Cyclists on Laurier Avenue have to be on the lookout for vehicles taking “right-hook” turns across segregated bike lanes — the same kind that took the life of a cyclist at Laurier and Lyon on Sept. 1. Jolson Lim, Centretown NewsCentretown cyclists — and thousands of others who cycle through downtown Ottawa every day — are already biking down the pylon-lined construction zone that is O’Connor Street ahead of the official opening of the city’s newest bikeway in November.
The $2.8-million rebuild that began this summer has been long anticipated by cyclists who struggle to share the roads with cars, trucks and buses.
The bikeway will stretch the length of O’Connor Street from Laurier Avenue to Fifth Avenue and is intended to be a showcase route for sustainable transportation in the city.
Alex DeVries, vice-president of the advocacy group Citizens for Safe Cycling, explained that the project will also feature Ottawa’s first bi-directional bike path. “This will take some getting used to for all road users,” he said.
Citizens for Safe Cycling acted on advisory committees during the planning stages of the project.
DeVries said a key feature of the bikeway is the north-south route past the Queensway. “Cyclists have long had problems getting under the 417 to get to Centretown,” he noted.
“The reconfiguration of the underpass at O’Connor will make this much more practical and safe.”
Vivi Chi, manager of transportation planning for the City of Ottawa, said that the O’Connor bikeway is just one part of the city’s 2013 Ottawa Cycling Plan.
“The need to provide safe cycling facilities in a connected network is the cornerstone of the Ottawa Cycling Plan,” said Chi.
Projects like the O’Connor Street bikeway are intended to prevent bicycle-car collisions like the one that took the life of 23-year-old Nusrat Jahan on Sept. 1 at the intersection of Laurier Avenue and Lyon Street.
“The city will also be rolling out a public safety awareness campaign to coincide with the opening for the bike lanes,” noted Chi.
Among the many challenges facing cyclists, motorists and pedestrians along busy downtown streets is understanding and following the rules of the road, particularly during rush hour.
These same rules have evolved to account for increased presence of cyclists, a trend strongly encouraged by the City of Ottawa because of environmental, health and other benefits.
But as with the Sept. 1 tragedy, in which Jahan is believed to have died in a so-called “right hook” incident — she was struck by a truck turning right across Laurier’s segregated bike lane — confusion persists about who has the right-of-way at intersections at which times, and rush-hour congestion demands very high levels of alertness by all travellers — whether on foot, two wheels or four.
But Carleton University student Claire Finkbeiner says taking her bike to school from her downtown apartment is often a “nerve-wracking experience” because of the vehicle congestion on Bank Street.
“Once the construction is finished on O’Connor, my ride (south) will get a lot easier by taking the bikeway most of the way.”
Although the construction project has increased congestion on O’Connor Street — especially during rush hour — cycling advocates are praising the downtown link as a much-needed improvement to Centretown’s transportation infrastructure.
According to a report by CBC, just one week after the accident, citizens of Ottawa have since pleaded that the government make it mandatory for trucks to have side guards. Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson has also written a letter to Federal Transport Minister Marc Garneau calling for these updates to be implemented to prevent cyclists from falling under the wheels of these large vehicles.
The entire cycling network model can be viewed at http://maps.ottawa.ca/geoottawa
At the same time, according to DeVries, “Statistics over the last decade show considerable decreases in reported cycling collisions; we (Citizens for Safe Cycling) expect that segregated facilities like these will help continue that trend.”
“The city will continue to plan and implement the projects identified in that (2013) master plan to ensure that cyclists have the opportunity to travel through the city in an efficient and safe way,” said Chi.
DeVries mentioned that one issue that had been brought forth by local residents was the removal of a few blocks of bike lanes in the Glebe area from the O’Connor Street project. “This will make cycling to First Avenue Public School less appealing to parents and their children,” he said.