Germany6 Comments

Traffic calming that is serious

Westsideaction

I feel that much of what Ottawa does as “traffic calming” is badly compromised by a desire not to inconvenience the motorist at all, while purporting to make the street calmer and safer for everyone else. Case in point: a traffic calming centre island proposed for Booth near Raymond. The design concept was approved by council years ago, but funding has finally come available. So the traffic engineers get to do the detailed design. Well, that island, you know, is just awful. To get big trucks around it they’d need to widen the road, increase the curb radii at intersections, … Continue reading Traffic calming that is serious

Germany1 Comment

Red chair at the wasserfall

Westsideaction

  I was impressed by the quantity of “art installations” in the Black Forest region of Germany. They were everywhere, sometimes in popular places and sometimes in isolated places. They were even in villages with a population of six. After hiking to this natural wasserfall scenic spot, I was surprised to see the bright red benches competing for attention. Plaques identified them as an art installation. An interactive art installation. See below for how some elderly escaped garden gnomes abused the artist’s concept: Frightening.   Continue reading Red chair at the wasserfall

Ottawa1 Comment

U-Pass for tourists

Westsideaction

Kirchzarten, Germany: When filling out the hotel registration form in Kirchzarten, there was a little tear-off portion at the bottom. It was a transit pass for the hotel guest(s). For bus, rail, and streetcars. For a whole region running from Basel Switzerland in the south and encompassing the whole Freiburg area. It was a simple piece of cardstock, no fancy codes or chips required:   We used it to take the local train into Freiburg, saving gas and parking and hassles. Going the opposite way, we took it to Lake Tittisee, a recreation area a long ways east. Passengers on … Continue reading U-Pass for tourists

Germany2 Comments

Small town suburbs, the German way

Westsideaction

Kirchzarten, Germany:  this town is small. Population 10,000. It is big enough and old enough to have its own “main street” town centre that is viable and attractive. It is also close enough to Freiburg and Basel that it is in their commuter shed, and is connected by frequent regional rail services. The town is growing, and has its “new section”. Not way out in a field, but snuggled up close to the existing town. Roads and paths continue from old areas into the new. Kids still walk to school; others cycle to the banhof or walk to shop “the … Continue reading Small town suburbs, the German way

Germany2 Comments

Safe, secure, protected … bike parking

Westsideaction

Kirchzarten, Germany:  At the local banhof (train station) there is a very large bike parking area that is covered from rain or snow.   The rack design looked excellent to me, as it provided a strong steel bar beside the bike upon which to lock the frame. The overflow parking area also had good quality racks:   I have no clue why the front tire is elevated in these racks: Kinda made me wonder about the amount and quality of bike parking planned for the new LRT stations in Ottawa. Continue reading Safe, secure, protected … bike parking

Germany2 Comments

Blankies for the cafe crowd

Westsideaction

Kirchzarten, Germany:  Jan Gehl recounts in his books about civilizing cities that just a few years ago no one thought streetside cafe culture could be imported from warmer climes to cooler northern cities. But it was a case of build them and they will come. Heaters, glass windbreaks, very large overhead umbrellas … all work to make outdoor spaces more comfy. So do blankets. At 9.30pm his cafe in Kirchgarten has just brought out a pile of blankets for patrons.   Has anyone experienced a free blankie at an Ottawa bar, patio or cafe? Continue reading Blankies for the cafe crowd

Germany

Bike racks, like daisies in the fields…

Westsideaction

Kirchzarten, Germany:   Bike racks seldom look great. When they do, they stand out so much and make us realize how “blah” the ordinary racks are. Most of the racks I am seeing in Germany are those dreadful “front tire” racks. But in front of this high school and community sports centre, the racks were broken apart and each bike is singly parked out in a field. The result was surprisingly sculptural. It also avoided paving an area.   I suspect people can make use of this field of pipes for other purposes. Like giant croquet. Continue reading Bike racks, like daisies in the fields…

Germany, streetscaping

Concrete trees, sort of

Westsideaction

Karlsruhe, Germany:  a main highway swiftly changes from rural surroundings to the denser urban environment as it enters a city. To help slow traffic, local planners bring tree planting right close to the curbs on both sides of the street. The tree canopy closes in overhead, making the roadway look and feel less open. Traffic speeds slow. Down the centre median, trees are also planted to complete the canopy. Between the trees are the standard concrete light posts for the overhead highway lighting. These have been “greened”, quite effectively creating additional “trees” down the boulevard. It was surprisingly effective. And … Continue reading Concrete trees, sort of

somerset street, streetscaping, walkways

Tree trenches

Westsideaction

For decades urban trees have suffered from cheap planting techniques. Cities all too often opted for the meanest, smallest open square around the tree for water and air penetration, and the hole under the sidewalk was usually not much bigger than the root ball itself. Not surprisingly, the trees were unhealthy, seldom grew, often died. Even where there was plenty of room for a larger opening around the tree, the City insisted the minimum size opening was de facto the maximum size opening (see for example, the older sections of Somerset done in the 80’s). Deep down, I think city … Continue reading Tree trenches

somerset street, streetscaping9 Comments

Somerset Planters being installed (finally)

Westsideaction

After years of lobbying, approvals, bureaucratic fixes, and engineering and contractual delays, the tree planters along Somerset viaduct are finally being installed. The idea is that these will enhance the pedestrian environment, knitting the communities of Dalhousie and Hintonburg together. The current elevated roadway is windswept and feels isolated. Perhaps more importantly, the precedent has been set for significant plantings of trees where there is no underlying dirt or “room” for tree roots. These may be the first irrigated planters the city has installed; they use water from the Plant Rec Centre building to automatically water the trees. Let the … Continue reading Somerset Planters being installed (finally)

Ottawa4 Comments

recycling cans without the Beer Store guys

Westsideaction

Feuchtwangen, Germany:  the following few pictures take us through the process for returning cans and bottles in a little town in Germany. No lining up with street-savy bottle collectors, this return-o-mat is in the lobby of a large grocery store. The gent we are stalking here has an entire shopping cart of empty Red Bull containers. He puts each one, one at a time, into the machine slot, the cans align front to back with ridges on the platform. As he withdraws his hand, a light comes on, and the cans rotate on their axis  a full 360 degrees. The … Continue reading recycling cans without the Beer Store guys

Ottawa4 Comments

A Found-space park in Toronto

Westsideaction

Found space parks should be cheap, in that they don’t require a multi-million dollar lot of land. But the very nature of found space means there are utilities, pavements, and adjacent users that have to be accomodated, so the park structures might be expensive per square metre. In Toronto’s little Italy there is a small park, split on two sides of a side street, created out of the outer boulevards, a modest street narrowing, about three foregone parking spaces. And created with love and imagination. About 20 years ago Ottawa had imagination to use some found spaces. There is a … Continue reading A Found-space park in Toronto

Ottawa2 Comments

Finding new park space cheaply

Westsideaction

Some older city neighbourhoods like the west side of Ottawa have fairly scarce park space. The complaint is somewhat tainted by selective counting, since activists often mean City park space, and exclude NCC or other Federal space owned by PWGSC or AgriCan. Or they mean park space for organized games playing, like soccer fields, and don’t count passive park space. And the City compounds the grief by restricting park space designation only to parcels of land owned by the city and designated for that use. They haven’t shown much interest to date in found space, which requires some creative opportunity … Continue reading Finding new park space cheaply

bike path, cycling in Ottawa4 Comments

Counting cyclists — err, path users

Westsideaction

  Regular users of Ottawa’s pathway network soon notice the tell-tale under-asphalt loops that connect to counters. We saw pictures of the newest ones under the new OTrain path just a few weeks ago. For the first time there will be counts on a pathway from day one. But only for cyclists. The counters don’t count pedestrians, dog walkers, strollers, and other users. Our counters are also buried flush with the ground, in a miniature traffic man-hole. So the one above intrigued me when |I came across it in London, On. There’s the tell-tale cut in the asphalt sure, but … Continue reading Counting cyclists — err, path users

Ottawa4 Comments

Finding OC Transpo at Ottawa Airport

Westsideaction

There are two main doors out of the luggage/arrivals area at Ottawa airport. The centre doors take you out to the taxi stand, car rentals, and parking garage. The south doors take you out much closer to the OC Transpo #97 bus stop. So what does the sign above those doors say?   Yup, the airport folks direct you back to the centre doors, where you gotta run past the taxis and all that, only to walk all the way back, dragging your luggage along, to get to the bus stop shoved way out to the furthest south end of … Continue reading Finding OC Transpo at Ottawa Airport

Ottawa2 Comments

Crossing the street, seeing red

Westsideaction

Somerset Street carries the Chinatown designation between Bay and Preston Streets. Yet it is Bronson that is being reconstructed, and there occured much debate about what landscaping should be carried through the intersection. Eventually, the agreement was for the Chinatown landscape to be continuous, and the Bronson one to be interrupted. And since it is Bronson being reconstructed, it means the contractors have to install Chinatown-style lights and pavers at that intersection. Originally calling for red and white concrete striped crosswalks, budget and time constraints forced some revisions. So all-red crosswalks were poured last week:   These crosswalks may later … Continue reading Crossing the street, seeing red

somerset street, streetscaping1 Comment

Westside touristing this week

Westsideaction

This week will be good for touristing around the west side. Perhaps you noticed mysterious markings on the walkways along Somerset near the OTrain?   Then work crews drilling holes …   The holes were then plugged with paper to keep them clean …   On Tuesday, all will be revealed, as the first of the giant concrete planters arrive on Somerset. Under the odd brick inserts along the walkway is a buried irrigation pipe system connected to a water supply at the Plant Rec Complex. Once put in place, pipes will be drawn up through the bottom of the … Continue reading Westside touristing this week

Ottawa

Family bike parade June 16

Westsideaction

A family friendly bike parade is in the works for Sunday, June 16, to kick off the Italian Week bike races on Preston Street. Plans so far are for the parade to start at Gladstone and Preston and head south towards Carling. The parade will end on one of the side streets or a nearby park. The parade would run from around 10:30 to 11. We’re looking for people who can help out with: – closing the streets and monitoring the barricades – acting as marshalls for the parade – promoting the parade – putting on their best biking costumes and riding! If … Continue reading Family bike parade June 16

Ottawa, pedestrians, walkways2 Comments

Better sidewalk protection still eludes Ottawa

Westsideaction

Back in December I railed against the sorry state of sidewalk protection at construction sites: Pedestrian safety sheds: treat people like sh*t and they won’t come!  It is well worth re-reading.https://www.westsideaction.ca/pedestrian-safety-sheds/   On a recent visit to the Centre of the Universe (TM„) I was delighted to come across the NYC-designed scaffolding in use closer to home. There is now officially hope that in Jim Watson’s eighth term of office, we might see something similar, but just on a demonstration basis, of course.   First, notice the solid concrete barrier between the pedestrians and the traffic, the construction vehicles, and … Continue reading Better sidewalk protection still eludes Ottawa

Ottawa1 Comment

Sherbourne segregated bike lane, part ii

Westsideaction

Where the Sherbourne separated bike lane and a bus stop share the same curb space, the cycle track rises up a few inches to sidewalk height. Rumble strips and cobbles demark the zone, and bright yellow textures mark the bus loading area for pedestrians. Water running down the curb is directed into a covered channel, with a grill on top to collect surface water from the walkway. Green, yellow, white, black, all the Fisher Price colours were employed. The city did not feel it was necessary to post signs advising pedestrians to wait for the bus off the track, nor advise cyclists … Continue reading Sherbourne segregated bike lane, part ii

Laurier Ave, Toronto2 Comments

Sherbourne Ave segregated bike lane, Toronto

Westsideaction

In 2012 Toronto converted some painted bike lanes on Sherbourne Street to a segregated bike lane. Sherbourne runs parallel to Yonge Street, and is about 8 blocks east of Yonge, running from Bloor to Front Street. A walk along the bike track proved interesting. Immediately south of Bloor, the track commences as a curbside painted lane, that then drifts out from the curb and becomes green painted. There is an orphan bit of black asphalt between it and the curb, with faded zebra hatching marks on it, but I was unable to determine if this was a right turn lane (awfully narrow) … Continue reading Sherbourne Ave segregated bike lane, Toronto

LeBreton Flats, LRT, NCC, Ottawa, Western LRT8 Comments

How intrusive will WLRT wiring be along the parkway?

Westsideaction

On a recent visit to Toronto, I made a point of noticing overhead electric wiring for streetcars. My general memory of streetcar wiring was situations like the one pictured above, a spagetti heap of wiring over an intersection. Of course, such situations occur when different streetcar lines meet. And for the Ottawa case, the LRT is a single line with no branches or loops or turnoffs, so wiring situations like the above just won’t be here [yes, there will be a spur line off to the maintenance yard, and in a few cases parallel tracks to store trains, but these … Continue reading How intrusive will WLRT wiring be along the parkway?

Western LRT8 Comments

Do property values drop beside rapid transit?

Westsideaction

People seldom praise the City for actions that might raise their property values. In this case, they might even complain that rising values will push their taxes up. People are much quicker to complain that City actions will hurt, destroy, ruin, or otherwise negatively affect property values. Such was the cry at a Western LRT meeting. Surely building an LRT in that particular neighbourhood would cause incredible property value losses. These weren’t just the folks living near a surface LRT bit either. Those who would be expensively shielded by placing the LRT in a tunnel complained the construction disruption would … Continue reading Do property values drop beside rapid transit?