Approaching a non signalised intersection

Ottawa Commute Census Data Show Growth in Cycling Commute

December 12, 2017 Hansonthebike 4

Reading Time: 6 minutes Recently, Statistics Canada released commuter data for 2016. Over the last 20 years, commuter trips grew considerably. That is not a surprise as the population grew, from 29.6 million in 1996 via 32.5 million in 2006 to 36.3 million in 2016. Yes, that is 7 million people extra in 20 years. This growth is about the equivalent of the entire population of Bulgaria. In other words, in twenty years we took in the equivalent of the population of an entire European country. And they move around. But how did Ottawa fare in the ‘journey to work’ census? I put some [Read more…]

Halloween

Halloween: 13 Spooky Scenarios for Cyclists

October 31, 2017 Hansonthebike 1

Reading Time: 9 minutes Today is Halloween so I wrote up 13 scary cycling scenarios for you. Some of them are infrastructure related, others are law related and yet others are behaviour related. I hope it doesn’t scare you away from cycling. Storm sewers Storm sewers are usually placed within about 60 cm of the curb. This is also where cyclists ride. Some storm sewers have a design so that it makes no difference how they are placed, but others still have a pattern that allows for bike wheels to get stuck, causing serious falls. Warn your municipality that this has to change. In [Read more…]

The Mackenzie bike lane seen from north towards south in front of hte US Embassy

Bike Lane at US Embassy Open 2/2: Photos

May 19, 2017 Hansonthebike 7

Reading Time: 5 minutes As you read in the previous post earlier today, the Mackenzie bike lane was opened today. The stretch in front of the embassy was an eye sore after a lane was blocked off by concrete barriers. Mayor Watson called it something else, but I forgot what he called the barriers. (Update, Mathieu Fleury wrote they are called Jersey barriers) The mayor mentioned former ambassador Bruce Heyman and thanked him for his initiative. Dr. Kristmanson said a few words, mentioning the closing of the ceremonial boulevard this Sunday morning for Bike Sunday (“The first time ever that the boulevard is closed [Read more…]

A Closer Look at the Bronson Improvements

September 20, 2016 Hansonthebike 4

Reading Time: 5 minutes The city got a lot of flak for the Booth Bridge Boondoggle and rightly so, as the design goes against all the modern road design principles. Big intersections, 4 lanes, no bike infrastructure, despite the connection to Quebec, the Zibi developments, the future Senators stadium and the Ottawa river pathways, even though there have been dire warnings from different sides years (!) before it was built. Once the opening came closer, the general public woke up and started to ask questions. The city scrambled a team together and a temporary provision for cycling was made. All you can do is roll [Read more…]

8 Bike Infrastructure Improvements in Ottawa

April 28, 2016 Hansonthebike 0

Reading Time: 5 minutes Since 2011, when Laurier Ave got segregated bike lanes, many other infrastructure projects were built in Ottawa. You may have seen a few of my images in Janette Sadik-Khan’s presentation last night (I couldn’t be there myself, but I heard there were about over 1000 people). If she didn’t use them or if you weren’t able to go, here are a few examples of the improvements the city and the NCC have made. I thought I use a ‘before’ and ‘after’ image, so you can see the difference. There are more examples, but I want to keep the post to a [Read more…]