"RMOC proposal to charge for public-consultation documents threatens democracy" say cyclists

For immediate release: 1996 Tuesday November 5

Only a few days after the Central Area Transportation Strategy called for more downtown bicycle facilities, Regional Government and the City of Ottawa are releasing cycling network plans to do just that.

But, while the plans have many good ideas in the central core, they skirt some of the biggest problem areas in the suburbs.

On Thursday, January 27, the final draft of the Regional Cycling Transportation Network and the City of Ottawa's Comprehensive Cycling Plan will be unveiled at a public meeting. This will be the first chance for the public to see the proposed cycling network, but their only chance to comment on it.

The Regional plan specifies a network of primary cycling routes throughout Ottawa-Carleton, designed for commuter cyclists to get to work, school, and shopping. The Ottawa plan specifies secondary routes which feed into the primary routes and which also will be easier to use by less experienced or younger cyclists.

Both plans specify a five-year implementation strategy, including the types of improvements to be made to each route, and the order in which the routes will be improved.

Downtown, there will be bicycle lanes on Albert and Slater Streets, over the Mackenzie-King bridge to Sandy Hill, down Stewart Street to Cobourg and over the Cummings Bridge. Going west, the lanes will continue down Scott Street over to Richmond Road.

The north-south bicycle lanes on Bay and Percy will be expanded and problem areas improved. Downtown access will also be provided via Gladstone, Preston, and Cartier.

Citizens for Safe Cycling president Brett Delmage said he was heartened by the plans for increased downtown bicycle access, but was worried that it was not complemented by similar access in the suburbs.

"What discourages cycling is barriers parts of roads that cyclists don't feel safe on. Among the worst barriers are the Queensway overpasses at Pinecrest, St. Laurent, and Eagleson, and this plan has neither dealt with them or found reasonable alternatives."

Peter McNichol, chair of Kanata's Cycling Advisory Committee, said the routes in Kanata do not benefit cyclists who need to get to work quickly. The Kanata routes are "out of the way and slow"; for example, there are eight stop signs in the route from Hazeldean Mall to the Kanata North business park. McNichol said commuter cyclists would prefer improvements to Eagleson and March roads, which is a much faster route.

McNichol also pointed that the east-west routes on the CP Rail line and Timm Drive do not provide the most direct routes for all Kanata commuters.

One of the aims of the study was to minimize implementation costs. Delmage questioned this. "If governments minimize costs by, for example, replacing paved shoulders with chip seal (oil-covered gravel), fewer cyclists will use those routes because they won't feel comfortable or safe. Then what have you gained?"

He suggested another example was the proposed solution for the Percy and Catherine intersection. "The plan recommends that cyclists dismount and walk their bicycles across this intersection. Why should cyclists have to do this on the top-priority Ottawa route? It's just not practical."

Delmage said that cyclists will be carefully examining the plans to find other hidden flaws and to ensure the routes will be useable by all. He said he was also concerned that some routes would not be useable at night (lack of personal safety, no lighting), in spring (flooding), or in winter (cannot be plowed).

On Monday, January 24, the Central Area Transportation Strategy, a joint program of several levels of government was released. It said that "by far the most detrimental aspect of transportation in the central area is the use of fossil-fuel burning automobiles", and "the future transportation system will devote less space to cars, and more to pedestrians and cyclists."

Cyclists will be able to view the cycling plans on Thursday, January 27, from 6 to 9 p.m. An open house will be held from 6 to 7, followed by a half- hour presentation at 7 p.m. and a discussion/question period from 7:30 to 9.

- 30 -

Contact: Citizens for Safe Cycling 722-4454

< Prev		Next >