Laurier Avenue has been selected as the preferred route for the segregated bike lane pilot project, city officials say.
The proposed pilot project would create an east-west cycling lane, physically separated from vehicle traffic, on Laurier Avenue between Bronson Avenue and Elgin Street.
Laurier Avenue West was chosen after local business associations protested against Somerset Street, the original front-runner.
The segregated lanes would be set apart from cars, by curbs, planter boxes and parked cars, to create a buffer zone.
“Laurier has the greater potential for converting trips, from public transit and cars, to bikes,” says Colin Simpson, the city’s transportation project manager.
Simpson says because Laurier Avenue has parking garages, the bike lanes will not have a huge effect on the availability of parking spaces, which was the business associations’ chief concern with Somerset Street.
According to city officials, about 1,000 cyclists use Laurier Avenue daily and that number could be more than 2,200 once the segregated bike lane is built.
“There is no public transit on Laurier and no curb-side garbage pickup, which makes Laurier a suitable choice,” says Simpson.
Simpson says the city already planned to resurface Laurier Avenue in 2011, which would make a convenient time to build the bike lanes.
“Separate bike lanes would make it a lot safer for people who are unable to keep up with the traffic downtown,” says Elijah Shaw, a 20-year-old Ottawa cyclist.
“There will always be people like myself who prefer to bike on the road, but that does not mean the city should not be encouraging biking for people who want to take a more leisurely approach.”
Citizens for Safe Cycling, a bicycling advocacy group, says it does not oppose the building of segregated bike lanes, but does have concerns with the project.
“We are conflicted amongst ourselves about supporting this project,” says member Peter Sloan.
“Some of our more conservative members like the idea, but building bike lanes can cause other problems.”
Sloan says ending a bike lane at an intersection could be dangerous for cyclists having to merge into traffic.
“We would rather see the city spend money on biking improvements and regular bike lanes, instead of spending all this money on a single street,” says Sloan.
Hans Moore, CSC president, says the city needs to try different approaches, such as segregated bike lanes, to keep cycling culture healthy in Ottawa.
“They are already in Montreal, Vancouver and other cities,” says Moore.“There is no reason why, in a flat city like Ottawa, it should not work.”
Simpson says the two-year pilot project is potentially just the beginning for segregated bike lanes in Ottawa.
“We chose Laurier because it is most likely to be a huge success and lead to a city-wide implementation of segregated bike lanes.”