Month: April 2017

Tim doesn't just plan parking, he was also a freelance cartoonist.

So… will anyone actually buy a unit without a parking space?

April 25, 2017 Hansonthebike 0

Reading Time: 2 minutesOver the last year or so Karen and I talked on and off about how we want to live when we are reaching our 70’s. Do we still want to live in the inner suburbs in a house with a garden and be car dependent at times? Do we want to move into a condo closer to LRT and use shared bike and car systems? When you are not adding much to your income anymore at that age, a car is probably the worst to own with its cost of at least $7000 annually. Does everyone need parking? We’d probably [Read more…]

National Peacekeeping monument. where the three routes meet in downtown Ottawa

Provincial Cycling Network: a Bucket of Paint for the Ottawa Region?

April 18, 2017 Hansonthebike 4

Reading Time: 3 minutesLast week at the Ontario Bike Summit, the Ontario Minister of Culture, Tourism and Sport and the Minister of Transportation announced the next step in developing an Ontario cycling network. The focus is very much on long distance tourism cycling in the province. The province is planning to fund part of the network from the carbon auction that generated hundreds of millions of dollars. Of that fund, $200 million is set aside for cycling. (Mind you: that same province set aside $ 100 million to widen the Queensway with one lane on both sides for a 3 km stretch) Serious money That is still pretty [Read more…]

Dutch style intersection with separate bike tracks in green

Dutch Style Intersections at Dynes Road

April 13, 2017 Hansonthebike 5

Reading Time: 4 minutesDynes Road will get a make over as there is sewer work to be done. Much of the cycling infrastructure is usually put in place when the sewers have to be replaced. Main Street was an example of that. The road is open anyway, so this is a good reason to rebuild the street and these cost don’t eat into the cycling budget. So essentially we’ll get free Dutch style intersections. The residents at Dynes complained about speeding and part of the reason is that the road is very wide. (Mind you, it is drivers who speed, not roads). The part [Read more…]

Emotions at Dynes Road Info Session

April 11, 2017 Hansonthebike 2

Reading Time: 4 minutesLast week, Karen and I were at a public information session for the reconstruction of Dynes Road off Prince of Wales Rd just north-west of Hog’s Back Falls. The road will be ripped up between summer 2017 and 2019, so the city brought the residents together to explain what the plan is. Poof, slip lanes gone There were drawings of the street on display with a cool new element, plus bike lanes and bike tracks. The slip lanes at Dynes and Prince of Wales are gone in the drawings, thus making the intersection a lot safer for everyone. The engineers and councillor [Read more…]

Dafne is an athlete from the Netherlands who holds the 200 meter world record sprint (photo Lee Jin-man/AP)

“Dafne Schippers” Bridge Ramp Built over a School

April 6, 2017 Hansonthebike 2

Reading Time: 3 minutesMark Wagenbuur wrote about it already a while ago when the bridge was being constructed, but now the new Dafne Schippers bridge in the Netherlands is officially in use. The bridge crosses the important Amsterdam-Rijn canal, connecting Amsterdam’s harbours with its hinterland in Europe. The canal is a considerable barrier and with a growing number of people living across the canal, this bridge was needed as part of the bike route from Leidsche Rijn (I loosely call it a suburb) to Utrecht Centre. The Amsterdam Rijn canal is a 72 km waterway and opened only in 1952. The part north [Read more…]