Monday, October 24, 2011

New Scott Street bike lanes

For many years Scott Street has been one of the worst streets to drive on in Ottawa. In fact, I don't recall it ever being in anything but terrible shape. The right-hand lane eastbound in particular had a strong camber and was horribly rutted and pot-holed. Well, Scott Street finally had some resurfacing work and with that came an added surprise. Bike lanes! They're not segregated lanes and they don't run the length of Scott Street but it's still a small step towards making Ottawa a better cycling city. The new lanes run between Holland Avenue and Island Park Drive and I think they'll come in handy for many. Here's a view of the freshly painted lanes looking east down Scott Street.

7 comments:

  1. It would be great if more segregated cycle lanes could be built everywhere. We are certainly lacking here in London.

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  2. Yes, London strikes me as a difficult city to bike in. It would be nice if bikes could be accepted without the animosity that seems so prevalent these days. Segregated lanes would calm everyone down.

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  3. I think Scott is much better without segregated bike lanes - simply because I don't trust the city to keep segragated lanes clear in the winter. I know that segragated lanes on Percy are left unplowed all winter whereas Bay street is clear because it is just painted on.

    I love Scott for being a direct flat route to the downtown. This is excellent news. Next place for lanes should be Smyth - followed by Main.

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  4. Thanks for the comment anonymous. It is my understanding that the city intends to keep the Laurier bike lane cleared of snow. I trust that with so many cycling initiatives that they will understand the need to keep the paths (painted or not) clear of snow. I agree about Smyth and Main...especially Main...it could be the new Westboro/Wellington Village in the not to distant future...a road diet and bike lanes would be a good place to start.

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  5. I agree, Scott is a great route to downtown, but what do you do between Preston and Bronson? I have been going along Albert but I dislike being surrounded by buses and cars on both sides. Today I went over to Somerset, only to discover that I had to get off and walk through the construction. I work on Elgin.

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  6. Thanks Anonymous. I agree it's a disaster between Preston and Bronson. I took that home last night from the CFSC meeting and it was not pleasant even though there was little traffic. There appears to be plenty of space in the general area for a bike lane. They also need to do something about Scott/Albert west of Preston. I was westbound over the overpass and the cars were going by at 80-90 only feet away. Not nice!

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  7. I need to quit blogging so much for Good Apps and get around Ottawa and ride my bike. It helps me keep the weight off. Typing on the computer...does not...lol

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