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The O'Connor Street Bikeway was officially opened on October 25 by Mayor Jim Watson, Somerset Ward Councillor Catherine McKenney and Capital Ward Councillor David Chernushenko.
The O'Connor Street Bikeway consists of a combination of protected two-way bike lanes, painted bike lanes, and shared-use lanes connecting the East-West Bikeway at Laurier Avenue with Fifth Avenue, near Lansdowne Park. With significant changes to the street layout, all residents (cyclists, pedestrians and motorists) are reminded to be vigilant when using this new facility. Residents are encouraged to visit the project website at ottawa.ca for more information, including some short videos for both drivers and cyclists, about how to safely use the O'Connor Street Bikeway. To help spread this safety message, we also encourage everyone to share this information
with family, friends and neighbours. |
Ottawa has become one of the first cities in Canada to introduce advisory bike lanes. As part of a pilot project, advisory bike lanes have been installed on Somerset Street East between Range Road and Chapel Street. The advisory bike lane markings identify an area within the roadway for bicycle travel, but also make the bike lane available to motorists if space is needed to pass another oncoming vehicle. This approach adds cycling facilities to streets where they wouldn't otherwise fit: low-volume, low-speed roads that are too narrow to add full bike lanes.
Advisory bike lanes are placed on each side of the road, separated from the vehicle lane by a dashed line. Motorists travelling in opposite directions share one wide centre lane. When drivers encounter an oncoming motorist in the centre lane, the two vehicles move into the bike lanes to pass each other safely. If there is a cyclist in the bike lane, the motorist must travel behind the bike until it is safe to move back into the centre lane. More information is available on the City's website, including a short video on how to travel on a road with advisory bike lanes. |
Construction is continuing on the Cyrville Road pedestrian and cycling improvement project, with substantial completion expected before the end of the year. This project, along cross-town Bikeway #3, will provide new cycling facilities between Ogilvie Road and Meadowbrook Road. A combination of new buffered bike lanes and shared multi-use pathways (one-way for bikes) will connect to the small segments of bike lanes that existed along this route. The pedestrian and cycling facilities are expected to be constructed by the end of 2016. To find out more and to review a plan of the project, please visit the project website. |
Construction will continue into 2017 for a number of key projects that have multi-year construction timelines. This includes the Main Street reconstruction project, which will ultimately provide raised cycle tracks between Hawthorne Avenue / Graham Avenue and Toronto Street / Rideau River Drive. The northern part of this road reconstruction project was opened in October (from Clegg Street north to Harvey) and the cycle tracks within this segment are now operational.
Along the east-side of Mackenzie Avenue, a project to implement a 450-metre two-way bike track between Murray Street and
Rideau Street is also underway. This project is part of the City of Ottawa, the National Capital Commission (NCC) and the City of Gatineau's long-term goal to complete a cycling facility around Confederation Boulevard. The completion of the cycle track, including line painting and pavement markings, is expected in the spring of 2017. You can find out more about both projects on the City's website; Main Street renewal and Mackenzie Avenue bike tracks. |
The eastern branch of the east-west bikeway was significantly improved this summer with the addition of bike lanes along a 450-metre segment of Beechwood Avenue. By changing the configuration of the line painting between Springfield Road and Putman Avenue, there is now a travel lane and a bike lane in each direction, with on-street parking provided on one side only.
As well as modifying the road configuration, the City introduced a lower-speed limit (40km/hr) within this main street corridor and made changes to a number of bus stops, including the consolidation of some. Visit the City's website for more information on the Beechwood Avenue Transportation Corridor. |
Under the City's Temporary Traffic Calming program, each ward receives an annual budget of $40,000 for the implementation of temporary traffic calming measures, such as digital speed display boards, centreline flex stake delineators and speed pavement markings.
Within several wards, Councillors have funded the purchase and installation of cyclo-zone delineators along key cycling facilities to increase the visibility of the bike lane, provide seasonal traffic calming for vehicular traffic, discourage stopping or parking in bike lanes and ultimately increase the comfort of residents travelling by bike. Cyclo-zone delineators are installed seasonally for the spring and summer period (April to December) and removed prior to the winter season to allow for snow clearing. This past summer, they were installed at several locations including Somerset, Lyon and Bay Streets, as well as Stewart Street, Wilbrod Street and Hemlock Road along the east-west bikeway.
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Crossing enhancements at two locations along the Queen Elizabeth Driveway are expected to be completed in December. The new pedestrian crossovers, a joint project between the NCC and the City of Ottawa, will be installed at the Queen Elizabeth Place and Commissioners Park locations, both identified as key crossing points in the NCC's 2011 Rideau Canal Corridor Pedestrian Crossing Study. Half of the project's construction costs are being funded through the Government of Canada's Public Transit
Infrastructure Fund.
The pedestrian crossovers are designated areas that allow pedestrians to safely cross roads; vehicles must yield to pedestrians when crossing. Pedestrian crossovers are identified by specific signs and pavement markings; in some cases, they may also have pedestrian activated flashing beacons. When using pedestrian crossovers, cyclists are required to dismount and walk. More Information on the project can be found on both the NCC and City websites. |
The first Pedal Play Mobile Bike Rodeo in Kanata North was held on October 1 to increase both bike safety knowledge and confidence for children and their parents. It involved a 9-km route through the community with activity stations along the way. The activities were planned by CANBIKE instructor and Bruce Timmerman award recipient, Monna-Leigh McElveny, and were designed to teach safe cycling practices. Participants learned skills such as making hand signals, how to do a basic bike check, and how to safely navigate roundabouts.
The event was supported by Councillor Wilkinson and organized by the Councillor's Transportation Action Committee Kanata North, the Envirocentre's Sustain Kanata North project and the Kanata Beaverbrook Community Association, with assistance from Safer Roads Ottawa, Ottawa Safety Council, and Ottawa Public Health.
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This coming winter, the City's Public Works and Environmental Services Department will again maintain a network of approximately 40km of cycling facilities for use throughout the season. It includes a combination of routes on City and NCC properties, as well as key connections through lands owned by the University of Ottawa.
More information, including a map of the planned winter network and the City's maintenance standards, along with advice for safely riding in winter conditions, can be found on the City's website. |
Throughout the fall, landscaping and other finishing touches have been applied to some of the City's cycling projects for 2016. This includes the paved shoulders on MacFarlane Road, the multi-use pathway along the west side of Greenbank Road between Malvern Drive and Wessex Road, as well the new east-west connection to the Antler-Dolan underpass.
An overview of some of the City's recent high-profile, sustainable transportation projects can now be seen on a new 'story map' website, including a number of new pedestrian, cycling and transit facilities such as the Adàwe Crossing and Robert Grant Avenue.
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