Urban planning

Ontario’s “Je ne sais quoi” Draft Cycling Strategy – part 2

December 17, 2012 Hansonthebike 2

Reading Time: 6 minutesThe Ontario Draft cycling strategy is not very clear. “Fluff”, is what a former City of Ottawa planner told me last week. I guess that is why they turn to the public. So your input is needed. In fact, I received an email from Toronto saying: “that this piece has already broken the threshold for most comments received on the EBR (Environmental Bill of Rights) and it’s only been up for a few days.”  Let’s zoom in into a number of issues, that are not overly hard to address. Increase bike modal share by proper design If you want to increase the [Read more…]

Ontario’s “Je ne sais quoi” Draft Cycling Strategy – part 1

December 7, 2012 Hansonthebike 5

Reading Time: 6 minutesAfter increased pressure from NDP Urban Transit critic Rosario Marchese and more recently Davenport NDP MPP and GTA issues critic Jonah Schein, Ontario Minister of Transportation Bob Chiarelli announced a draft bicycle strategy for Ontario and asks everyone for input. Finally, after earlier promises in August 2012 that he’d come with major announcements in weeks. This, after a city councillor from the GTA or Burlington somewhere had asked him the question during a Q & A at a major city councillor conference in Ottawa this summer. The Minister must have had enough of the NDP assaults and must have asked [Read more…]

Learning from the pros: Copenhagenize and Mobycon Kickstand Sessions in Ottawa

November 13, 2012 Hansonthebike 1

Reading Time: 7 minutesLast week, about 30 people participated in the Kickstand Sessions, a two day training work shop for those who are involved in urban design, urban planning, advocacy and government to learn how to implement cycling strategies in the urban environment. It was an eclectic mix of members of the public, city staff, staff from engineering firms, health professionals, a city councillor from Welland (Niagara region) and cycling advocates. “Everyone has a right to come home” – Johan Diepens – Mobycon The day kicked off with introductions by Danish Copenhagenize and Dutch Mobycon, the two companies organising the sessions. Earlier last [Read more…]

One Minute at The Hague Central Station

May 14, 2012 Hans on the Bike - Ottawa, Canada 0

Reading Time: 3 minutesThe last three posts probably gave you a peek into every day cycling in The Hague. If you are in the down town area, you always see cyclists, no matter what time of day. However, there is one spot where many seem to converse: Central Station. People cycle to and fro the station. Below are a few very random pictures that I took probably half a minute apart. There is a steady stream of cyclists coming and going to the station. (There is a large square, currently being redesigned). People leave their bike and take the train or arrive by [Read more…]

A Casual Stroll Through The Hague – Part 3: Urban Chickens

May 11, 2012 Hans on the Bike - Ottawa, Canada 0

Reading Time: 2 minutesThe locals are complaining about the failing summer already, they have had a lot of cloudy weather. The morning meetings were cancelled, so I walked down the Scheveningseweg to downtown The Hague and I passed this urban chickens. Very nice to see. It is right across the Peace Palace on the edge of a cemetery. Here is the link on Google. It is near the house in the centre with the red tiled roof. So far, the series of walks through Den Haag. A lovely city to walk, bike or entertain. Downtown is no less than about 5-6 km (4 miles) [Read more…]

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A Casual Stroll Through The Hague – Part 2: A Very Blue Bike

May 10, 2012 Hans on the Bike - Ottawa, Canada 0

Reading Time: 2 minutesI randomly took a really great picture of a mother on a bakfiets (cargo bike) with three kids after asking permission. Unfortunately, she doesn’t want me to put it on the Internet, which I respect, so you have to come to one of my presentations some day. I did show the pic to a friend of mine, and the woman turns out to be one of her former colleagues; that’s how small Holland is. Here is part two of The Hague: Go to the next page in the series of strolls through The Hague: Part Three: Urban Chickens

A Casual Stroll Through The Hague – Part 1: Daddy Bike

May 9, 2012 Hans on the Bike - Ottawa, Canada 0

Reading Time: 3 minutesI am in Holland in Den Haag (The Hague) for work this week. Locked up in meetings and presentations for most of the day for 5 days in a row, I was eager to go for a walk to visit a friend.  Tuesday afternoon I had a change to leave a wee early and walked from the Crowne Plaza (which has been renovated from kind of Modernist to a large I phone retro Modernist, with shag carpets, pink under the bar atmospheric lights and lots of white, a work counter/bar and a couple of Apple computers for Internet access). For [Read more…]

Narrow Streets, Creative Minds

March 29, 2012 Hans on the Bike - Ottawa, Canada 0

Reading Time: 4 minutesWhen I speak to audiences in Canada I often hear that our cities are not built for bicycles. When Mayor Mayor Mark Gerritsen of Kingston, ON, a city that aims to be the greenest city in Canada eventually, introduced me and mentioned  that “we have to remember that Kingston is an old city with narrow streets“, I had a chuckle. In Halifax I heard similar remarks. Read on. Also our own Maria McRae told me a few years ago that she thought Ottawa “just has no space for bike lanes“. “Do Canada’s cities not have some of the widest roads [Read more…]

What if the Swedes Would Own Chaudière Island?

March 5, 2012 Hans on the Bike - Ottawa, Canada 4

Reading Time: 6 minutesAs you already read in the previous post: Of Post-It Notes and Tapestries, many of the Ottawa residents saw the Chaudière Island as one of the key elements in meeting the ideas and expectations that Canadians have for developing the Nation’s Capital into a world class capital. I have biked around the place and it is really a gorgeous spot, waiting to be developed, now the pulp paper industry is retreating. What about Chaudière Island? For those who don’t live in Ottawa: Chaudière Island has a collection of buildings, some as old as 100 years and built with natural stone, [Read more…]

NCC evening: of Post-It Notes and Tapestries

February 23, 2012 Hans on the Bike - Ottawa, Canada 0

Reading Time: 4 minutesLast night, the NCC organised its second of two public meetings on the vision of the capital region for 2067 after a similar one was held in Gatineau the night before. The NCC has had its own road show over the last four months and visited a number of Canadian cities to ask Canadians what they’d like their capital to be in 2067. Marie LeMay, who revealed she will turn 105 in 2067, (do the math),  kicked off the evening with her trademark enthusiasm: one of the more interesting remarks was that Canadians appreciate their capital more than Brits like London or Americans like [Read more…]