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Website: http://jamesogrady.ca
Phone: 613-883-7386

We are lucky to live in a city that is known for its wonderful cycling paths that run along waterways and through parks, but sharing the road remains a problem.

In recent years cycling programs have been cancelled and cycling budgets were often cut to almost zero.

Lately the situation has improved; this election provides an opportunity for further progress, if cycling-friendly candidates are elected.

Many Knoxdale-Merivale residents are both motorists and cyclists. We need to make conditions even safer to encourage more local residents to try out cycling and give them the option of becoming less dependent upon their cars.

More cyclists means fewer vehicles, reducing congestion and delaying the necessity to pay for massively expensive road construction projects.

Cycling complements public transit services and reduces the need for costly investments in transit infrastructure.

Biking for moderate distances on a regular basis has positive health and economic effects.

Cycling infrastructure enables more customers to access local businesses more efficiently.

Major arterial roads like Merivale, Baseline and Greenbank in Knoxdale-Merivale are NOT cycling-friendly.

Cycling options in our ward are too often limited to existing disjointed sections of pathways, linked by roads that often do not accommodate safe cycling.

As a result, residents are discouraged from riding a bike, which in turn hinders the City’s effort to meet its transportation and environmental objectives, at great cost to the taxpayer.

I support the creation of segregated pathways, especially the completion of the Nepean Trail.

This long-standing project of both the City of Nepean and the City of Ottawa was first planned in 1982 as a way of connecting Nepean’s communities and recreational areas using pathways for cyclists and pedestrians.

The Nepean Trail is an important project that has been left incomplete for too long. Completing the trail will provide safer cycling alternatives and will strengthen our communities by tying them together. It will help increase physical activity among children and adults, important components of a sustainable and livable city.

Traffic on Merivale is very slow. From a business perspective, developing the Nepean Trail can help alleviate some of the traffic woes currently being experienced on Merivale and help ensure residents can reach local destinations in a timely manner.

Right now, residents living on either side must drive to reach their destinations on Merivale, getting in and out of their cars to go short distances.

Completing the Nepean Trail will provide a safe alternative to driving - customers can walk or cycle arrive safely while reducing the amount of local traffic on Merivale. With the addition of Walmart on the corner of Clyde and Baseline, traffic on Merivale is destined to increase significantly in the immediate future. The enhancement of  carbon-free transportation options will boost Merivale commercial and retail renewal.

For more information on my proposals for completing the Nepean Trail, please visit http://jamesogrady.ca/index.php/component/content/article/3-blog/108-the-nepean-trail-lets-make-the-connection

Knoxdale-Merivale was not included in City Council’s recent expansion of Ottawa cycling routes. I intend to fight for funding for the Nepean Trail during draft budget deliberations in December. I will not allow Nepean to be overlooked. Knoxdale-Merivale deserves its share of the cycling plan budget.

Like the Citizens for Safe Cycling I support accelerated implementation of the Ottawa Cycling Plan.

Fixing the CfSC's top 10 simple and large cycling problem areas is long overdue - let's get it done!

I recognize the importance of integrating cycling with transit - the Rack & Roll program should be expanded and made more reliable.

I fully support CfSC's suggestions for improving cycling education and promotion.

It's quite obvious that cycling will be discouraged unless there are enough safe and convenient places to park our bikes - I will support cost-effective investments to improve the situation.

It is time to change the way Ottawa is run so that it better reflects the character, values and needs of its residents.

Let's work together to build a city we can all take pride in!