By Roman Zakaluzny
An anxious Centretown activist is still waiting for construction of the Rideau Canal Pedestrian Crossing to begin, but the City of Ottawa has yet to commit to a date.
“I want the bridge yesterday,” says David Gladstone of the Centretown Citizens Community Association.
The overpass would connect Centretown with Sandy Hill, near the Campus Station of the transit way.
The long-discussed footbridge, originally proposed in 1984, would give Centretown residents easier access to the University of Ottawa and provide pedestrian access between the existing bridges, Laurier and Pretoria, which are now a kilometer-and-a-half apart.
“We have been studying the bridge for three years and they still don’t know when it’s going to be built,” says Gladstone.
The city narrowed the original 12 design options down to two in June. Both options are high-level designs, far enough off the canal to allow for both skaters and boats to pass underneath the bridge without having to make the overpass movable.
Chris Gordon, project engineer with the City of Ottawa, said the city would continue to make refinements to both options in terms of construction material to be used and the final width of the structure.
Gordon said construction would not start before 2004, but said it would more likely be a year later.
“It depends on council’s funding in further budgets,” he says.
According to Michael Richardson, president of Citizens for Safe Cycling, the designs are less than perfect.
“Both of them have rather sharp turns at the east side which is going to make it difficult for snow plows and cyclists,” says Richardson.
“It’s not the 100 per cent solution, it’s the 94 per cent solution, but it’s important that the bridge go ahead.”
Richardson said the sharp turns may be a “minor annoyance” to cyclists, but said they were much less annoying than having to bike the extra one-and-a-half kilometres to one of the existing bridges.
Compared to some of the earlier designs that were ruled out, the remaining options are pedestrian friendly.
“We’re relatively happy, there was much worse,” says Richardson.
Richardson says, the cycling group is going to push to get the bridge in next year’s budget.
Vivi Chi, manager of transportation and infrastructure for the City of Ottawa, said the city is wrapping up its final document report and environmental assessment, outlining the details of the project. The reports should be released this month.
The city is required to publish both evaluations for a 30-day public review process and Chi said there would be an ad published when it is released.
Chi said copies would be available at Carleton University, the University of Ottawa, the Ottawa Public Library and at City Hall.
Gladstone says city staff are stalling on the bridge and are “playing hard to get” when questioned about a definite construction date.
“Throughout the entire process they never gave us a straight answer,” he says.
For now, the only way for pedestrians to cross the canal directly at Somerset West is to wade through the water.City may target bad cyclists
By Roman Zakaluzny
The City of Ottawa is trying to make the capital more bike friendly. But to do that, they have to first cure cyclists of their bad habits.
Cyclists who ride their bikes on sidewalks, run stop signs and
red lights and go down the wrong side of the road not only raise the ire of pedestrians and motorists — as well as other cyclists — but present a serious danger to the public.
That’s one of the reasons the city must crack down on those who flout the law, say residents who consulted with the City’s cycling advisory committee last week.
About 60 people, mostly cyclists, came to a public consultation organized by the committee to share their views on making Ottawa better for bikes. The views will be included in a preliminary draft to be presented to City Council in early November and will be incorporated into Ottawa’s plan to prepare for the year 2020.
“There’s too many cars on the road, so we need more bikes,” says Jennifer Allen, safety coordinator with Citizens for Safe Cycling. “But nobody wants to ride their bikes, because there’s too many cars. That’s what I’m hearing from the public.”
Enforcement and education were hot topics at the meeting, with those present recounting personal stories and suggesting ideas to solve the problem. Some suggested making downtown a permanently car-free zone or, to begin with, just occasional car-free days. New York and London, England, downtowns have similar policies.
However, cyclists who ride on sidewalks and run red lights, activities often seen in Centretown, dominated much of the debate.
“Sidewalks are made for people to walk on,” said Sylvie Grenier, a city worker who helped guide the consultations. “That’s why there’s the word ‘walk’ in it.”
“We’re looking for help, but we’re not getting any from councillors,” says Allen, whose group offers educational programs for cyclists and is demanding the city take a more active role in enforcing the rules. “It’s really an issue in Centretown.”
The City released a preparation plan for the year 2020 which predicted an increasing number of bikes on city streets.
Cycling, an environmentally friendly alternative to cars and their greenhouse gas emissions, will also go far in helping the government meet its Kyoto Accord targets.
The plan aims to educate both motorists and cyclists on driving side-by-side. Nicole Lewis, an occasional downtown cyclist, agrees. “Some (cyclists) are on sidewalks. Some of them go through lights. If they want to be treated with respect, they have to earn it.”
Lewis has some ideas as to how the rules could be enforced. “People have to pay fines. Fines hurt.”
Tell that to David Sevitt, who received a $110 fine recently for not stopping at a stop sign in the Glebe. While the 25-year-old found the fine annoying, Sevitt, says he doesn’t feel it’ll change his cycling habits much in the future. “To me, it feels like these signs are meant for cars. I take a more cavalier attitude.”
That’s a view shared by many cyclists. But bicycles are considered vehicles by the provincial Highway Traffic Act and are governed by the same laws which regulate the use of cars. Running a red light, a violation of the Act, will put a $190 dent in a violator’s pocketbook. Cycling on sidewalks, however, is a violation of city bylaws, and can result in a $35 fine, say police.
City Coun. Rainer Bloess says he believes enforcing the law is a good idea, but any crackdown needs to be accompanied by an education campaign.
“It’s a two-way street,” says Bloess, who bikes to City Hall on Laurier Avenue W. in downtown Ottawa from his Innes ward in good weather. “There’s some enforcement (by police) out there. But to what point do you dedicate resources to enforcement? Everyone wants more police, but it comes with a price tag.”