Anyone who walks in Ottawa knows that a key feature of our crosswalk design is that the crosswalk must be located at the lowest possible point. So that puddles will form right at the crosswalk location. In winter. In spring. … Continue reading Bonus feature for crosswalks at cycle tracks
Recall that as the Carling Avenue buses go eastbound from Booth up the hill towards Bronson, the centre busway portion in the median becomes a lane for a brief period near Bell Street. The gap in the east-bound median bus … Continue reading Carling reconstruction … Bronson intersection
Will the reconstructed Carling Avenue between Preston Street and Glebe be a traffic sewer or a beautiful, functional urban Avenue? The reconstructed Carling proceeding east from Preston follows a similar design to the road sections west of Preston described here … Continue reading Carling … from Preston to the Glebe
Today we will examine the City plans for the reconstructed Carling between Sherwood and Preston. This includes the new median bus stop for Trillium crossing / Preston intersection. Recall that either before Sherwood (Richard’s view) or after Sherwood (city’s version) … Continue reading Carling … proposed median bus stops
Over the next few stories, Richard Eade and yours truly will be looking in some detail at the proposed reconstruction of Carling Avenue from the top of the hill by the Farm, down to Sherwood Drive, to Preston, Booth, and … Continue reading Carling Avenue Reconstruction
I have never owned a car. Nor do not wear a helmet when cycling or walking. I used to have a MIT article explaining how if we really wanted to reduce head injuries we’d require helmets before anyone could walk … Continue reading Car Free, Helmet Free
Canadians are too tolerant of unsafe roads, and unsafe cities, and unsafe neighbourhoods. There is a lot written about this, only some of which is readily understandable. I thought this video made the case in simple English with persuasively related … Continue reading Vision Zero, or is it Zero Vision?
From time to time the city rebuilds residential streets. Loretta Avenue, which runs north-south between the Trillium Line tracks and Bayswater Avenue, is one such street. It crosses Hickory, a busy east-west cycle and ped route, and crosses Laurel, which … Continue reading Loretta Avenue rebuild
As a society, we take it for granted that there is a lot of car infrastructure around. But we built most of it from scratch, at great expense. When that money came in the form of grants from higher levels … Continue reading Making better use of existing infrastructure
These are exciting days for sidewalk superintendents as the big beams for the new Bayview LRT Station were put in place. The beams are precast concrete: The design of the structure is the same as Booth Street overpass / Pimisi … Continue reading Construction Updates – Bayview Station, Trillium Line
So here’s a pic of the new O’Connor cycling track, separated from traffic in many places by curbs and flex posts. This car driver obviously took to heart our city’s focus on flexible use of space, and parked his car … Continue reading Flex Use of a separated cycle track
I have mixed feelings about “sharrows”. While they do remind people who drive that there are also people who ride bikes … and they do suggest where it might be best for people to ride their bike … I simply … Continue reading Marking shared lanes
There is a value to coming back time and time again to upgrade existing cycling facilities. We do that naturally with cars, but for cycling … surely just building something once is enough? I think that is one reason we had … Continue reading Improvement must be constant
Remember those moving staircases in Harry Potter? Some cyclists and pedestrians may be forgiven for feeling they are in a fantasy world when approaching Bayview Station. The pathway was here yesterday … now its gone. It’s over there ! No, it’s … Continue reading New MUP Pattern at Bayview
John Turner and Jim Watson have lots in common. In a crisis, both claim they can’t do something. It didn’t work out well for Mr Turner. So people get killed moving about in Ottawa. Anyone looking at the traffic fatalities knows … Continue reading Yes you can, Mr Mayor
There are certain facts of life we have to deal with today, even if we regret how things came to be that way. I wont rehash how Booth Street north of Albert, going through LeBreton Flats, came to be designed … Continue reading About those not-quite-bike-lanes on Booth Freeway
The recent story on the first bit of west side of the Trillium line multi user pathway got a lot of interest and email traffic. In case you didn’t see the updates on the story, Ashcroft promises to finish the … Continue reading WEST side Trillium MUP … again
The existing Trillium multi user pathway (MUP) on the EAST side of the OTrain tracks has been a hit with the commuting and recreational public. Its popularity grows weekly. Less well known is the planning “win” when the community obliged … Continue reading Bit of new west side Trillium MUP opens
Take a good close look at this bus stop. It is the closest thing you find in Ottawa to a eye catching roadside transit amenity. It is a bit strange when you actually look at it. I guess the poster picture on the right hand end panel has been cut in half to allow patrons to see approaching buses. And of course it is advertising. I know Ottawans love to hate private businesses, and their advertising, wanting some sort of ART installation, with an explanatory plaque for those dummies out there that aren’t so enlightened. But really, this IS … Continue reading Bus Stop Bus Stop
Information is trickling out of contacts at City Hall. They say the issue of how cyclists will be handled on the “freeway” section of the new Booth Street between Albert and Wellington has attracted the mayor’s office. Not yet in … Continue reading Booth Street Freeway MAY yet get bike lanes
It is good to be (still) living, in a time when transportation is finally focusing on people who walk, people who cycle, and not just people who drive. Yet to come, of course, is any concern for the people living … Continue reading Some real ped improvements, and some not
I have a book by John Adams, entitled RISK, and it is all about … risk. * One risk is driving with or without a seatbelt. Or helmet. It is also about transferring risk, usually from one mode where something is … Continue reading Understanding traffic risk
In the earlier planning stages for our LRT Stations, we imported an expert from Portland to tell us how many cycle parking spaces we should provide. Nice gig. Flight. Accommodation. Meals. Per Diem. Additional item under “professional experience”. And … Continue reading Cycling to transit, Portland vs Ottawa
I am an obedient cyclist. I walk my bike when the sign says to. I do not pass on the right a queue of stopped cars. I stay off sidewalks. Some of the time. My intentions are good. When I … Continue reading The joy of dooring on Scott Street
Ottawa City Council has approved speed cameras on roads and streets. But only near schools. Provided the streets fit certain other criteria. Jump through all the hoops and yup, there may be some speed cameras installed, someday, in some innocuous … Continue reading Not enthused about speed cameras
