Bikes everywhere or are my eyes deceiving me?

Recently there's been some ratcheting up of the complaints about the Laurier Avenue Segregated Bike Lanes (LSBL) in the local media. A recently formed coalition of citizens opposing the lanes claim that the city is fiddling with the number of users for the bike lanes and that these numbers are exaggerated. Today in the Ottawa Citizen one letter writer, incredibly, stated that only about 25 people use the lanes per day. I probably shouldn't have mentioned this comment because it's beyond ludicrous but this is the sort of thing being tossed around by bike lane opponents. Interestingly, a recent comment to this blog complained about having to deal with the "thousands of cyclists". Too many, too little...I guess they can't decide. On my way down Laurier West today I did a rack by rack count from Kent Street to Elgin Street. Every single rack, without exception, had a bike attached and most had two or more. In total, I counted 220 bikes. This does not include any bikes on any of the north or south running streets that were visible to me. Now imagine if all these cyclists were to drive instead! Where would they find the parking?

Winter bike parade for winter cycling fans

The Citizen's for Safe Cycling is sponsoring a winter bike parade. The event will be held on Sunday, January 22. Winter cyclists are to meet at Laurier Avenue West and Percy Street at noon. The parade will travel down the Laurier segregated bike lane to the Ottawa City Hall at 110 Laurier Avenue. There will be free hot apple cider at City Hall to warm up participants. The event will go snow or shine. You can visit the CFSC website to view the CFSC promotional poster.

The Laurier SBL is clear but how do you get to it?

I was surprised by the number of cyclists I saw today in the snow and messy conditions. The Laurier Avenue segregated bike lanes SBL) were in good shape today as the city had their little machines keeping them clear and salted during the day. However, it was very annoying (to say the least) to see the shape of both the Lyon and Bay Street bike lanes. Just like last year they were completely covered in snow and unusable as bike lanes. The multi-use pathway along the canal was snow-covered as well. Bike lanes are the responsibility of the city and the multi-use pathways (MUP) are maintained by the National Capital Commission. Both bodies seem interested in encouraging cycling in Ottawa. The city is making an effort to keep the Laurier SBL clear, but if you can't get to it on a reasonably well-maintained route is the effort worth it in the end? The lanes on Lyon and Bay, and the MUP, are all well-used bike pathways and it would have been nice to see them maintained as part of a network along with the Laurier SBL.




The Laurier SBL looking east from Bay Street. Well salted and plowed but can you get to it?



Lyon Street bike lane...yes, it's there under the snow and slush.



Bay Street bike lane...what is the sign pointing at? A bike lane?



The snow-covered MUP along the Queen Elizabeth Driveway and a dedicated cyclist.

Look both ways before you cross the street!

One of the first rules you learn as a child is how to safely cross a street. Look both ways! How many times do we hear this as children? And yet, as adults, we often forget to do this. Last week I spoke to a cyclist who had been involved in a collision with a salad toting pedestrian (that red line in the photo is the salad trail). According to the cyclist and another passerby, the pedestrian just entered the bike lane without looking. I hope that had they made it safely through the bike lane that they may have looked both ways before crossing the avenue. Perhaps not though. The cyclist involved in this collision said he had a number of close calls with other pedestrians. It seems they are ignoring this simple rule that they learned as children. For myself, if I am not making eye contact with a pedestrian near the bike lane I am going to assume they are not going to look. A good place for the bell as well. The Laurier segregated bike lanes are only a month old. The police and paramedics were called to this scene but it seemed precautionary rather than necessary. According to the City of Ottawa there have been no major incidents along the SBL. Let's hope it stays that way.



Looking east down the Laurier segregated bike lane.

Laurier Avenue segregated bike lane week #1

It’s been a week since the Laurier Avenue segregated (or dedicated) bike lanes opened and despite the warnings of critics, cars and cyclists are not colliding at record levels and a general state of havoc has not happened yet. One of the concerns I heard expressed was that parking would become very difficult. Well, the photo below was taken on Thursday at 11:30 A.M. which is a fairly busy time downtown. As you can see though, there are quite a few parking spots available here. This is on Gloucester between Metcalfe and O’Connor. A parking crush? Hardly.



Parking problems?


Another concern was with delivery vehicles. I had not seen any vehicles parked in the bike lane until today (Saturday July 16). In pedestrian mode, we noticed a cyclist having a talk with the driver of this white van. The driver would not move. The cyclist then approached a passing police car. The officer appeared to exchange words with the van’s driver yet the van remained there as the police car disappeared. Obviously, enforcement of the law is going to be important for the bike lanes to function. I was very surprised that the officer allowed the driver of this van to finish off his business rather than instructing him to move out of the lane.





Annoyed cyclist and the van remains!


Lastly, the number of cyclists downtown continues to grow. Looking at the various bike racks around town, it's pretty easy to see.



Bike racks on O'Connor Street

Laurier Avenue segregated bike lanes officially open

Today the Laurier Avenue segregated bike lanes officially opened. A large and diverse group of cyclists gathered as well as a small group of protesters. After a series of small speeches it was time to try out the lanes. The initial ride was lead by Mayor Jim Watson. This project has been very controversial in Ottawa, a city that always resists change. Now that the lanes are here for the next two years perhaps we can put all the acrimony behind and just see how things work. Personally, I suspect the Laurier SBLs will be a big success and the first of many that we will see.



Alex deVries, vice-president of Citizen's for Safe Cycling (SFSC), discusses the Laurier SBL with Mayor Jim Watson. I overheard the mayor say how important it is to write to your local papers. Very true! Don't let the complainers make the most noise.



I did say a diverse group. Charles Akben-Marchand, president of the Centretown Citizen Community Association had a rather interesting swing bike. He's also part of the team that runs the very successful bike parking at Bluesfest.



One of the many volunteers doing some bike lane outreach.



A pair of Dutch cyclists happy to have a segregated bike lane.

No one bikes in Ottawa II

Recently, in the local newspaper, yet another letter writer said she didn't notice anyone cycling on Laurier Avenue. Really! Here is a photo of another "unused" bike rack. It's located on the south side of City Hall. City Hall, of course, is at 110 Laurier Avenue.

Doing it all wrong

There is hardly a bike blog in Ottawa that has not had a critical word or two for the drivers in Ottawa and the lack of respect some often show for cyclists. Well, it's only fair that cyclists take their share of the criticism when it's warranted. With the opening of the Laurier segregated bike lanes and the general increase in cycling in Ottawa, it should go without saying that cyclists need to respect cars as well. I photographed the cyclist here doing several things wrong. Not only was she riding on the wrong side of the road, but she proceeded up the not yet opened Laurier bike lanes heading west in the east bound lane. Though the lanes are not yet open, some cyclists have been using them. If that is the case, how about exercising some common sense and ride in the proper lane! The face has been blurred to protect the silly!

Bike launch pads on Laurier Avenue

If you have been down Laurier Avenue in the last few days you may have noticed these "launch pads". These pads will facilitate the turns of cyclists from the Laurier segregated lanes. According to the City of Ottawa, "To enable safe left turns for cyclists using the pilot facility, bike “launch pads” have been proposed at intersections in front of automobile traffic and pedestrian crosswalks. These launch pads would enable cyclists to safely perform a two-stage left turn: the cyclists would cross the intersection in the designated cycling lane, then would wait on the launch pad for the traffic signal to switch to allow movement on the cross street.

Originally these were going to be blue but green works for me too. This one is at Laurier and Bay but there will likely be more in the next few days. On inspection, they appear to be made of a skid resistant material that should last a good while. I am looking forward to sitting in my launch pad!

Laurier segregated bike lane is taking shape

Laurie Avenue looking east from Bay Street

The segregated bike lanes on Laurier Avenue now run from Bronson to Bay though they are not open yet. Phase two of the project is set to start on Monday the 30th according to the City of Ottawa. The sooner the better I say!

Ottawa city council approves the Laurier Avenue segregated bike lane!

Well it is done. City council today approved the Laurier Avenue segregated bike lane project. I think this was a strong decision in the face of some vocal opposition. Perhaps the city knew that the lanes would not be as disruptive as opponents were trying to claim. I kept hearing from the opponents that businesses would be hurt. Cycling Vision Ottawa, a new cycling

advocacy group actually asked the businesses what they think. Of the 38 business owners on Laurier only 7 opposed the lanes and 9 did not wish to say either way. However, 22 were willing to sign a statement saying they either supported the lanes or were not against them. The city was likely aware of CVO's survey. (digital image render source, Ottawa Citizen)

Laurier Avenue bike lane project photo...looks nice!

This is the City of Ottawa's own plan and digital conception of the new Laurier Avenue bike lane project. The cyclist pictured is heading east on Laurier at Lyon Street.

The Bank Street Business Improvement Area president has stated that his group will fight this project.