Saturday, 15 June 2013 10:32
Tomorrow, June 16 is the date of the annual MEC bike fest. Similar to Ottawa Velo Fest, which was held two weeks ago, there are a number of activities as well as booths from organisations such as RightBike, the Ottawa Bicycle Club, Ottawa Velo Vogue and Envirocentre to name but a few, bike repair clinics, shops and more.
Citizens for Safe Cycling will be there too with our booth (unless it is pouring rain, then we'll stay in bed, thank you very much). You can find us in front of the war museum, in the paved area along Booth street, in booth 16.
You can find all the details on the MEC website. For those not from Canada, Mountain Equipment Coop is a retail co-operative established in 1971 that sells outdoor equipment.
Drop in and say hi to your CfSC volunteers and board members.
Saturday, 08 June 2013 10:31
There is so much going on in the Ottawa Cycling Scene, that it is hard to catch up. While this weekend the OBC's Rideau Lakes tour takes place, we are still scrambling to bring the pics of last week's Velofest up. Pictures of Vanier Velofest are on another blog and so are the pictures of the hugely successful third Ottawa Velo Vogue Fashion Show. What a luxurious problem to have: more bike events than time!
Velofest is also the venue used by the City of Ottawa for the Bruce Timmermans Award Ceremony. Bruce was a founding father of Citizens for Safe Cycling who passed away in 1999. The award recognises citizens and groups active in the cycling community.
Two hours before the Ottawa Tour La Nuit started, it poured. Fortunately, people inside could enjoy the new documentary 'Bike City, Great City' with material of Councillor Chernushenko. Afterwards an estimated 125 people cycled on decorated bikes on a closed circuit along the canal and the Experimental Farm.
Tuesday, 04 June 2013 20:34
Every so often we need to overhaul the promotion materials we have. They wear out and get somewhat dirty. This year, we decided to invest in new banners for our events. The vertical banner is mostly for use inside, the horizontal banners are sturdy vinyl banners for outside, such as for our booths at Velofest and MEC bike fest (June 16th). Below you can see our banner in use at Vanier Bike Fest on May 2, 2013. We designed our banners in house in GIMP, the open source equivalent of Photoshop.
Tuesday, 04 June 2013 19:07
The “Healthy Communities: Partners in Advocacy” event, is an event the H&S Foundation is organizing to bring together individuals and organizations who are already working, promoting and advocating towards the overall well being of community. Those who attend will be people who work, promote and advocate for changes in a community or society through community development, community engagement, research, health promotion and related work.
H & S foundation will be bringing together their Spark Advocacy Grant (Spark Together for Healthy Kids program) applicants and recipients to share what they were able to do with the grant and what they think should be the priority today for everyone moving forward.
Through activities, everyone will be able to share their opinions among peers. The hope is, through discussion, the most agreed on points will be "the take home approaches" moving forward. Since, everyone has a different take on what is "most important", it would be an opportunity to see things from a different perspective as well!
Depending on everyone's dates, the panel speakers would be from organizations from:
Children's Hospital of Ontario
Physical Activity Network
Healthy Active Living and Obesity (HALO) Research Group and Others
Similarly, the guest list includes Ecology Ottawa, Public Health Ottawa, Green Communities Canada, All things Food,Pinecrest Queensway Community Center and others.
It is definitely an inclusive event, therefore anyone can attend. However, limited seating could be an issue, therefore, the Foundation would definitely request you to RSVP by June 7th to Micheline Turnau or myself, and do let them know if you have guests attending.
Contact:
Abha Satyal This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Health Promotion Volunteer
Heart and Stroke Foundation
Monday, 27 May 2013 20:47
You know cycling is maturing in a city, when other companies than bike stores, bike advocacy groups and the Dutch Embassy are no longer the first organisations to go to for sponsorships. Indeed, the 2013 Ottawa Velo Vogue Fashion Show is supported by a broad base of mostly local retailers who understand that people on bicycles are a serious segment in the market. Goodbye tricots with bike gear brands, hello Victoire, Delilah, Flock and E.R. Fisher! Way to go Velo Vogue girls Zara and Michelle, Catherine Henry and others. We are proud of you!
The 2nd Annual Ottawa Vélo Vogue Bicycle Fashion Show will be taking place on Saturday, June 1st, 2013 at Kichesippi Brewery at 866 Campbell Avenue (off of Carling), which is raising money for Cycle Salvation. This is not your average fashion show; it’s a bicycle fashion show! Models will be wearing stylish and functional attire while riding bikes. An event would not be complete without food, drinks, silent auction, a raffle, and much more.
A big aspect of the event is fundraising for Cycle Salvation, which trains and gives employment in the field of bike mechanics to those who are economically disadvantaged, while at the same time diverting bikes destined for scrap and landfill sites. Cycle Salvation is a social enterprise operating under the umbrella of Causeway Work Centre. (Citizens for Safe Cycling actually rents space at Causeway Work Centre and always has the AGM's catered by Causeway's other social enterprise 'Krackers Katering'.)
Tickets available online at velovogue.eventbrite.ca or at the door.
More information on Saturday evening's event on Facebook. 186 people on Facebook say they are going, so don't miss out. Wondering how many male models will be there this year.
Monday, 27 May 2013 20:14
Envirocentre, the contractor for the City of Ottawa's Bike to Work month has been out and and about with the bike trailer. The bike trailer is actually on loan from Citizens for Safe Cycling, with modified side panels for the Bike to Work month. Did you know that the bike bars in the logo initially had the grips pointing upwards, like a mountain bike? We suggested to make it more city bikey so the designer pointed them towards the cyclist....
The folks have been all over the city this year, actively promoting cycling at (to) the work places.
Here is a quick update that we received today from Envirocentre for those who signed up for the contest already:
We’re adding an extra twist for the final week of this year’s contest: refer and win! You’ve already signed up, but we’re guessing you have family, friends, and colleagues interested in cycling to work that haven’t entered the contest yet. Participants who refer their friends and colleagues to pledge will be entered into a draw to win a $50 MEC gift card! As soon as you’ve convinced someone to participate, simply e-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it with the subject line “Referral: Name of new participant”. The draw will be held at the end of the day on May 31.
Here are some highlights of the month so far:
- · 1,260 participants in the online contest
- · 53 workplace teams
- · 11 BikeMobile stops, with cycling resources and giveaways
- · Media launch and opening of the O-Train Pathway
- · 10 workplace Lunch and Learns
- · Launch of Bike Buddies program
- · Launch of Bike-Friendly Business Designation
- · Workplace profiles: check the Recent News page for your team photo and write-up!
Thanks again for your enthusiasm and encouragement, and we wish you an excellent last week of Bike to Work Month (although we bet you’ll be cycling all summer!).
The Bike to Work Month Team
Community Sustainability Programs
envirocentre.ca 613-656-0100 ext. 117
enviroboutique 366 rue Rideau Street, Ottawa K1N 5Y8
The Enviroboutique also sells our bike seat rain covers.
Tuesday, 21 May 2013 13:39
The NCC has been changing the method of keeping unauthorized motor vehicles from entering some of its multi-use pathways. They are replacing the typical fold-down bollard with what's called a "P-gate"--so named because it looks like the letter "P" when viewed from one side. On a standard pathway, the 'loop' part of the "P" extends from a post (the stem of the "P") at one side to beyond the central yellow line of the pathway.
Concerns
This change is causing some concern for pathway users, due to a reduction in the width of the passageway. Whereas the bollard allowed simultaneous cycle travel in both directions, the P-gate will allow only one bicycle/pedestrian through at a time. Plus, the opening feels much more constricted than with the typical bollard because the P-gate is higher and at handlebar height for most bikes.
We have received input from cyclists that these gates are a safety hazard. The restricted space, and knowing who has the right to pass through first when two cyclists meet are the biggest issues. (Placement of the opening is not consistent across all the installations; sometimes it's on the side for entering the path and sometimes it's on the side for leaving it. BTW, if you meet a pedestrian coming the other way, yield to the pedestrian.) P-gates at the bottom of a grade are also a danger, especially in wet weather.
Ideas wanted
We are looking for suggestions we can take to the NCC on improving the situation. Do you have a better gate design? Or some signage or pavement markings that would make things safer?
Note: You should know that the bollards were rejected because their hinging and locking mechanisms would corrode from being so close to the ground (due to snow and rain, and even dog pee!). They also apparently did not fold low enough to clear certain maintenance vehicles. The P-gate can be swung fully out of the way when vehicles need to access the pathway.
Paul Clarke
Director, Citizens for Safe Cycling
paul dot clarke () safecycling dot ca
Photos by Paul Clarke
