Category: bike path

bike path, Chinatown, cycling in Ottawa, cyclopiste de preston, roads, somerset street

Road improvement only temporary

Westsideaction

The City repaved Somerset west of Preston this morning. Don’t get too excited though. It’s just short term improvement change followed by more disruption. The section of Somerset further west, near Bayswater, is not ready for paving yet. The newly paved section will be striped next week as a two-way cul-de-sac street, ending at Musca’s. There will be no vehicular traffic, east or west, over the O-Train bridge, starting in August. The road will be completely dug out to insert a new underpass, for the north-south cycling route that parallels the east side of the O-train corridor. The contractor will keep … Continue reading Road improvement only temporary

bike path, Bronson, Carling Ave, cycling in Ottawa, downtown, parking, roads, Uncategorized11 Comments

YES ! to municipal bike tax

Westsideaction

So a City Councillor has suggested we tax bicycles, perhaps by levying a license fee. I suspect he pictures in his mind a miniature license plate, similar to the full size plates that a car has, or what bicycles in the 1950’s used to have. Some places use stickers instead of metal plates, but these are hard to read, and certainly cannot be read while an offending cyclist speeds off into the sunset after his or her dasterly deed. I agree with Councillor Monette. The municipality should license bicycles and indeed all vehicles driving in the City. Right now, the City … Continue reading YES ! to municipal bike tax

bike path, condos, cycling in Ottawa, downtown, Laurier Ave13 Comments

Laurier Bike Lane opens

Westsideaction

The Laurier Avenue separated bike lane (SBL) opened today. Mayor Watson was there, Marianne Wilkinson, and former councilor Bedard: There was a reasonable size crowd to see the ribbon cutting and hear the (mercifully short) speeches. There were some protesters too, objecting to the bike lanes. Two cyclists were wearing helmet cams to film what they see: These paramedics patrolled the path, searching in vain for early fatalities or run-over protesters. The bigger risk might be sunburn on the bum cleavage: There were several cycle-mounted police there too. It just might be possible that Laurier Avenue will have faster medical … Continue reading Laurier Bike Lane opens

bike path, Chinatown, cycling in Ottawa, Empress St, Laurier Ave, parking, Uncategorized4 Comments

Unintended benefits of Laurier SBL

Westsideaction

The Laurier Separated Bike Lane — SBL — opens July 10th. Considerable criticism has been levelled that it goes nowhere from nowhere to nowhere. I guess these critics want a SBL that never starts nor stops…  they just don’t want it at all. At the western end of Laurier, the bike lane stops at Bronson. Considerable volumes of bike traffic will have moved off the route to go north and west or south by time the lane reaches Bronson. But for traffic continuing into Dalhousie, Chinatown, or desiring to go south parallel to Bronson, some new measures have been put into place … Continue reading Unintended benefits of Laurier SBL

Bayview Otrain, bike path, Bluesfest, Booth St, cycling in Ottawa, pedestrians, Preston street16 Comments

Popular bike and ped route “locked shut”

Westsideaction

Several years ago a gate was installed at the north end of Preston, where it crosses NCC land. There is a paved path (actually a derelict bit of the transitway from pre-1980’s) that leads to a legal marked crossing of the current transitway and then out the Ottawa River bike paths. The gate was installed by contractors during water main construction a few years ago. On Monday, it was locked shut. I went out Monday evening to view the scene. I met cyclists coming up from the River, having crossed the transitway, and were then forced to return and recross the transitway to search … Continue reading Popular bike and ped route “locked shut”

bike path, bixi bike, cycling in Ottawa, Laurier Ave, NCC, Ottawa, road diet, traffic volume, Transit4 Comments

Ontario Bike Summit, Day 1

Westsideaction

The Ontario Bike Summit started Monday at the Museum of Nature, and continues on Tuesday. Bug Me, says Watson: What’s a public meeting without politicians to speak? This meeting opened with an abundance of them. Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson spoke of the increased volume of cyclists (155,000 in May) and their increased visibility. Speaking of the Laurier Separated Bike Lane (SBL) he made it clear that he understood some cyclists did not like the project, but “they don’t have to use it”. It is designed to offer a safer route for cyclists, to encourage more cycling, and to facilitate tourists who cycle … Continue reading Ontario Bike Summit, Day 1

bike path, bikewest, cycling in Ottawa, cyclopiste de preston, NCC, parks, Uncategorized, WalkSpace4 Comments

Get Lost

Westsideaction

This post was originally written for Spacing Ottawa, www.spacingottawa.ca, and is reprinted here in case you are so negligent you do not subscribe to that site. You should have read it there! Spacing deals with geography across Canada; Spacing Ottawa deals with geography in Ottawa. WSA, of course, is a smaller focus on the neighborhoods on the  west side of the downtown. But it’s all geography! There is some new content at the bottom of the post. ________________________ As an urban society, we have to shift our focus away from exclusively serving motor vehicles as the norm, and towards serving people, regardless … Continue reading Get Lost

bike path, cycling in Ottawa4 Comments

Cyclist doored by a toilet

Westsideaction

She-who-must-be-obeyed once won the ‘door prize’ whilst cycling on Bank Street some years ago. (She is fully recovered now, and back in control, thank you for your condolences.) Macabre* humour is one of the ways we deal with difficult situations. Our teen son and his school chums referred to her as being “hit by a parked car”, along the lines of those “your mom is so dumb…” jokes. The memories of those times, or at least memories of the joke, came to us while cycling through Moonies Bay yesterday. We discovered all the port-a-potties lined up along the bike path. … Continue reading Cyclist doored by a toilet

Albert St, bike path, bikewest, cycling in Ottawa, Scott street, Uncategorized6 Comments

BikeWest

Westsideaction

Last Saturday, readers who also listen to the CBC awoke to a real nightmare. My dulcet tones were on the morning news, talking to Laurie Fagin about the lack of markings on the multi-user path (MUP) that runs along the north side of Scott Street and Albert Street.” Is it a bike path?” was the theme of the story. (It’s OK, you can listen to the radio today, it is Eric-free). Long time readers may recall that last May or June I reported that the City decided to paint a yellow line down the path to clearly indicate that it is … Continue reading BikeWest

Bayview Otrain, bike path, cycling in Ottawa, cyclopiste de preston, O-Train1 Comment

O-Train Cycle Path makes progress

Westsideaction

A version of this post appeared earlier this week at www.SpacingOttawa.ca. ______________________________________________________ The City has an amazing bureaucratic machine. It spends most of its time and resources promising, planning, and budgeting. All of that mental heavy lifting seems to leave it quite exhausted, but, sometimes, just sometimes, it surprises by making something actually appear “on the ground”. There is a multipurpose path (MUP) (aka a bike path) proposed to run along side the O-Train corridor. Parts of it, south of Young Street, have existed since 1963. This year, Council decided to fund an underpass under Somerset, which is the last big … Continue reading O-Train Cycle Path makes progress

Albert St, aquaduct, bike path, Booth St, Claridge, condos, design, DOTT, Fleet Street, LeBreton Flats, LRT, OLRT, Preston street6 Comments

LRT Stations (part iv) LeBreton

Westsideaction

There is currently a bus transitway station at LeBreton Flats. The proposed LRT station is essentially at the same location, except it extends further west under Booth Street and is a few feet south of the current station, allowing room for landscaping and breathing space between it and the aqueduct. On the aerial photo above, note also the pedestrian crossing of the aqueduct off to the left side of the picture, this is the old Broad Street right of way and ped bridge. The site analysis drawing, above, shows the proximity of the current LeBreton residential neighborhood. Blue arrows show view planes, but both are rather curiously … Continue reading LRT Stations (part iv) LeBreton

801 Albert, Albert St, Bayview, Bayview Otrain, bike path, bikewest, cycling in Ottawa, cyclopiste de preston, design, DOTT, LeBreton Flats, O-Train, OLRT, ottawa river, Prince of Wales Bridge, sidewalks, Transit, Uncategorized10 Comments

LRT Stations: (part iii) Bayview Station

Westsideaction

The Bayview Station is quite complex to describe compared to Tunney’s or Hurdman. Basically, it is a long thin platform built atop an earthen embankment, pretty much where the bus shelters are now. But rather than have sloping pedestrian paths connect to the O-train platform about 16′ lower down, under the overpasses, the City proposes to build an escalator connection at the west end of the new platform that takes users directly down to the O-Train platform. This is a great development for users that transfer.  What complicates the Bayview Station is that it is in the middle of an … Continue reading LRT Stations: (part iii) Bayview Station

801 Albert, Albert St, Bayview, Bayview Otrain, Bayview-Carling CDP, bike path, bikewest, DOTT, intensificatioin, LeBreton Flats, O-Train, Scott street, Transit, Uncategorized8 Comments

Bus shelters vs a station for Bayview

Westsideaction

 The picture below shows the current Bayview Station. It is simply a bus shelter on a hill in the middle of a field. It’s been that way since 2001, and while not ideal, it does function. The City is currently designing its transit stations for the new LRT network. For the first few years of the Downtown Ottawa Transit Tunnel (DOTT) process, they had very elaborate station design for Bayview. It was a long elevated structure with east-west trains on top, and underneath was a second set of platforms for the successor to the north-south LRT that would someday replace the O-Train. Until that … Continue reading Bus shelters vs a station for Bayview

bike path, Chinatown, chinatown arch, cycling in Ottawa, design, sewage and drains, sidewalks, somerset street, streetscaping, Uncategorized9 Comments

Somerset dog-and-pony show — new priorities

Westsideaction

The City held an open house last evening to explain to the public what is being done on Somerset Street this year. It was a mix of old news — the section west of Preston remains  unchanged from last year except for some details — and new news for the section east of Preston up to Booth. The new stuff comes in several formats. The consultants and city staff had all the public consultation team members on hand, with name badges, to explain what is proposed and to tell their neighbours about some of the tradeoffs that were made to get to these results. … Continue reading Somerset dog-and-pony show — new priorities

bike path, cycling in Ottawa, design, Uncategorized4 Comments

The effacing Bridge

Westsideaction

  This story originally appeared as my WalkSpace column at Spacing Ottawa: http://spacingottawa.ca/2011/03/28/walkspace-we-can-do-better-than-a-self-effacing-bridge/ The City is conducting studies for the placement of a ped-cyclist bridge over the Rideau River connecting Somerset E to Donald Street. I think this will be a very useful link. I am also delighted that we are constructing a link based on its own merits and appeal to cyclists and peds and not just as an appendage catering to motorist origin-destination desires. From the newsletter of the study team, I espy the following comment, which is pretty typical for Ottawa:   “the design should look to enhance the natural … Continue reading The effacing Bridge

bike path, cycling in Ottawa11 Comments

Watson’s Turtle Bikes

Westsideaction

I ran across this item in the blogsphere (Streetsblog NYC): Deco Bikes Arrives in Miami: Miami Beach will début South Florida’s first bike-share system — Deco Bikes — tomorrow. Transit Miami reports the system will be launched with 500 bikes at 50 stations and later expanded to 1,000 bikes at 100 stations. Each station will hold 12 bikes and occupy two parking spaces.    “With the implementation of sharrows  …, upcoming revised bicycle parking standards, and now the implementation of a city-wide bikeshare program, Miami Beach is making big strides to expand bicycle use around the city,” said Garcia. “If successful, other cities in … Continue reading Watson’s Turtle Bikes

bike path, cycling in Ottawa, cyclopiste de preston, NCC, O-Train2 Comments

Janus the snowplower

Westsideaction

Whilst out walking last week, I noticed an interesting difference in City pathway plowing. From Beech south to Carling, the multi-use path (a MUP, in city jargon; a bike path to the rest of us) gets plowed. Presumably this is because of the O-Train station at Carling: The O-Train path is always gorgeous, lined (for now) with forty year old trees and established green verges bordering the stonedust path. But turn the other way, look north, and Janus does not plow it at all: It is still a city path — oops, MUP. The NCC stoop-and-scoop sign is a leftover from the … Continue reading Janus the snowplower

125 Hickory, 500 Preston, bike path, condos, cycling in Ottawa, cyclopiste de preston, Dows Lake, intensificatioin, little Italy, LRT, O-Train, pedestrians, Preston street, Soho Italia, Uncategorized20 Comments

Soho Italia – the developer’s proposal

Westsideaction

 Note: the land on the south side of Carling on each side of the O-train corridor is shown as green space. It is NOT parkland. The City’s Official Plan calls for this area along Carling to be developed as a high-density mixed-use centre, ie more condos and offices.  The facade of the podium facing Preston appears to have a fair bit of glass. Unfortunately, I was unable to get a Photoshop rendering of this facade. How the building relates to the street is very important for a livable street. In the background of the above picture you can spot the 125 Hickory … Continue reading Soho Italia – the developer’s proposal

125 Hickory, 855 Carling, Bayview-Carling CDP, bike path, Claridge, condos, cyclopiste de preston, Dows Lake, intensificatioin, O-Train, Preston street19 Comments

Highest High Rise

Westsideaction

Starwood Mastercraft was an Ottawa builder decades ago, got more active in Toronto, and is now back in Ottawa building condos on Parkdale (north of Scott), Lisgar (old Canus plastics site), Champagne at Hickory (a few feet west of the O-Train, near the dog shelter). They also bought the site at Preston and Sydney and are proposing a condo tower there. As predicted, they are asking for a 35 storey condo tower, which would be the tallest in Ottawa. Taller than Tower C, Place de Ville; taller than the Metropole on Lanark/Scott. Like the rush of downtown applications by Claridge for 28 storey condos on tiny lots, … Continue reading Highest High Rise

bike path, cycling in Ottawa, somerset street11 Comments

Cycling Bridge over Rideau River

Westsideaction

Last night the City held an open house on the planning for a new multipurpose bridge over the Rideau River. For convenience, this can be referred to as a cycling bridge or pedestrian bridge, because those multi-purposes do not include motorised vehicles. Actually, the planners couldn’t bring themselves to call it a “bridge” either. It’s an overpass. To me that sounds like something over the Queensway, but plain simple language evaded the two dozen presentation boards. The project is being run by traffic engineers and the evidence was abundant. (anyone for a Champlain Overpass? McDonald Cartier Overpass? Alexandra Overpass? Hunt Club … Continue reading Cycling Bridge over Rideau River

bike path, bikewest, cycling in Ottawa, cyclopiste de preston, Laurier Ave, Uncategorized4 Comments

Cycling routes – part of roads? or sidewalks? or all on their own?

Westsideaction

Timo Perala spoke at the CFSC agm on Tuesday evening. One point he made about cycling infrastructure in Oulu, Finland, got me thinking again about how cycling infrastructure should be regarded. In Copenhagen, cycling tracks are adjacent the curb, with parking lanes out closer to the traffic lanes. Cyclists cross intersections in two stages, like pedestrians, rather than in one left-turn movement like cars. This is the model Bedard liked after his trip to Copenhagen, and I earlier blogged about how I thought Vivi Chi liked this one too as it can be implemented consistently throughout an urban area. Although how she could fit this onto the freshly … Continue reading Cycling routes – part of roads? or sidewalks? or all on their own?

bike path, parking1 Comment

Unofficial signs that need to be official …

Westsideaction

If it was a “real” sign it would be mounted eight feet up in the air, pointed along the curb rather than parallel to it, and would be difficult and expensive to get installed. Instead, this private sign is conveniently mounted 3-4′ above the sidewalk, directly facing the car that might park illegally on the bike lane. In short, it’s actually useful. In this particular instance, there is a curb side bike lane and a popular restuarant adjacent. Legal on-street parking commences just a few metres further west, so motorists must try to “squeeze in” one last car and then block … Continue reading Unofficial signs that need to be official …