commute

2013 Draft Ottawa Bicycle Plan in 1500 words

October 10, 2013 Hansonthebike 0

Reading Time: 9 minutes I read through the draft Ottawa Bicycle Plan last night (update: I improved it a bit here and there on Thanksgiving, removing typos, adding headers and more insight in budgets). A document of nearly 150 pages that outlines the vision for the next 18 years. I think it is a very solid plan, perhaps one of the best I have read. It is clearly written by cyclists with lots of input from the public and Citizens for Safe Cycling, Ottawa’s bicycle advocacy group since 1984. It is all compassing, from infrastructure to education, from winter cycling to fall sweeping. From [Read more…]

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Crowd Sourcing the Ottawa Cycling Map

July 3, 2013 Hansonthebike 4

Reading Time: 2 minutes After the long weekend it is now back to work for bike advocacy. The City of Ottawa maintains a map with different layers on line. The existing cycling facilities layer was recently updated – and can now be viewed on GeoOttawa- this is publicly accessible information. Please take some time to look over whatever part of the city you are most familiar with- and send in any changes to Melody (Melody.Andrews@ottawa.ca)  by email. If your suggestion is complicated- please include a screen shot. Remember the map should show what’s out there today—for example the O-Train pathway is on the map since it [Read more…]

Main Street Will Become a Complete Street and Here is Why

June 20, 2013 Hansonthebike 5

Reading Time: 8 minutes Update July 17, 2013: council passed the proposal for Main street with 18 in favour – 6 against (Moffatt, Blais, Hubley, Desroches, Deans, Harder: worries about traffic flow from suburbia to down town and timing of reconstruction). The City of Ottawa has active transportation high on the agenda. The highest priorities are pedestrians and cyclists. After active transportation comes public transportation. At the bottom of the pile is the car, the 3000 pound gorilla that has shaped Ottawa over the last 60-70 years or so. But the car’s hegemony over infrastructure is starting to show cracks. Rescue Bronson Ave has [Read more…]

Entering Ottawa

Bixi Bikes are a Great Asset for Canada’s National Capital Region

April 8, 2013 Hansonthebike 2

Reading Time: 4 minutes Two years ago, I suggested to a manager at the Westin in Ottawa that they should embrace cycling tourism more, being located right on the canal with its pathways, a World Heritage Site no less. He paused and then asked “But Hans, who arrives on a bike with three suitcases?‘” I had to explain to him that his guests might want to go for a bike ride after a dull day in a congress or perhaps stay longer if they knew about the many local bike routes. Meanwhile, the Minto on Laurier and Lyon has dozens of bikes out for [Read more…]

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Crowd Funding “Bike City, Great City” – Ottawa City Councillor Makes Documentary Movie

March 27, 2013 Hansonthebike 3

Reading Time: 2 minutes What does it take to create a great bike city? Better planning, better building and better education. Money and a willingness to invest it in cycling. Most of all, it requires politicians, planners, engineers and voters to believe it is both possible and worth the effort. If you think it’s worth the effort, please consider a donation to help produce Bike City, Great City, an informative, crowd-funded film that promotes the values of urban cycling. This independent documentary will show how any city that encourages cycling by making it easier and safer becomes a more vibrant, attractive and healthier city for everyone. David Chernushenko, Ottawa [Read more…]

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

November 13, 2012 Hansonthebike 1

Reading Time: 7 minutes Last 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…]

Professor Buehler in Ottawa

Bringing in Speakers is a Two Way Street

October 29, 2012 Hansonthebike 1

Reading Time: 6 minutes I just received an email from Professor Buehler: “Thanks for the hospitality; I really enjoyed my stay and learned a lot”. – Ralph Buehler. It has been two weeks already since we waved goodbye to Professor Ralph Buehler, who spoke at the AGM of Citizens for Safe Cycling. We purposely planned the AGM in the Indian Summer, as we like to show off our city as a great cycling destination. If we wait longer, the city starts to look dreary and the impressions that our speakers take back are not all that great. Indian Summer So October it was. Ralph [Read more…]

Building Bridges in Ottawa – September 18 meeting

September 15, 2012 Hansonthebike 4

Reading Time: 4 minutes Ottawa is building bridges. That probably sounds like Stephen Harper is reaching out to Thomas Mulcair, but I am really talking about bridges. Currently a bridge is being built over the Airport Parkway. Design is under way to build a bridge over the canal and one over the Rideau river. Also, a bridge is planned extending Hickory St over the O-Train, just north of Carling, to connect with the O-Train pathway. To be clear, I am talking about cycling and pedestrian bridges. In the near future, that O train bike path will connect further to Dow’s Lake, so that those [Read more…]

Cycling Advocacy at Work: The Ramps are a Go!

July 25, 2012 Hansonthebike 0

Reading Time: 4 minutes Bike troughs in Ottawa’s Light Rail Stations will be permitted Often in advocacy, you wonder why you spend all that precious private time meeting, explaining, presenting, convincing why a certain idea you have will benefit the citizens of Ottawa. You need to get to understand how the City works, in order to not to talk to the wrong people and wasting your time. Of course, you have to meet during working hours with professionals, which happens to be your working time too. You have to find allies, you have to defend yourself against those who haven’t seen the light yet, [Read more…]

Ottawa: Impressions of Ontario’s First Green Bike Box

July 17, 2012 Hansonthebike 8

Reading Time: 5 minutes Something new appeared on the streets of Ottawa, the very first bike box in Ontario. Earlier I had seen them in Vancouver, but this is an Ontario first and judging by the 50 thumbs up on Citizens for Safe Cycling’s Facebook page, it is solidly approved by cyclists. The green material is similar to the paint used in Laurier and should last quite a while, even through the harsh winters (which are getting less and less harsh anyway although I don’t have the evidence [citation needed].) I hadn’t really planned to go out and see it, but I had to [Read more…]