Cycling in Ottawa
 

the revised ottawa cycling plan is coming up for approval soon. Unfortunately it used to have a lot more infrastructure, but Council did not want to spend $125 million over 20 years (despite the billions going to be spent on roads and transit), so the plan has been cut to $25.7 million for the first 10 years, $60 million for 10-20 years and beyond...

here's the PDF of the plan

I'm rather disappointed to see what is happening on Albert Street through LeBreton Flats. This section is such an important commuter cycling route, but I noticed that they are not putting bike lanes despite having ripped up the curb and rebuilt half the street. I was under the impression that when streets on the network are touched, cycling facilities must be put in place. Albert Street has been in the cycling plan way back from the time of the RMOC.

Also there has been a convention that streets on the network should have weir type storm drains instead of grates that can cause problems for cyclists. Again, I see brand new grates were placed on Albert. When is the city going to get its act together?

To make things worse it seems they are putting what looks like a multi-use pathway beside Albert which morphs into the sidewalk at intersections and runs right in front of bus stop shelters. This is such a dangerous combination, and complicates enforcing rules against sidewalk cycling.

Ottawa, Gatineau consider Paris bike-sharing system
NCC takes part in plan to provide alternative to cars

Dave Rogers
Ottawa Citizen

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

OTTAWA-The National Capital Commission and the cities of Ottawa and Gatineau are considering a public shared bicycle network similar to systems used in Paris and other cities to encourage commuters to leave their cars at home.

Marie Lemay, the chief executive officer of the commission, said Wednesday the NCC became interested in a public bicycle network when Transport Minister Lawrence Cannon described the Vélib' (bike freedom in French) system in Paris.

A proposal for a pilot project in downtown Ottawa and Gatineau is to be discussed at a meeting between officials from Ottawa, Gatineau and the NCC on Monday.

"I first heard about this when Mr. Cannon came back from Paris and asked to meet the mayors of Ottawa and Gatineau and myself," Ms. Lemay said. "The three of us are pretty excited by the idea and it is on the agenda during a tripartite meeting next week.

"There will be about 400 bikes in Montreal next spring and I noticed when I was in Washington, D.C., for three days that they have them there. The idea is to replace cars when you move from one place to another."

Ms. Lemay said commuters could swipe user cards to pick up bicycles at a network of stations and leave the bikes at the station closest to their destination. The bikes would probably be free for a short period, but cost money afterward to encourage commuters to use them briefly instead of renting them for a day or more.

"The idea of the NCC being involved is for the bike system to operate in Ottawa and Gatineau," Ms. Lemay said.

"If it works, the system would be in the core of both cities at the beginning, but there would be nothing to prevent Ottawa or Gatineau from expanding it."

The City of Gatineau has signed an agreement with a Quebec City non-profit transportation group to study the use of buses, public bicycles and shared cars as alternatives to private vehicles.

Gatineau and its bus company, the Société de transport de l'Outaouais, will each contribute $15,000 to a transportation study in Gatineau and Ottawa that is to be completed by 2010.

Pascal Laliberté, director of the transportation planning group Vivre en Ville, said the study could recommend a public bicycle system with bikes available at stations throughout the city, similar to public bicycle networks in Paris, Lyon and Barcelona.

Mr. Laliberté said the transportation study will include both sides of the Ottawa River because many people commute to work between Quebec and Ontario. He said commuters should be offered competing alternatives to private cars including carpools, car sharing, cycling and public transit to convince as many people as possible to leave their cars at home.

The Vélib' public bicycle network in Paris already has more than 20,000 unisex bicycles for rent at 750 self-serve stations. Lyons has 340 Vélov stations and 4,000 bicycles for hire. Montreal is planning to open a network of 300 stations with 2,400 rental bicycles in the spring of 2009.

Mr. Laliberté said Vivre en Ville will conduct a transportation demand survey to determine where commuters want to go and what transportation services are available.

"We want the study to determine the needs of employers, what services are available from public transit and car-sharing companies and what the need is for more bicycle paths," Mr. Laliberté said. "Two thirds of all trips are by commuters who are going to work and we have to offer alternatives to encourage these people to leave their cars at home.

"Cars produce a lot of pollution and many households can't afford them because of the increase in the price of gas. The use of private cars leaves Quebec with an annual balance-of-payments deficit of $20 billion because we don't produce cars or oil and have to import them from elsewhere."

Gatineau spokesman, Alain d'Entremont said a joint transportation study involving Ottawa, Gatineau and the NCC would cost about $275,000, with most of the money coming from Transport Canada.

Mr. d'Entremont said Gatineau and Ottawa could establish a public bicycle network because such systems have proved effective in Europe.

© Ottawa Citizen 2008

I've yet to ride my bike to work from Aylmer (a little too far, or I'm just too out of shape)... anyway, I should really take advantage of that path.. I can make it all the way to Wellington/Portage before I have to negotiate that steep hill and traffic on Bay Street (Bay has a bike lane NB, however.)

Trial run for bike-sharing program planned for this summer


BY BRENDAN KENNEDY, THE OTTAWA CITIZENFEBRUARY 3, 2009 6:21 PM


OTTAWA — A pilot bike-renting program is to run this summer in the National Capital Region, say the National Capital Commission and the cities of Ottawa and Gatineau.

Such a service, which has become a popular public-transit alternative in several European and American cities, allows people to rent bicycles by the hour from several locations in a city’s downtown.

This summer’s project aims to pave the way for a permanent bike-sharing service in 2010, the commission said. “This project lays the groundwork for a broader, progressive initiative that will see both residents and visitors in Canada’s Capital Region travelling in an environmentally friendly way, at little cost,” said Marie Lemay, chief executive of the NCC, in a written statement.

A spokeswoman for the commission said the details of the trial project have not yet been determined, but a feasibility study is about to begin to establish the launch date, costs, rental locations and how the service will operate.

“We’d like to launch 45 to 50 bikes in the coming biking season,” said spokeswoman Kathryn Keyes.

Montreal is planning to launch a bike-share program in the spring. Toronto’s bike-share service operated between 2001 and 2007, but was stopped due to a lack of funding. Similar services run in New York City, Portland, Paris and Barcelona, and programs are about to launch in San Francisco and Denver.

© Copyright (c) The Ottawa Citizen

My kids love riding with me along the Ottawa River Pkwy, and then east on the QC side to that Dairy Queen on 148. The path on the QC side leading to Aylmer is quite nice and full of rollerbladers many of whom are quite toned.:cheers:

Citizen: Avid cyclists consider lobby group
 

"Another meeting will be held this summer to present the findings of the report and further the creation of the cycling lobby group."

Did anyone here go to this? Does anyone else find the notion of creating a "cycling lobby group" a tad silly when we already have Citizens for Safe Cycling for that purpose, and, to a lesser extent, the Ottawa Bicycle Club? I know that CfSC has frequently been involved in lobbying efforts, but to little avail. Had these scores of cyclists actually joined the organization that already exists rather than following an MP around we might get a bit further...


Avid cyclists consider lobby group

Summit looks to put bikes back on agenda

BY VITO PILIECI, THE OTTAWA CITIZEN MAY 31, 2009
http://www.ottawacitizen.com/Travel/...109/story.html

More than 100 avid cyclists descended on a Bank Street church Saturday to discuss the creation of a lobby group to represent cyclists in the capital.

The meeting, facilitated by Ottawa Centre MP Paul Dewar, was scheduled after cyclists showed a groundswell of support for some offhand comments Dewar made at a press conference about a year ago.

At the time, the MP argued that federal infrastructure payments should allocate money specifically for bike paths and roadways used by cyclists.

Ottawa's bicycle community took the comments as a rallying cry.

"A number of people started calling and e-mailing my office about that," he said. "We decided to have this cycling summit."

Cycling enthusiasts met at St. Giles Presbyterian Church for four hours to brainstorm ideas and outline priorities that bicycle lovers want to see addressed. Among those in attendance was Somerset Ward councillor Diane Holmes, as well as officials from the National Capital Commission.

Cyclists identified potholes, awkwardly placed sewer grates and bicycle paths in dire need of repair as some of their top concerns. It was also decided that a cyclist-specific lobby group should be formed to draw attention to cyclists' issues come budget-deliberation time at city hall.

While he is happy to have gotten the ball rolling on the cycling initiative, Dewar said, he wants no part of the group in the longer term.

"It's not going to be Paul Dewar doing it myself; this has to be a community initiative," he said. "We've got two goals, and those are improving cycling for commuters as well as for cycle tourism."

Dewar said newly revamped cycling paths in the Niagara region are drawing bicycling enthusiasts there by the hundreds. He said VIA Rail has even set up a service to the region that allows people to take their bicycles on the train.

The City of Ottawa presented a draft plan in 2003 that was to have put a focus on cycling over a 20-year period, beginning in 2005. The draft plan, which called for more bike lanes and $124.7 million in spending over two decades, set a goal of nearly tripling the number of cycling trips taken. That plan has largely been discarded.

Dewar argues that the city and the NCC should do more to promote cycling.

He said he believes the $4.5 million the city has asked the federal government for, as part of the Conservatives' infrastructure plan, is a good start.

"We were the envy of the continent when we built our bike paths back in the 1970s," Dewar said. "Cycling is not an extra. It's a cornerstone."

Staff from Dewar's office will now read through the material that came out of the summit and prepare a report for politicians.

Another meeting will be held this summer to present the findings of the report and further the creation of the cycling lobby group.

© Copyright (c) The Ottawa Citizen

It would be great if they fixed the potholes and sewer grates- those are extremely dangerous for anyone who enjoys cycling. Also irritating/dangerous/bad for your bike/bad for your bathingsuit area are the huge bumps that one has to go over everytime bike paths cross roads or parking lot entrances.

Anyone hear about the new path in Gatineau they're supposed to build? It will link the Plateau area with the Ottawa River, in phases..


http://www.canadascapital.gc.ca/bins...-120845&lang=1

http://www.canadascapital.gc.ca/data...or_Pathway.pdf

Map:
http://www.canadascapital.gc.ca/data...%20concept.pdf

http://ottawa-gatineau.bixi.com/desi...o_white_og.png
Bixi Ottawa-Gatineau (bike share program)


Bike Share Trial Run in Ottawa-Gatineau
Ottawa-Gatineau is conducting a feasibility study on establishing a bike share system in Canada's Capital Region. Give it a try and let us know what you think!

Quick facts
50 bikes
4 stations: near the Château Laurier, in the ByWard Market, at the Canadian Museum of Civilization (across from the Maison du Citoyen) and in Vieux Hull
Available 7 am to 10 pm, seven days a week, from June until mid-September

http://ottawa-gatineau.bixi.com/desi...ees/grille.jpg

http://ottawa-gatineau.bixi.com/desi.../xog_carte.jpg

That fee structure is a bit confusing. Does it mean it will cost you $13.50 if you took the bike out for 2 hours?

However, in the website it states "The bike share system was created for short trips: usage fees encourage frequent use for periods of 30 minutes or less. To get rolling, you first have to acquire a 24-hour access to use the service. For every trip, the first 30 minutes are always free!". I would read that as if i took out a bike multiple times on the same day on short trips just under 30 minutes, I would only pay $3 even though your total day use is more than two hours.

That's nice, but until Ottawa (and the NCC) install more Montreal bike ROW on streets, this program is not going far.

Especially in the downtown... the parkways and other paths are great, but are tourists, young families, etc really going to want to bike on streets like Wellington, Rideau, Elgin or Sussex etc?

edit: and even the bike paths have issues... like Colonel By path just sort of ending, the narrowness of the paths (especially Colonel By!), and the lack of good pedestrian/cyclist crossings/signals over some of the adjacent roads. Pedestrians and cyclists shouldn't have to be good at Frogger to get to the paths or travel between paths.

There's also issues of priority... there a sign for cyclists to stop here for example... in other places the cyclist would have priority and a motorist would yield to any pedestrians or cyclists before turning across the path, or at least the design would be better for all users.

A bicycle built for sharing
http://www.ottawacitizen.com/bicycle...718/story.html
All eyes are on a pilot project designed to promote green travel downtown

BY CASSANDRA DRUDI, THE OTTAWA CITIZENJUNE 8, 2009 10:56 PM

http://a123.g.akamai.net/f/123/12465...n?size=620x400

Cassandra Drudi tests the NCC's new pilot project of a bike-sharing system.
Photograph by: Jean Levac, The Ottawa Citizen

OTTAWA — I’m cycling east on Rue Laurier in Gatineau, coming up to the light at Rue Elisabeth-Bruyère when a young woman crossing the street spots me on my silver bike.

“How does it ride?” she asks, after taking her headphones out.

I’ve been on this step-through commuter for about two minutes, having just picked it up at a bike-share station by the Museum of Civilization. I’ve only just figured out that the gears change with a grip-shifter on the right handlebar.

An authoritative answer on my part right now seems a bit premature.

“Not bad,” I say. “It’s pretty good.”

“Interesting,” she says, then thanks me before popping the bud back in her right ear and continuing on her way.

I pick up my pace and continue east, turning right to cross the river at the Alexandra Bridge, the wooden slats of its bicycle and pedestrian crossing rattling under the wide tires as I make my way from one province, and one bike-share station, to another.

•

It’s not exactly usual for someone to stop and ask me how my bike rides. But the silver step-through commuter I was riding Monday is not exactly a usual bike.

It’s called a Bixi, and is one of a fleet of 50 bikes available for public use through a trial bike-share program the NCC is running in conjunction with the cities of Ottawa and Gatineau.

The trial run, which started Monday and runs until the end of September, is part of a feasibility study for a permanent program that could start in 2010 and is designed to promote green methods of travel within the urban core.

As well as the bike-share station at Laurier and Victoria streets in Gatineau, there are stations at Promenade du Portage and Laval Street in Gatineau, Sussex Drive and York Street and Elgin Street and Lawrence Freiman Lane, near the National Arts Centre, where users can pick up and return their rides.

The bikes are utilitarian commuters, with a step-through frame that could accommodate a full skirt, and a wire basket in front of the handlebars that fit my laptop bag without a problem. A sturdy elastic holds bags in place, and the extra weight on the front had no noticeable effect on the steering.

It’s a solidly-framed bike with three mid-level gears up to the task of running errands in the city or pedalling along pathways at a respectable pace.

Outfitted with a bell and flashing front and back lights powered by pedalling, the only safety item missing is a helmet.

The bikes that have just hit the streets are the same as those on offer in Montreal, which launched its bike-share program in May. By June 7, the service was expected to have 3,000 bikes at 300 stations. Over the first 16 days, about 26,000 trips were taken using the system. In late May, about 100 new monthly subscribers were joining daily, and 2,200 people had signed up for monthly ($28) or annual ($78) subscriptions.

The Bixi was inspired by similar systems in France. Vélib, the Paris bike-share system, started in July 2007 and clocked one million rentals in its first 18 days. It has a citywide fleet of 20,000 bikes docked in 1,450 stations.

Although much used, the bikes have also fallen prey to vandals, with more than 7,500 bikes stolen and more than 11,500 damaged since the program launched.

•

It’s too soon to guess what kind of use the 50 bikes in the trial run will see. I can say that three people rented bikes from the Elgin station as I was returning mine, and most pedestrians slowed to take a good look at them.

I took the Bixi out three times for a grand total of $3 — the fee for access to the bikes for 24 hours. I rode from the Museum of Civilization to the NAC. After returning the bike and taking it out again to test- drive the basket, I rode from the NAC along the canal to Pretoria Bridge and back.

I tried unsuccessfully to print a receipt, and was only able to find out how much I’d spent after calling the customer service number.

Just as with the Montreal and Paris programs, the first 30 minutes of riding is free. After that, the cost rises rather quickly: the second 30 minutes is an additional $1.50, $3 for the third, and $6 for the fourth and each subsequent 30-minute block.

If you’re taking the bicycle out for a quick jaunt, you’re not likely to exceed the first free half-hour. Theoretically, you could take a Bixi out for any number of errands over the course of a day and have your wallet only $3 lighter by the end of it.

The results of the feasibility study are expected in the fall. While the trial run is under way, users are encouraged to submit their feedback online at www.ottawa-gatineau.

bixi.com.

How to rent a bike

1. Go to one of the four bicycle-share stations, located at Laurier and Victoria streets in Gatineau (near the Museum of Civilization), Promenade du Portage and Laval Street in Gatineau, Elgin and and Lawrence Freiman Lane (right by the NAC), and York and Sussex in the ByWard Market area.

2. Approach the pay station, credit card at the ready.

3. Follow the prompts that take you through 47 screens worth of terms and conditions. Touch the checkmark icon to say you agree.

4. Swipe your credit card.

5. If this works — and don’t make the mistake of leaving your credit card in the machine, as this does not result in a successful transaction — the next screen will read: “Code to unlock bike: print or view.”

6. If you choose print, you get a paper copy of the five-digit code that releases a bicycle from the station of your choosing. If you choose view, you have to remember the number.

7. Go ahead and choose a bicycle. Enter the five-digit code on the keypad to the left of the front wheel.

8. When the light above the keypad turns green, the bike is ready for release. Pull the bicycle out assertively and you’re ready to roll.

What it costs

• $3 for 24-hour access to the Bixi system, subject to the hours of the bike stations, which are open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.

• The first 30 minutes of riding is free.

• The second half-hour is an additional $1.50

• The third half-hour is an additional $3

• The fourth and any subsequent 30-minute blocks cost an additional $6

© Copyright (c) The Ottawa Citizen

I wonder what the Americans think of having a bicycle rental station next to their embassy. I mean, that's got to be a security threat, or something.

It's also amusing that the helmets are nowhere near the bicycle rentals. What if someone gets smucked on the way? It figures there'd be a helmet rental - but not a bicycle rental - at the NCC InfoCentre. Imagine the scene:

Tourists - let's same from the Netherlands - make their way to Parliament Hill (after an appalling ride on the #97, but I digress). After visiting Parliament Hill they wander across Wellington to the InfoCentre to find out what to do next. They decide to visit the Museum of Civilization. They also find out that Ottawa has a bicycle program from the staff. Unfortunately, they find out that they have to first walk to the NAC to get the nearest depot. As they're leaving, the helpful attendant calls to them and advises that they can rent helmets here. The Dutchmen respond, puzzled:

"What would we need them for?"

I guess this is just a trial run, but ideally for this to work well for tourists there would be a station at every museum. The attractions that are off the beaten path such as the Museum of Nature or Aviation could really benefit from this.

Apparently in Montreal there's a bit of a problem in many stations emptying fast and others filling up with no room left to store in-coming bikes. Ah, the issues with self-powered PAT :)

Sharing bike helmets = bad idea. You thought swine flu could spread fast, just wait until head lice starts jumping from head to head. Maybe that's just me being paranoid...

As for the lack of bikes, I also saw that in Montreal last week, but couldn't they just pay a summer student to ride a bike back to the station.

Anyways, this is what I am talking about when I want to see some dedicated routes (ROW) like this in Montreal:
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/220/5...56378b6c10.jpg
Luton
Adding stoplights will force cyclists to obey traffic laws and now drat between moving cars.

There's some sort of bike-sharing stand outside of the Minto Suites on Lyon. That's not part of this trial, is it? Looks more like the hotel's own bikes.