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

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!