City of Ottawa - Cycling in the City - October 2018

Rideau Canal Crossing, Fifth Avenue to Clegg Street - Flora Footbridge

Through the summer, construction of the pedestrian and cycling bridge between Fifth Avenue and Clegg Street moved to focus on those elements above the waterline. Using the temporary gravel pads surrounding the in-water piers, a mobile crane was used to lift the two steel V-shaped piers into place. The support beams were craned into place in July, and the concrete bridge deck was poured in mid-August. Construction remains on schedule for completion in August 2019; over the fall months, crews will work on installing the railings and begin work on the earthen embankment required for the west ramp. Also in July, Council approved the name of the bridge as ‘Passerelle Flora Footbridge’, after Flora MacDonald, a pioneering female Canadian politician. You can read more about Flora MacDonald on the City’s website.

Bank Street Underpass at Riverside Drive

Construction of an underpass of Bank Street at Riverside Drive began in late September. Construction of this project was planned to begin earlier this year; however due to the presence of nesting barn swallows underneath Billings Bridge, the start was delayed. This joint-project between the National Capital Commission (NCC) and the City of Ottawa is being undertaken in response to safety concerns where the Rideau River Eastern multi-use pathway crosses Bank Street at the intersection of Riverside Drive. A new multi-use use pathway underpass of Bank Street will be built, similar to the same type of facility along the Rideau River Western multi-use pathway on the northern bank of the Rideau River. A 3m-wide pathway will be constructed; due to the headroom restriction of the existing Billings Bridge the pathway will be partially built below the 2-year high-water mark, and as such could be closed at certain times. The surface connections via the Riverside Drive intersection will remain in place allowing connection to the road network and as an alternate route for travel during times when the underpass is inaccessible due to flooding.

Trillium Pathway Phase 3

Construction of the final phase of the planned Trillium Line pathway began in August, between Carling Avenue and Prince of Wales Drive. This work, which is well-advanced, will upgrade the existing stone-dust pathway to a 3m-wide asphalt pathway adjacent to the rail-line, with an additional multi-use pathway segment running east-west on the northside of Prince of Wales Drive between the O-Train corridor and Dow’s Lake. Once fully completed this pathway will address a missing link between two major cycling routes (the Rideau Canal Western Pathway and the Trillium Line Pathway), as well as improving access to the Carling O-Train station. More information can be found on the project webpage.

Bay Street Cycle Track

With the major changes to transit operations coming to Ottawa (Ready for Rail), there will be a number of changes to cycling routes in the vicinity of some light rail transit (LRT) stations. One such change is in the downtown core where the City will remove approximately 80m of painted-bike lane on southbound Lyon Street between Queen Street and Albert Street. To address this removal, the City is planning to create a contraflow southbound cycling facility on Bay Street. Raised cycle tracks in both the northbound and southbound directions are planned for Bay Street, between Wellington Street and Laurier Ave, a distance of approximately 400m. This facility will provide a better connection to the east-west bikeway on Laurier Avenue, as well as to the existing bike lanes on Wellington Street and the Portage Bridge, improving the overall quality and comfort of facilities for cyclists travelling to and from the west.   You can review the proposed plan for Bay Street on the City’s website. Construction of this project is planned to begin in 2019.

Laurier Avenue Safety Review

The Laurier Avenue Segregated Bike Lane Safety Review, completed in August 2017, focused on the safety of cyclists, pedestrians and motorists travelling through the Laurier Avenue corridor. The review showed that since the opening of the segregated lanes in 2011, collisions involving pedestrians have been reduced by 50%, while the collision rate involving cyclists has fallen by 30%. There has also been a 10% reduction in motor vehicle collisions. The review also recommended a number of safety measures to be implemented over the short and long-term. Since August 2017, the City of Ottawa has been implementing the short-term recommendations. These have included refreshing, and increasing the use of, green pavement markings throughout the corridor, and installing separate bike signals at all signalized intersections and implementing a 5-second advance. More detailed information and ongoing steps are detailed on the City’s website.

Urban Bike Routes - Self Guided Tours

The City of Ottawa has added six new urban routes to its self guided bicycle tours webpage. These routes offer a range of attractions for recreational cyclists exploring inside the greenbelt; highlights include Ottawa’s diverse waterfront, nearby Gatineau Park, and interesting neighbourhoods such as Westboro and Little Italy. The six urban routes are an addition to the nine self-guided routes through Ottawa’s rural landscapes. Make it your goal to try one of the City’s nine rural routes this fall; visit the webpage for more information.

Summer Roundup

Elsewhere around the City, construction was underway on several other projects through the summer including: Extension of the Woodroffe Avenue multi-use pathway between Longfields Drive and Stoneway Drive in Barrhaven, Enhancement to the pedestrian crossing of Colonel By between the Corkstown Bridge and uOttawa to add a legal cycling crossing, known as a cross-ride Reconfiguration of McArthur Avenue to add buffered bike-lanes between St. Laurent Boulevard and North River Road Reconstruction of the intersection of Donald St and St. Laurent Boulevard as a ‘protected intersection’ to address safety concerns. Other recent protected intersection examples include Fisher Avenue at Dynes Road and Longfields Drive at Chapman Mills Drive.