Category: cycling in Ottawa

Bayview, cycling in Ottawa, hintonburg, streetscaping, Trees

Potted Tree Planting

Westsideaction

Tom Brown arena got new front entry paving and landscaping courtesy of the water main installation along Bayview Road. The old front entry had a large concrete planter with low walls. Trees in it rooted right into the underlying soil. A sign on it indicated Tom Brown’s ghost or a concerned neighbor maintained the planting bed. The new entry treatment has lots and lots of trees. I love this aggressive tree planting. One tree philosophy, I’m told, is to plant too many trees in the expectation that some will die. Rather than come back and replace them (which is expensive), they just … Continue reading Potted Tree Planting

cycling in Ottawa, hintonburg, somerset street, streetscaping

Garland Bike Lane

Westsideaction

West Wellington, like Preston, has been reconstructed to be two lanes of traffic, plus parking bays. There is no marked bike path but the traffic lane is supposed to be so wide it can accomodate cyclists and motorists compatibly. The lane width is rather cosy for cyclists and the No 2 OC Transpo bus or the many trucks in the area. And there are door prizes to be won. Cyclists are also being directed to marked bike routes parallel to West Wellington along two-way Armstrong street. It remains to be seen what amenities cyclists will get along Armstrong (other than … Continue reading Garland Bike Lane

Albert St, Booth St, cycling in Ottawa

They Tried …

Westsideaction

There is a traffic detour around the sewer control station being reconstructed on Booth Street immediately north of Albert. The four lanes are very narrow and the traffic persists in moving too fast. This week, safety no doubt improved immeasurably with the addition of a yellow sign in each direction showing a car beside a bike. Does this mean “no passing” or “share the lane”? In either case, the temp lanes are so narrow no one can pass a cyclist in the same lane. Continue reading They Tried …

bixi bike, Cdn War Museum, cycling in Ottawa

Bixi Bike Service Expanding in Ottawa

Westsideaction

  The experimental bike share/rental system in Ottawa-Gatineau will expand next year. There are currently 4 stations – including the NAC, Musee de Civilization, and ByWard Market. The sleek bikes have 3 speeds in an internal hub (protected), an internal chain (no greasy stains on your pants or sox), adjustable seats, head and tail lights, and of course a distinctive shape. The system will be expanded to 50 sites, but whether this is all next year or over several years is not yet clear. Sites have to be reasonably close together to be useful, frequent, and at desired destinations. Presumably the operators want … Continue reading Bixi Bike Service Expanding in Ottawa

bikewest, cycling in Ottawa

Roger Geller, Portland’s Bike Experience

Westsideaction

Roger Geller, cycling coordinator for the city of Portland, OR spoke last evening at the CfSC meeting held at Tom Brown arena. Here are some of the points he raised in his PPT presentation on cycling in Portland. 1. There is a continuous interplay of facilities, ridership, politicies/politics, and funding. It is akin to a virtuous cycle, with any improvement to cycling facilities leading to increased ridership, more political support, then more funding of improved facilities, etc. The most common spot for the cycle to be broken is the policies/politics phase. He advises cycling advocacy groups to go for simple, … Continue reading Roger Geller, Portland’s Bike Experience

bikewest, cycling in Ottawa

Words of Wisdom from Velo Quebec in Ottawa

Westsideaction

On Monday evening over 100 people jammed into a too-small reception room at the Lord Elgin to hear Suzanne Lareau. She is head of Velo Quebec, a cycling lobby and information group. The event was organized by Cycle Vision Ottawa (why weren’t they signing up memberships??). It wasn’t just ordinary citizens that came out in unexpected numbers to hear her speak. Prominent in the front row were Roger Geller (cycling coordinator from Portland OR and speaker at tonight’s meeting at Tom Brown arena), Vivi Chi and Mona Abouhenidy and Robin Bennet from the City, and Marc Corriveau, new transit and cycling … Continue reading Words of Wisdom from Velo Quebec in Ottawa

bikewest, cycling in Ottawa

Busy Bike Week

Westsideaction

Next week will see two interesting guest speakers in Ottawa on the topic of improving cycling facilities. Both speakers are highly credible experienced individuals with real-world accomplishments. On Monday, CycleVision Ottawa presents Suzanne Lareau (see poster below) and on Tuesday CfSC presents the cycling coordinator from Portland OR. Portland has a much-lauded cycling network.  Tuesday’s meeting is 6pm at TomBrown Arena (right along the proposed BikeWest route!). Catch the Montreal Cycling Wave! Meet Suzanne Lareau The woman who is transforming Montreal for cycling A Public Presentation Monday October 19, at 8 p.m. St-Laurent room, off the Elgin Café in the … Continue reading Busy Bike Week

cycling in Ottawa, Dalhousie, LRT

A tale of two neighborhoods

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Digging a trench along the old Byron trolleyway park just north of Highland Park for these beasts? That’s just slightly less brutal a planning decision than running steam trains through slums in 19th-century Manchester.  –  Ottawa Citizen editorial Hmm, let’s see if I can get this right. As part of its LRT program the City is converting the current bus rapid transit (BRT) roads (the “transitway”) to LRT (“the beasts”). A problem arises where the BRT shares road surfaces with the Ottawa River Commuter Expressway. It shares the road alignment … because the original alignment along the Byron transit streetcar … Continue reading A tale of two neighborhoods

Bayview, bike path, bikewest, cycling in Ottawa, Scott street

BikeWest – part iv – Scott Street from Bayview to Dominion

Westsideaction

The Scott alignment is much straighter than the riverside path and passes through major residential and employment areas For most of its length along Scott, BikeWest is pretty simple. The two-way paved surface would be set back from Scott Street whenever possible. At major signalized intersections, the bike route might snuggle up to Scott. Signalized intersections at Holland, Island Park, and Lanark would operate as described previously: through east-west traffic on both the road and BikeWest would proceed on green; all left and right turning traffic that might cross BikeWest would go only on green arrows when through traffic movements … Continue reading BikeWest – part iv – Scott Street from Bayview to Dominion

bike path, bikewest, cycling in Ottawa

BikeWest – part vi – some path photos

Westsideaction

Click each photo to enlarge. Photo above shows a raised pedestrian crossing. Vehicle traffic moving across the walk has about a six inch rise, which has to be steep enough to slow traffic down without (excessively) angering motorists. This design effectively gives priority to pedestrians. A similar crossing would be employed for cyclists in the BikeWest project. A segment of bike path directly adjacent the curb of a vehicle road. A number of Ottawa River bike path segments closely parallel the Ottawa River Commuter Expressway, with only a 1 to 3 meter boulevard between the two surfaces. At dusk this … Continue reading BikeWest – part vi – some path photos

Bayview, bikewest, cycling in Ottawa, LeBreton Flats

BikeWest – part iii – from Booth to Bayview

Westsideaction

Above: looking west from Preston, approaches to the Bayview Station area From Booth, the BikeWest bike road would continue as a two-way road separated from the car traffic by a curb and possibly a boulevard, and coloured pavement, with a raised sidewalk to the side of the bike road, all the way west to Bayview Station. Note that the City already owns the right of way along the side of Albert to Bayview, it is where they buried a high-pressure water pipe and where a vague multipurpose paved path was installed two years ago. The path will pass between the existing Dalhousie … Continue reading BikeWest – part iii – from Booth to Bayview

Albert St, bike path, bikewest, cycling in Ottawa, LeBreton Flats1 Comment

BikeWest – part ii – from Bronson to the transitway

Westsideaction

The current transitway carries buses across LeBreton Flats and links them onto Albert Street (westbound) and Slater Street (eastbound) where Albert-Slater split, in front of the Good Companions Centre, located half way between Bronson and Booth Street. Above: The Albert-Slater split, where the transitway begins/ends, by the Good Companions Centre. Slater, on the right, was originally built expressly for streetcar traffic to access the downtown. Both Albert and Slater have dedicated bus-only lanes from the split right into the downtown core. These lanes will not be required for buses once the Downtown Ottawa Transit Tunnel (DOTT) is constructed and the … Continue reading BikeWest – part ii – from Bronson to the transitway

Albert St, Bayview, bike path, bikewest, cycling in Ottawa, Scott street2 Comments

BikeWest – part i – Opportunity Knocks

Westsideaction

The BikeWest project is an idea. An idea about how we can move beyond shared bike lanes. About doing something significant and big to promote cycling to work. An idea for a dedicated, separated-from-cars two way bike road capable of moving thousands of people between neighborhoods and to the downtown. At the same time, an idea that is affordable. Achievable in the medium term. An idea that doesn’t monopolize cycling resources or block other projects. A project that builds up Ottawa rather than dividing it. Ottawa has many cycle paths now, almost all of them provided by the NCC (bless … Continue reading BikeWest – part i – Opportunity Knocks

cycling in Ottawa, Nature, NCC2 Comments

Last traces of former rail line

Westsideaction

What may at first glance seem to be a jersey barrier*  in the woods is really one abutment of a culvert crossing on the former CPR (?) tracks that ran west along the Ottawa River where the Ottawa River Commuter Expressway is now. The rail right of way was expanded and converted into a car road allowance in the early 1960’s following Greber’s plans for scenic drives throughout Ottawa. Many of these drives were never completed, but the NCC still holds numerous rights of way undeveloped, waiting for LRT, other transit, or a serious non-recreational cycling network. Toronto, not blessed with the NCC … Continue reading Last traces of former rail line

Albert St, bikewest, cycling in Ottawa, Dalhousie, LeBreton Flats, Scott street, westbike

Coming soon: BikeWest

Westsideaction

Starting Sunday or Monday I will deviate a bit from my catch-all blogging and post a multipart series on a project to improve the cycling experience from the downtown to Westboro. At the end of the series (next Friday?), the entire post will be available, with photos, as a single document, for anyone upon request to my email or to via comments on the blog (be sure to include your email address explicitly stated, it won’t show up even to me when you submit comments to the blog). Continue reading Coming soon: BikeWest

bike path, cycling in Ottawa, Prince of Wales Bridge3 Comments

Memorial on Bike Path

Westsideaction

A small bouquet of plastic lillies and a funeral folder sit behind a small charred spot of grass where the Ottawa River bike path goes under the Prince of Wales railway Bridge. The charred spot looked like maybe a sweetgrass fire yesterday; today it has a votive candle in a holder there. The spot is so peaceful, a steady stream of cyclists, joggers, and pedestrians goes by. The sun shines. Geese swim by. The water looks cool and refreshing. Are we doing something to be remembered by? Cylist Paul Kenneth Dabene was murdered there on July 27, 2009. Continue reading Memorial on Bike Path

cycling in Ottawa1 Comment

Lanark cycling curiousities

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pedestrian sidwalk link from Lanark to Latchford, no sidewalk dip view west from Premier at midblock closing view from Lanark toward Latchford Photo 2 is looking west on Premier Avenue where it intersects Remic Avenue (these streets are just north of Scott, near the 30 storey Metropole condo, opposite the WestVillage townhouse complex). Both sides of the traffic calming closure are Premier Avenue, but the street is not open for cars to carry on to join Lanark Avenue just ahead. This prevents car commuters from short cutting through a residential neighborhood. It is open to cyclists and strollers on the … Continue reading Lanark cycling curiousities

bike path, cycling in Ottawa2 Comments

Real Bike Lanes

Westsideaction

I must confess to being a fan of real marked bike lanes, and not at all enamored of the “its an unmarked lane on a wider car lane” policy favored by our fair City. – The above two pictures are on Island Park Drive, which has wide, quite well maintained bike lanes on both sides of the street from Gatineau through to at least Westgate/Hampton Park (you can guess how far I rode on the street…). Throughout the trip, cars stayed off the bike lane and well into their own lane, except for two taxis that drifted all over it. … Continue reading Real Bike Lanes

cycling in Ottawa, Scott street3 Comments

Scott Street bike/multipurpose path repairs

Westsideaction

I use the Scott Street multipurpose/bike path at least weekly. It takes me from my house to Loblaws in Westboro. Any user will know the paving is in bad shape (as is the design of the path, but that is for another day…). Some paving repairs have begun by the City. One of the worst sections just west of Tunney’s Pasture Station has lengthy sections marked for repaving. Previous repavings have often been half-hearted patches. I look forward to discovering that this time proper repairs will be done to bring the path back up to point where it is a … Continue reading Scott Street bike/multipurpose path repairs

bike path, cycling in Ottawa, oc Transpo, Westboro Collection

Transitway water bill

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Picture 2 shows water burbling up from the base of this concrete structure. It comes up so fast it creates a 6-8″ high stain on the concrete. The large puddle of crystal clear water (likely from a water main) forms a large puddle then runs down a ditch to a catch basin. The site of the puddle is the northwest corner of the western transitway station at Queensway. It is bloody obvious, and must be apparent to OC Transpo maintenance crews. Yet it appears to have been there for some time as aquatic plants are growing the in the runoff … Continue reading Transitway water bill