The wheels of Bixi rent-a-bikes will spin along Bank, Elgin and Bay streets come May, but some Centretown cyclists say cycling infrastructure in the downtown core is inadequate to keep tourists on Bixis safe.
Tourists are more vulnerable than residents to a lack of segregated or drawn bike lanes because they’re unfamiliar with the city, says Heather Hunter, a long-time year-round cyclist.
Most of Ottawa’s cycling infrastructure is geared towards tourism and recreation, adds Hunter.
“Every commuter cyclist knows that if you don’t want the scenic route along the canal, you’re screwed,” she says.
But existing routes – like the pathways along the Rideau Canal – aren’t necessarily the most direct. These paths might not be recognized by a tourist as the best route for bicycle travel, says Hunter.
“A tourist wants to go down to Dows Lake, say, and Bronson seems like the most direct route,” she says. “But Bronson is also the most dangerous route.”
And because a Bixi rental is only free for the first half hour, tourists wanting to save money will look for the most direct route, says Hunter.
But even the recently approved segregated bike lane on Laurier Avenue won’t do much for tourists, says year-round cyclist Robert Young.
“There are just a lot of government buildings along there,” he says. “I don’t see it taking you to a lot of tourist sites in Ottawa, but as a commuter it’s great.”
There are other problems with short lengths of segregated bike lane such as what will be built on Laurier Avenue, says Hunter.
“There’s risk when you give people the impression that they’re safe by running a couple of blocks of segregated bike lane because once they reach a couple of treacherous blocks they’re lost for what to do,” she says.
It’s “not overly secure to travel on a bike” on downtown streets, admits Jasmine Leduc, a spokesperson for the National Capital Commission.
“Bike-share needs to be surrounded by a very, very strong initiative to improve cycling in the nation’s capital,” she says.
But such an initiative is lacking in Ottawa, says Hunter.
Capital Bixi is Ottawa’s first bike-share program. After two summers of pilot projects, the first phase of the service will be implemented by the NCC in May.
Initially, 10 stations will be set up with a total of 100 bicycles. Although the locations of the stations have yet to be announced, they will be scattered throughout downtown Ottawa and Gatineau.
Bixi programs exist in cities around the world. The service is designed to be used by both residents and visitors, says Bérangère Thériault, a spokesperson for Bixi Montreal.
Thériault says Bixi Montreal counts 30,000 members and 230,000 casual users since its inception in late April 2009.
Tourists are attracted to the novelty of riding a bike-share bicycle, she says.
“This is something that many people don’t have where they live.”
Thériault says people use Bixi bikes regardless of how cycling-friendly a city is.
Bixi is very popular in London, England, a city not known for being cycling-friendly, she points out.
But safety should be a priority, says Hunter.
“As long as the city is consistently deprioritizing cycling, cycling on city streets isn’t going to get any safer,” she says.