Becoming bike-friendly
The Ottawa Citizen
May 6, 2010
The National Capital Commission has articulated the direction Ottawa's future cycling ought take, at least in a philosophical sense, since the bike routes are still far from being drawn on a map.
As Marie Lemay, the NCC's chief executive, noted in a meeting with the Citizen's editorial board last week, the fundamental problem is that there are a lot of people in this city who would like to commute by bicycle but don't because they are afraid of being hit by a car.
She herself would love to bike to work, but she admits that the traffic intimidates her.
Ottawa is full of cyclists who are not elite athletes with water bottles, Spandex bike shorts and aerodynamic sunglasses. These middle-aged, middle-ability cyclists are mainly visible on weekends engaging in recreational riding. There are nearly absent during the week on the major commuting routes to and from downtown in rush hour.
You won't find them in the left-turn lane of a six-lane street. Cycling in those conditions, as Lemay correctly notes, is left to the true enthusiasts, who will cycle religiously through horrendous traffic and bad weather.
A cyclist-friendly city is one that gives weekend riders a chance to travel to work without feeling as though every ride home could be their last. Getting these riders on the road during weekdays is the goal.
How to achieve it? There are several strategies, but among them will certainly be the separation of bikes and motor vehicles on some major routes (as opposed to current lane-sharing). Such a separation would likely come as a relief to motorists as well, who find it unsettling to veer out of lanes in order to avoid side-swiping cyclists.
Lemay said she's willing to sacrifice some access for cars to improve access for cycling. (She prefers to talk about "sustainable transportation," a term that also factors in buses and eventually light rail, but cycling is a big part.) Lemay is not afraid to envision the closing of some car lanes, which she admits might "complicate life" for motorists, at least in the short term until they adjust to the new rules.
What about businesses that feel they will lose customers if the city or NCC takes away the car parking out front? She's prepared to make the case, based on experience in other jurisdictions, that while businesses might lose shoppers with cars they will make up for it with customers on bikes. The conversation begins in earnest next month as NCC officials head to Copenhagen for a conference on sustainable cities that will cover a lot of cycling issues.
Ottawa has a well-earned reputation as a city for cyclists, but to be honest that's generally a reference to our famous recreational bike paths along the river. These paths are indeed a lovely attribute, but they are not suited to commuting. The NCC has tons of land, and under Lemay the organization is earning the respect of city leaders. It should be possible for planners in both organizations to identify biking thoroughfares where, unlike the pretty bike paths, dog-walkers, parents pushing strollers and the odd commuter can get where they're going without knocking into each other.
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