The city’s transportation committee is preparing to vote on the Complete Street Implementation Framework on Wednesday, Oct.7, a move advocates say will ensure that cyling- and pedestrian-friendly features get higher priority in future road projects.
According to the framework introduced by the transportation committee in May, a “complete street” is designed with physical elements, such as separate cycling lanes, sidewalks, accessible transit stops, and improved lighting, to provide safe and comfortable access for all users of the road regardless of age, ability or mode of transportation.
Since the approval of the Complete Street Policy as part of Transportation Master Plan in 2013, the City of Ottawa has put the idea into practice on Churchill Avenue in Westboro and Main Street in Old Ottawa East, where construction is still under way.
The framework would require all upcoming projects to consider the elements of a “complete street” early in the project-initiation phase.
Somerset Coun. Catherine McKenney, Rideau-Vanier Coun. Mathieu Fleury and Innes Coun. Jody Mitic say support the framework, and would like to see it adopted by the committee on Wednesday and late the full council.
McKenney, vice-chair of city’s transportation committee says “complete street” principles would make streets safer and more comfortable for all citizens, and is confident that the implementation framework will pass at transportation committee.
“Yes, I am completely in favour of the concept of complete streets, “ says McKenney. “Complete Streets are a positive step forward for the city and its residents.”
Fleury, also a member of the city’s transportation committee, says he supports the framework as a way to create safer and friendlier streets in Ottawa communities. He says the framework, an implementation strategy built on a broad policy approved by the city council in 2013, is a move in the right direction.
“The idea now having that policy in place will really improve the quality of the neighborhood,” says Fleury. “It will also increase the pedestrian safety and the improvement of the cycling network.”
Innes Ward Coun. Jody Mitic, another transportation committee member, highlighted the importance of the framework as a guideline for street reconstructions.
“The Complete Street is a good initiative for anyone (requiring) more accessibility to the city, ” says Mitic. “And it also lays out a very clear plan that street will follow when they are being constructed.”
Although the framework hasn’t been formally adopted yet, some complete street projects are already on the way.
According to McKenney, the transformation of the O’Connor Street, including a separate bikeway for cyclists, has been approved by city council. The section of the street between Laurier Avenue and Fifth Avenue will be co-ordinated with the resurfacing of O’Connor between Somerset and Isabella streets, and is scheduled for 2016.
The section between Wellington Street and Laurier Avenue is on the books for 2018, because the city wants to avoid construction in the core during celebrations marking the 150th anniversary of Canada’s Confederation in 2017.
Fleury has been in discussions with residents in his ward about making Cobourg Street in Lowertown and McArthur Avenue in Vanier complete streets, which will be his immediate goal. Besides that, he is also preparing for the reconstruction of Montreal Road in Vanier, which will be one of the biggest infrastructure projects in the city in recent years.
Meanwhile, Ecology Ottawa, a local non-profit environment organization working to make Ottawa a “green capital”, is urging the city to adopt the framework. That view is echoed by a number of other community organizations, who say the complete street concept, taking into account all users’ needs, is key to improving cycling and pedestrian safety and infrastructure.
“If people don’t feel safe for walking, they are less inclined to walk,” says Graham Saul, executive director of Ecology Ottawa. “If people don’t feel safe for cycling, they are less inclined to cycle.”
Citizens for Safe Cycling, a not-for-profit voluntary organization working for better, safer, more environmentally-friendly cycling in the Ottawa area, is also calling for an updated approach to street design through the implementation of the “complete street” concept.
“Many of Ottawa’s residents don’t own a car. Yet our roads are designed with mostly only the car in mind,” says Hans Moor, president of CfSC, “That was probably a good idea in the fifties, but not anymore.”