Heads up winter cyclists, biking in Ottawa winters might just get a little easier with a proposed plan of full snow clearance for an additional 19 kilometres of bike lanes.
The city has proposed updates to its 2013 Ottawa Cycling Plan, suggesting improved winter maintenance for cycling routes.
There are about 40 planned kilometres of proposed “winter network,” which consists of a mixture of road types, pathways and cycling facilities.
The recommendation calls for the proposed winter cycling network, along with estimated maintenance costs, be considered as a council priority for implementation starting in winter 2015-16, the cycling plan states.
The streets among the proposed 19 kilometres of bike lanes include Lyon Street from Wellington Street to Gladstone Avenue, Bronson Avenue from Holmwood to Brewer Way, the eastern extension of the bike lane through Sandy Hill, including a part of Laurier Avenue, Stewart Street, Wilbrod Street and Chapel Street.
There is also Bay Street from Wellington to Flora Street, Percy Street from Gladstone to Holmwood Avenue, Beechwood Avenue from Birch Avenue across the St. Patrick Bridge to Chapel Street, Lees Avenue and the pedestrian bridge over the Rideau River, and a part of the Rideau River eastern pathway north of Hwy. 417.
Finally, Island Park Drive from Scott Street to Iona Drive and Churchill Avenue from Byron Avenue to Carling Avenue.
Alex deVries, vice-president of Citizens for Safe Cycling, says in order to get more people biking in the city, it’s important to address snow removal as the most obvious barrier to winter cycling.
“The proposal is good and it’s important to know that it’s a pilot program,” deVries says. “The expectation that if it succeeds we’ll continue growing a network, based on people that I talked to, I think it’ll be quite welcome.”
Right now, deVries says one of the biggest reasons people refrain from biking in the winter is because bike lines are not cleared and they’re being used by city plows for dumping snow.
The idea of winter cycling isn’t supported as strongly by everyone. Capital Coun. David Chernushenko says he supports the proposed updates on a trial basis but thinks the city should focus on the other months of the year.
“I know from talking to hundreds of cyclists that they haven’t the slightest interest in cycling when there’s snow on the ground, or ice or salt, or really cold temperatures,” he says.
“That’s not a scientific study . . . but I’d like to focus my energy and the city’s investment on more infrastructure for the really good eight or nine months of the year.”
The cycling routes cleared now include the Rideau Canal pathways, Laurier Avenue bike lanes, Scott and Albert streets, and a portion of Wellington Street.
The cycling plan states that the cost of maintaining the proposed winter cycling network is estimated at $200,000 per winter season, with $70 million being allocated specifically to the plan’s budget.
Biking downtown is still easier than in other parts of the city, according to deVries.
“It’s more accessible and there’s some bike routes that are already cleared, like Laurier bike lanes. It’s cleared from snow because it’s required for drainage,” he says.
The revised plan and idea for the pilot has been around for a while, he added.
“Citizens for Safe Cycling and others have been lobbying for the last four years, finally it has elevated to this where it’s now more important.”
Etienne Lefebvre, a third-year cognitive science student at Carleton University who continues to bike to school in the winter, says the plan is a great initiative and thinks it will definitely encourage more people to cycle through the seasons.
“With the limited amount of cleared bike paths, we cyclists are forced to go on the streets,” Lefebvre says.
“Considering the high collision rates in the summer, people aren’t very attracted to this as you would also have to factor ice, snow, slush and not the mention the tight and constricted streets where snow banks start to form.”
Chernushenko says he thinks the proposed OCP updates will be accepted because they’re quite targeted.
“Let’s pick a few routes that are regular, common and convenient for people and see if this attracts a larger number of winter cyclists and we’ll learn if clearing the routes are helpful,” Chernushenko says.
In the meantime, Citizens for Safe Cycling is organizing a winter bike parade on Jan. 25. The event starts at city hall and will travel along four kilometres of a guided route through Centretown.