CfSC policy: Bike lanes

Citizens for Safe Cycling (CfSC) recognizes that the Regional Municipality of Ottawa-Carleton (RMOC) has earned a reputation, throughout Canada, as a cycling-friendly region. CfSC also acknowledges that said reputation has, to a large extent, been associated with facilities such as mixed-use pathways and bicycle lanes. However, CfSC does not support a dependence on such special facilities and recognizes and stresses its support of vehicular cycling practices in accordance with the Highway Traffic Act of Ontario. CfSC believes that all cyclists should be trained to function responsibly and safely as human powered vehicle drivers in a multimodal environment. CfSC does not support the application of bicycle lanes except in specific circumstances created in areas of poor road design and operation that hinders cycling.

CfSC supports ongoing research into the effects of bike lanes on the safety and operation of cyclist traffic, including whether lanes encourage people to cycle.

CfSC, therefore, supports the judicious application of bicycle lanes in such areas if and only if the following conditions are stringently met:

1. The use of a bicycle lane must be optional and known to be optional by all vehicle drivers so that cyclists may leave the bicycle lane if required to pass slower cyclists, avoid obstructions, or for any other reason as deemed necessary by the cyclist;

2. Bicycle lanes must be physically contiguous with the roads on which they are situated so that cyclists can, if necessary, assume proper positioning in the traffic flow without experiencing any physical impediment;

3. Bicycle lanes must be situated in such a manner that they demonstrate correct lane positioning. A bicycle lane, if situated properly, can serve this educational purpose such as the straight-through, eastbound lane on Ogilvie Road as it intersects with Blair Road;

4. Bicycle lanes must lead the user into a valid route or direction. A significant flaw in many bicycle lanes is that they end in such a way that cyclists are forced into unnecessarily awkward traffic situations. One very good example of this problem occurs eastbound on St. Patrick Street as it intersects the Vanier Parkway. Though, on one hand the bicycle lane serves an educational purpose similar to that described in paragraph 3, it leads cyclists to a stop line after which there is not a lane but a line of parallel parked cars. A marking convention is required for such situations such that cyclists are led safely and comfortably into a traffic flow in which there are no bicycle lanes;

5. Bicycle lanes must be used only where necessary. Many bicycle lanes are erroneously situated in traditional, grid-patterned residential districts in which traffic patterns are such that speed differentials between cyclists and motor vehicles are not intimidating and intersections are not complex. An example of such a bicycle lane is found on Monk Street in the Glebe. A properly designed bicycle lane would be preferable at a location such as St. Laurent Boulevard or on Blair Road, between Innes and Ogilvie Roads;

6. Bicycle lanes must be cleared of snow to the same standard as the road on which they are situated to prevent the impression that winter cycling is incorrect;

7. Bicycle lanes must be designed so that their users are both permitted and encouraged to travel in accordance with the Highway Traffic Act;

8. Bicycle lanes must be clearly marked;

9. Bicycle lanes must be of sufficient width that adult tricycles can be accommodated and that lane users can avoid obstacles such as grates, broken glass etc; and

10. Bicycle lanes must be swept and repaired regularly to ensure that cyclists can safely and easily ride in the lanes.

- END -

Approved by the CfSC Board of Directors 1997 July 3

 

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