Cycling in Ottawa

[rocketphish]

Originally Posted by ars

Just heard on the radio this morning that the city has moved the stopping line for cars 5 meters behind the stopping line for bicycles at that intersection.

Yes, this was done yesterday:

Laurier Avenue stop lines shifted in wake of cyclist's death
Distance between vehicles, bikes increased where right turns allowed

CBC News Posted: Sep 21, 2016 2:06 PM ET Last Updated: Sep 22, 2016 8:59 AM ET



Phil Landry, the city's manager of traffic services, said in a written response Wednesday that the city is relocating the stop bars to improve how well motorists can see cyclists in the segregated bike lanes. The move also makes the "yield to cyclist" signage more visible to motorists, said Landry.

Landry added that the change was made thanks to a working group initiated by Mayor Jim Watson, transportation committee chair Keith Elgi, transportation services general manager John Manconi and representatives of cycling groups.

The working group met six days after Jahan's death to explore ways to improve safety on the Laurier bike lane.

Cyclists riding along the reconfigured Laurier bike lane on Wednesday seemed to appreciate the repositioning of the stop lines.

"I've had people turning into you when you're coming down the bike lane," said Elise Adler. "It's a great start. I don't know if it's enough. Time will tell."

Steve Ginley also favours the new stop lines.

"The hardest thing about biking is not knowing what everyone else is seeing," said Ginley. "Sometimes you're a lot lower than other people, so to have this kind of set up where the cars can see everything, or at least they can see me, that definitely makes me feel safer."

Mayor Jim Watson has also promised the city would hire an outside firm to conduct a safety audit of Laurier Avenue.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa...eath-1.3772265

[McC]

Of course people who do things like stop for stop lines aren't usually the problem; but every bit helps.

[phil235]

Originally Posted by rocketphish

Yes, this was done yesterday:

I don't mean to brag, but that's me in the picture.

[McC]

looking sharp!

[phil235]

Originally Posted by McC

looking sharp!

I was thinking that I needed to get to the gym, but thanks - at least they got my best side!

[1overcosc]

A good idea but everyone will just drive over them. Ottawa drivers are horrible at going over stop lines, over crosswalks, even over the intersection itself.

The number of people who seem to think that a green light means they can always go regardless of if they can actually clear the intersection is terrifying.

[SkeggsEggs]

Originally Posted by 1overcosc

A good idea but everyone will just drive over them. Ottawa drivers are horrible at going over stop lines, over crosswalks, even over the intersection itself.

The number of people who seem to think that a green light means they can always go regardless of if they can actually clear the intersection is terrifying.

I've been honked at quite a few times for stopping at the stop line on a green when I wouldn't be able to make it through an intersection. I have also been honked at for waiting for pedestrians to cross a crosswalk, but oh well Some people are just VERY impatient and don't care much for others.

[rocketphish]

Cameras mounted on Laurier part of safety audit in wake of cyclist death

Susana Mas, The Ottawa Citizen
Published on: September 22, 2016 | Last Updated: September 22, 2016 10:00 PM EDT

A safety audit of Laurier Avenue is underway less than two weeks after Mayor Jim Watson got an earful from cycling and pedestrian advocates upset by the latest cyclist fatality.

Nusrat Jahan, 23, was killed Sept. 1 when she and a truck collided as she rode her bicycle near the busy intersection of Laurier and Lyon Street. The driver of the truck, Steven Bruce Conley, 38, has been charged with criminal negligence causing death and dangerous driving causing death.

Temporary cameras were seen this week mounted on poles at several intersections along the controversial segregated bike lane on Laurier, between Elgin Street and Bronson Avenue.

“Traffic services staff have been collecting vehicle and cyclist data along the Laurier bike lane recently,” manager Phil Landry said in an email response to an inquiry by the Citizen on Thursday.

“The data being collected will be part of the safety audit being conducted by a third party specialized in cycling infrastructure and operations and safety reviews,” Landry wrote.

City staff took turns monitoring the cameras and answering questions from residents and curious onlookers. Some staff even brought their own chairs.

Recording the traffic on Laurier is the latest in a series of additional measures taken by the city to increase safety along the bicycle lane, which is part of a wider east-west bikeway.

Some of the stop lines along that stretch have been moved back for motorists and stop lines for cyclists have been moved slightly forward to increase the space between drivers and cyclists by about five metres.

The city has also made the “yield to cyclists” signage more visible to drivers.

One city employee said the data recorded this week would be compiled and presented to the mayor who would in turn make the findings and recommendations public.

“The release of the data is expected at a future date,” Landry said.

http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-...-cyclist-death

[Radster]

Originally Posted by eltodesukane

A familiar bike vs truck accident story in Montreal...
".. she was waiting for the light to change [..] as a dump truck idled beside her.
When the light changed, St-Amour started forward, and the truck driver, who could not see her in his blind spot, turned right.
She died at the scene."
http://montrealgazette.com/news/loca...ting-dangerous

Wow, yet in Montreal, the Police had a different conclusion:

"Police declared no one was at fault"

[eltodesukane]

Meanwhile in Toronto..
Cars hit 1,083 Toronto pedestrians, cyclists since June
So many accidents point to a need for new infrastructure, Kyle Miller says
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toront...june-1.3776779

[rocketphish]

Ottawa city council OK's mountain bike park on former Carlington ski hill
The City of Ottawa won't contribute money to the project, but will help with maintenance

By Kate Porter, CBC News Posted: Sep 28, 2016 12:33 PM ET Last Updated: Sep 28, 2016 12:35 PM ET

Ottawa city council has approved a plan put forward by the Ottawa Mountain Bike Association to build a track and skills area on a former ski hill in Carlington Park.

The city will not contribute any money to the project, but it will monitor the volunteer group's progress as it builds the dirt track and jumps, and will help maintain the site, staff said.

The City of Ottawa has received many proposals over the years for the former ski hill, including pitches for water slides and winter tubing, said Dan Chénier, general manager of parks and recreation.

But the city has always steered away from developing the hill, he said.

Asked about residents' concerns for at-risk species that can be found in Carlington Park, staff assured councillors that the mountain bike park would not affect the animals.

Even Coun. David Chernushenko, an expert in the environmental impacts of sports facilities, supported the park proposal, saying the mountain bike community once had a reputation for being "yahoos" when it came to sustainability, but has come a long way.

However the proposal has divided residents of the surrounding neighbourhood.

The Carlington Community Association told a city committee last week that a vote taken at its annual meeting showed most residents support the mountain bike proposal.

But other residents have shown up at city hall wearing "Save the Hill" T-shirts, and have been speaking out about the impacts they believe the mountain bikers will have on traffic and the environment.

They also say the city should have consulted more widely before approving the proposal.

Only councillors Keith Egli and Rick Chiarelli dissented when council approved the project Wednesday.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa...tawa-1.3782163

[rocketphish]

Here's the full Ottawa Bike Park proposal:

http://ottawamba.org/cms/wp-content/...esentation.pdf

[rocketphish]

O'Connor's new bike lanes open on Thursday, ahead of schedule

Matthew Pearson, Ottawa Citizen
Published on: October 20, 2016 | Last Updated: October 20, 2016 11:06 AM EDT



The new O’Connor Street segregated bike lanes are set to open Thursday, about a month ahead of schedule.

The city is calling it a “soft opening” because the official ribbon cutting isn’t happening until Tuesday.

Crews will be out early in the day to uncover new traffic signals, remove construction pylons and temporary signs, and sweep the two-way bike lane on the east side of the O’Connor, which is separated from cars with curbs and flexible bollards.

The lanes are expected to be ready for cyclists at 3:30 p.m., just in time for afternoon rush hour.

City council unanimously approved downtown Ottawa’s second segregated bike lane last year and decided to build the 2.5-kilometre north-south cycling spine between Parliament Hill and Lansdowne Park in two stages.

Construction on the section of O’Connor Street from Laurier Avenue to Fifth Avenue happened over the summer and early fall. Work on the section between Wellington and Laurier won’t happen until 2018 at the earliest because the city wants to avoid construction in the downtown core during celebrations marking the 150th anniversary of Canada’s Confederation in 2017.

The city also wants to wait until after hundreds of OC Transpo buses are removed from Albert and Slater streets after the Confederation LRT line opens in 2018.

At a total cost of $4 million, the new bikeway is a combination of separated bike lanes, painted bike lanes and shared use lanes.

Where O’Connor is a one-way street, between Laurier and Pretoria avenues, there will be a two-way bike lane on the east side of the street. Between Pretoria and Strathcona avenues, where O’Connor is still a one-way street, there will be a bike lane on the west side for cyclists heading south and what’s called a contraflow bike lane on the east side of the street, separated by a curb, for those heading north. And where O’Connor is a two-way street in the Glebe, there will be a mix of painted lanes and shared-use lanes (meaning cars and bikes both use the roadway).

The Laurier to Fifth link will connect with a southbound contraflow bike lane along O’Connor between Fifth and Holmwood, bringing cyclists to the north side of Lansdowne Park. Riders could then continue along Holmwood, where the road is shared, to Bank Street and continue travelling further south.

The O’Connor bikeway wasn’t initially be included in the city’s winter cycling network, but Somerset Coun. Catherine McKenney’s office confirmed on Thursday that it will be cleared of snow and maintained over the winter.

Work also began this year on a new two-way bike lane on the east side of Mackenzie Avenue, adjacent to the United States Embassy. It will connect existing cycling lanes on Sussex Drive, St. Patrick Street and the Alexandra Bridge to Wellington Street, Rideau Street and the Rideau Canal Eastern Parkway, and should be completed by early 2017.

mpearson@postmedia.com
twitter.com/mpearson78

http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-...ad-of-schedule

[waterloowarrior]

found on youtube

• Video Link

[acottawa]

I hope this is the model going forward. It is much better for cyclists and drivers than bike lanes or the Laurier model.

[jimmyjones]

Originally Posted by waterloowarrior

found on youtube

• Video Link

Right at the end you start to see the drainage issues for the southbound lane in the glebe. You have to veer back into the traffic lane to avoid some pretty large pools of water.

[Aylmer]

I can actually live with that since it's on such a low-traffic street. I'm thrilled with the new cycleway! I hope it's a sign of things to come on more and more of our streets.

I'd love to see a good new E-W link to link next. Laurier is great, but it only runs through downtown. I'd like to see something like O'Connor's on Somerset (Overbrook to Hintonburg) or on Albert and/or slater once the Transitway closes.

[zzptichka]

Originally Posted by Aylmer

I can actually live with that since it's on such a low-traffic street. I'm thrilled with the new cycleway! I hope it's a sign of things to come on more and more of our streets.

I'd love to see a good new E-W link to link next. Laurier is great, but it only runs through downtown. I'd like to see something like O'Connor's on Somerset (Overbrook to Hintonburg) or on Albert and/or slater once the Transitway closes.

Somerset would be perfect but I don't think it's in the plans, unless they revamp 2013 cycling plan. Neither is Albert/Slater.
I believe next big project in the core is on Wellington, which is a few years away.

[TransitZilla]

Originally Posted by zzptichka

Somerset would be perfect but I don't think it's in the plans, unless they revamp 2013 cycling plan. Neither is Albert/Slater.
I believe next big project in the core is on Wellington, which is a few years away.

Albert/Slater are in the Downtown Moves plan and will be implemented when the streets are reconstructed post-2018.

See: http://documents.ottawa.ca/sites/doc...apter_4_en.pdf

I suspect Wellington will be done first, though.

[zzptichka]

Originally Posted by bradnixon

Albert/Slater are in the Downtown Moves plan and will be implemented when the streets are reconstructed post-2018.

See: http://documents.ottawa.ca/sites/doc...apter_4_en.pdf

I suspect Wellington will be done first, though.

Yep, there are two options in DT Moves for Albert/Slater: shared lane & one way separated. Wonder what they will go with.