citizens for Safe Cycling, Healthy Transportation Coalition, EcoDistrict Ottawa, West Side Action (Blog), Ecology Ottawa, Share the Road Ottawa and the City of Ottawa Environmental Stewardship Advisory Committee.

Pictured below are functional design renderings of the future Booth Street cycling solution. These renderings are subject to change once the detailed design phase commences.

[roger1818]

Originally Posted by mykl

From the LRT updates page (here's the link for pictures: http://www.ligneconfederationline.ca/news/booth-street-bridge-connectivity-improvement/)

Here are the picttures:

[dougvdh]

I'd like to see some drawings covering the entire length from Albert to SJAM because from the images, it's not clear what happens beyond where the bus bays were. From what's built currently, I'm not sure where they are finding the ROW width to create a proper bikelane or cycletrack on the north end.

[Kitchissippi]

I'd like to know how a tree that big could grow on the bridge

[dougvdh]

Originally Posted by Kitchissippi

I'd like to know how a tree that big could grow on the bridge

They've got that covered: "These renderings are subject to change once the detailed design phase commences."

[McC]

Originally Posted by dougvdh

I'd like to see some drawings covering the entire length from Albert to SJAM because from the images, it's not clear what happens beyond where the bus bays were. From what's built currently, I'm not sure where they are finding the ROW width to create a proper bikelane or cycletrack on the north end.

I think it's just the existing bike lanes north of the station until next phases of the Flats are developed:
http://www.westsideaction.com/fixing-booth-freeway-fiasco/

[Multi-modal]

That cyclist guidance fence needs some more gaps in it. I get why they have it... to guide cyclists around the shelter, but it also forces transit users to hug curb as they go to and from the shelter area. There should be a gap to allow pedestrians to get to the sidewalk without having to follow the curb. Also, there must be more attractive ways than a fence to guide cyclists (another raised planter?).

Anyway, I guess that's for detailed. I hope they do some public consultation on this one.... not everyone is a card-carrying member of their local bike lobbyist group.

[TransitZilla]

Got the city's latest Cycling in the City e-mail....

Cycling in the City - September 2017

Rideau River Western Pathway

Construction is well underway on an extension to the Rideau River Western Pathway. This current project will lengthen the existing multi-use pathway between Strathcona Park and the uOttawa Lees Avenue campus a further 1.4km to the south to Onslow Crescent. The project will provide an active transportation corridor that will connect the uOttawa Lees Campus, Springhurst Park, Greystone Village and Brantwood Park. At Brantwood Park southbound cyclists will transition to the shared-vehicle lanes along Onslow Crescent, Bullock Avenue and Rideau Garden Drive to continue southwards along the Rideau River. Although some segments of the pathway will open in fall 2017 the full pathway is not expected to be completed until early summer 2018.

A separate project currently underway within Windsor Park in Old Ottawa South is renewing the existing park pathway and upgrading it to the City's multi-use pathway standard as part of the long-term plan for walking and cycling within the Rideau River western corridor. Additional information can be found on the City's website.

Campeau Drive Multi-Use Pathway

Construction is also advanced on the Campeau Drive multi-use pathway. This project is replacing the existing sidewalk on the northside of Campeau Drive with a multi-use pathway to better serve residents of this area. The new segment of multi-use pathway extends from Knduson Drive to Teron Road, a distance of approximately 1km.
The main 3m-wide asphalt pathway has been installed and is now operational, with the restoration and regrading of the boulevards also completed. Short segments of cycle tracks have been constructed to the west of the Knudson Drive intersection to provide a connection between the multi-use pathway and the roadway. The project is anticipated to be fully finished later this fall, once the pavement markings and signage are completed.

St. Laurent Road Rehabilitation

As part of the improvements currently being constructed for transit services along St. Laurent Boulevard between Industrial Road and Smyth Road, improvements for cyclists are also being delivered. The reconstruction of the road to accommodate a bus-only lane also includes new raised cycle tracks in both the north and south directions, and provides a cross-ride at the Industrial Road and Innes Road intersection for cyclists using the east-west multi-use pathway, which is also being extended. Construction on this project is ongoing, and the segments of raised cycle tracks have been partially constructed although are not yet operational.
Completion of this multi-year project is anticipated in late 2017; details can be found on the City's website.

Trans-Orléans Multi-Use Pathway

Construction of the Trans-Orléans Pathway is anticipated to begin later this summer. This long-distance pathway, approximately 3km in length, is a predominantly off-road route between Liska Street and Trim Road, approximately halfway between Innes Road and Brian Coburn Boulevard. This facility provides a low-stress east-west route that connects to a number of community destinations within the Avalon and Notting Hill neighbourhoods, including Avalon Public School, Cumberland Millennium Sports Park and OC Transpo's Millennium Park and Ride facility. The Trans-Orleans Pathway project will connect to another multi-use pathway also being built in the neighbourhood this year; the Avalon Pathway is located within the hydro-corridor between Chardonnay Drive and Brian Coburn Boulevard.
Completion of the Trans-Orleans pathway is expected in late-summer 2018; a drawing showing the pathway route can be found on the City's website.

Hunt Club Road Cycling Link – Consultation Now Online

The City of Ottawa is in the planning stage for improving cycling conditions along Hunt Club Road between Riverside Drive and Paul Benoit Driveway. The draft design proposes a shared pedestrian and one-way (westbound) cycling facility for the northside of Hunt Club Road, and a separate cycle track and sidewalk for the southside where there is more space.
This project is identified within the 2013 Ottawa Cycling Plan to be constructed within the period 2020 to 2025, however the City of Ottawa has received federal stimulus funding to complete the design work ahead of this time. To view the proposed design and submit your feedback by 20 September, please visit the project webpage.

Booth Street Bridge Improvements – Design Solution

A combination of cycle tracks and bike lanes have been proposed as a preliminary design solution for the Booth Street Bridge. This infrastructure project will provide a safe cycling facility in a key active transportation corridor serving a number of important local destinations. These destinations include the Confederation Line Pimisi station, planned development sites such as LeBreton Flats and Zibi, and onward cycling connections both along and across the Ottawa River.

This preliminary design solution was developed as a collaboration between the City and several community active transportation groups including Citizens for Safe Cycling, Healthy Transportation Coalition, EcoDistrict Ottawa, West Side Action (Blog), Ecology Ottawa, Share the Road and the City of Ottawa Environmental Stewardship Advisory Committee. For more information, please visit the City's Confederation Line website.

Use the Yellow Dots to Activate the Green Light

The City would like to remind Ottawa cyclists to wait on the three yellow dots to make sure that you get a green light when waiting at a traffic signal. The three yellow dots are installed at signalized intersections to indicate to cyclists where the most responsive part of the metal-detecting 'loop' is embedded in the asphalt. This loop senses when vehicles, including bicycles, are stopped in this location and sends a request to change the signal to green within the next cycle. If you are not stopped on the yellow dots, you may not get the green light.

Mackenzie Avenue Cycle Tracks

The Mackenzie Avenue cycle tracks opened in mid-May and the data collected in the first couple of months shows some positive trends. Firstly, the bike tracks have encouraged more people to ride within this corridor, with between two to three times more cyclists using Mackenzie Avenue compared with before the cycle tracks opened. Secondly, combined with efforts made to encourage cyclists to use the new cycling facility instead of the sidewalk on the west side of Mackenzie Avenue, recent counts showed that over 85% of cyclists within the corridor are now using the cycle tracks, reducing the risk of conflict with pedestrians.

Overall, cyclist volumes in July and August are averaging slightly less than 10,000 per week, with 2552 trips counted on the busiest day (Friday 28 July 2017). The majority of cyclists are travelling southbound (75%), with most continuing along Colonel By Drive to connect with the Rideau Canal Eastern Pathway. City staff plan to begin the functional design process for extensions to the Mackenzie Avenue facility at its current southern terminus, to improve the cycling connections to the south and east directions. The improvements will make the Mackenzie Avenue facility an even more important connection within the City's downtown bikeway network.

Ontario Municipal Commuter Cycling Funding

In late May the Ministry of Transportation launched the multi-year Ontario Municipal Commuter Cycling (OMCC) program. In 2017 this program is making up to $50M available province-wide to invest in cycling infrastructure to help reduce the volume of greenhouse gases generated from the transportation sector. On 23 June 2017, Ottawa Centre MPP Yasir Naqvi announced the allocation of $5M in 2017 OMCC funding for the City of Ottawa towards the construction of the new Rideau Canal crossing. Construction of this new bridge, connecting Fifth Avenue and Clegg Street, is anticipated to begin this fall. For more information on the Rideau Canal bridge project, please visit the project webpage on the City's website.