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  #21  
Old Posted Apr 24, 2017, 2:54 PM
monkeybongo monkeybongo is offline
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+1 for bike lanes on Holland. It would nicely connect Scott St to the Byron path.
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  #22  
Old Posted Apr 24, 2017, 11:52 PM
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'We have this raging battle between bike lanes and parking': Spencer Street blowback angers Ottawa cycling advocate

Jon Willing, Ottawa Citizen
Published on: April 24, 2017 | Last Updated: April 24, 2017 4:41 PM EDT


A businessman who was one of the first supporters of drawing bike lanes on Spencer Street says the removal of a big bike rack on Wellington Street West nearly three years ago has given opponents some swagger.

“We empowered them,” Randy Kemp said. “All the whining and complaining paid off.”

Kemp, a former chairman of the Wellington West BIA and now the organization’s treasurer, said the conflict over the bike corral at Clarendon Avenue in 2014 set the stage for the current debate over putting bike lanes on Spencer Street. The city removed the bike corral, which was placed in a spot used for on-street parking, after receiving complaints about the lost vehicle space.

When the city replaced the underground infrastructure on Spencer Street, Kemp was one of the cycling advocates who reached out to Kitchissippi Coun. Jeff Leiper with the idea of putting bike lanes on each side of the residential road. Leiper liked the idea enough that he asked city staff to make it happen when the road reconstruction happens this year.

After hearing complaints from businesses and residents, Leiper helped organize an open house, which is Tuesday night, to gauge the community’s appetite for adding bike lanes and losing 97 on-street parking spots.

Kemp said he was thrilled when the city showed interest in drawing bike lanes on Spencer Street between Western and Holland avenues.

Now he’s shaking his head at the possibility of the plan being reversed.

“My first reaction is I’m really disappointed. I thought we were done with this battle between parking and cycling when it comes to parking that is not really utilized. It’s not even needed, and yet we have this raging battle between bike lanes and parking,” Kemp said.

“I expected better.”

A study has shown that parking demand on Spencer Street is low at peak times. Few homes front onto Spencer Street in that stretch.

But opponents of the plan don’t like the idea of losing street parking to accommodate narrow bike lanes when Spencer Street already operates as a well-used cycling connector route without the road markings. People have been signing petitions to stop the bike lanes and to call for more consultation before the plan is set in stone.

The final decision on the road design largely rests with Leiper.

Kemp, who owns residential and commercial properties in the Wellington West area, said the city needs to use the opportunity to expand cycling infrastructure and avoid “a bigger setback than what people realize.”

The open house Tuesday will be at the Ottawa Mosque’s Hall of Peace at 241 Northwestern Ave. from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.

jwilling@postmedia.com
twitter.com/JonathanWilling

http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-...cling-advocate
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  #23  
Old Posted Apr 25, 2017, 3:07 PM
Urbanarchit Urbanarchit is offline
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Originally Posted by monkeybongo View Post
+1 for bike lanes on Holland. It would nicely connect Scott St to the Byron path.
And Sherwood if we can get 66+1% of residents on Sherwood to support the unused parking space being turned in a bike lane.
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  #24  
Old Posted Apr 25, 2017, 5:51 PM
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Notwithstanding that the stretch of Spencer in question is not in Hintonburg, the bike lane proposal is now dead in the water: http://kitchissippiward.ca/content/bike-lanes-spencer
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  #25  
Old Posted Apr 25, 2017, 7:29 PM
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rocketphish rocketphish is offline
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Originally Posted by McC View Post
Notwithstanding that the stretch of Spencer in question is not in Hintonburg, the bike lane proposal is now dead in the water: http://kitchissippiward.ca/content/bike-lanes-spencer
We could call this cautionary tale: “Overzealous councillor acts quietly on behalf of vocal minority, then learns a lesson about the need for open consultation after the word leaks out.”

There's some pretty insightful comments from residents there too. And to think that this was very close to a fait accompli without many people even knowing about it!
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  #26  
Old Posted Apr 25, 2017, 9:18 PM
zzptichka zzptichka is offline
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Originally Posted by rocketphish View Post
We could call this cautionary tale: “Overzealous councillor acts quietly on behalf of vocal minority, then learns a lesson about the need for open consultation after the word leaks out.”

There's some pretty insightful comments from residents there too. And to think that this was very close to a fait accompli without many people even knowing about it!
No kidding. Where will those hundreds of residents park their cars?



Spencer street at 5PM on weekday via @ElieBourgett
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  #27  
Old Posted Apr 26, 2017, 12:31 AM
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rocketphish rocketphish is offline
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Councillor bows to opposition over Spencer Street bike lanes

Jon Willing, Ottawa Citizen
Published on: April 25, 2017 | Last Updated: April 25, 2017 2:09 PM EDT


There will be no bike lanes on Spencer Street now that the area’s councillor has decided there isn’t enough support to swap street parking for the marked cycling zones.

Kitchissippi Ward Coun. Jeff Leiper wrote on his website Tuesday that there isn’t enough backing in the community to replace street parking with painted bike lanes between Western and Holland avenues. He says 55 per cent of the 160 emails he received oppose the plan.

“Some of this opposition was sometimes on the basis of assertions with which I disagree, but much of it has resonated with me,” Leiper wrote.

Leiper’s post came hours before an open house on the road design.

He had advocated a plan to draw bike lanes on Spencer Street after hearing from cycling advocates who suggested a new post-construction design. The idea involved replacing 97 on-street parking spaces with the narrow bike lanes.

Spencer Street, which is slated for road reconstruction after pipe and sewer upgrades, is considered a cycling connector route on the regional cycling map.

Opposition to the bike-lane plan has been building in recent weeks as homeowners and businesses decry the loss of parking on Spencer Street. Opponents say the street is a well-used and adequate cycling route that doesn’t require bike lanes.

On the other hand, cycling advocates see Spencer Streets as a prime opportunity to introduce bike-friendly infrastructure through the Hintonburg-Westboro corridor, especially since Wellington Street West is generally considered precarious for cyclists.

The final decision rests with Leiper, but he says he can’t prove to the city that there’s enough community support for the bike lanes.

A traffic-calming plan to install raised intersections at three places along the corridor won’t change, the councillor says.

The open house Tuesday will now be more like a drop-in rather than a town hall, Leiper says. It will be at the Ottawa Mosque’s Hall of Peace at 241 Northwestern Ave. from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.

jwilling@postmedia.com
twitter.com/JonathanWilling

http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-...eet-bike-lanes
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  #28  
Old Posted Apr 26, 2017, 1:34 PM
Uhuniau Uhuniau is offline
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Originally Posted by rocketphish View Post
We could call this cautionary tale: “Overzealous councillor acts quietly on behalf of vocal minority, then learns a lesson about the need for open consultation after the word leaks out.”
He could learn from his colleagues Nussbaum and Fleury on how to ignore or bulldoze the opposition to pet projects.
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  #29  
Old Posted Apr 26, 2017, 2:44 PM
acottawa acottawa is offline
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Originally Posted by zzptichka View Post
No kidding. Where will those hundreds of residents park their cars?



Spencer street at 5PM on weekday via @ElieBourgett
Seems like there is plenty of room for cyclists, cars, parking and tumbleweeds under the current arrangement.
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  #30  
Old Posted Apr 26, 2017, 2:56 PM
zzptichka zzptichka is offline
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Originally Posted by acottawa View Post
Seems like there is plenty of room for cyclists, cars, parking and tumbleweeds under the current arrangement.
I don't disagree. This is not a good street for a cycling track. Ideally it should run on Wellington West, one block to the South.
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