Cycling updates for Ottawa – July 17

Renewal of Patterson Creek bridge

The 113 year old bridge across Patterson Creek will be renovated this summer. This is good news for cyclists and pedestrians as the notoriously narrow pathway on the canal side will be widened to a minimum of 3.20 meters, and the road narrowed to -gasp- 8.50 meters. Bonus, the fence, drawn on wood no less since around 2018, which I only noticed a few years ago, will be restored too. The stretch of road between Fifth north to the Pretoria bridge will be closed to motorised vehicles until October 31.

Pedestrians and cyclists will still have access to the road, according to the NCC. While cyclists have access to the road, I assume that you will have to bike around the creek too though via O’Connor. Work was supposed to start two days ago. Not everyone is happy, CTV found an upset resident:

“This is my north-south route to go anywhere. If I have go to my parents’ in Manotick, I want to go to the farmers’ market, this is the way I go. (…) Forget it” said Laura L, who lives near the road closure. (CTV)

Desire line to be paved

The NCC proposes to formalise an informal pathway connecting Jacques-Cartier Parc near 9404 Rte Verte 1 in Gatineau to the Macdonald-Cartier Bridge. The informal desire pathway is approximately 100 m long and runs adjacent to a “remarkable White Oak tree“. The start date was supposed to be in May 2025, so if anyone can confirm if that is done, that would be great. (Update, Matthew and Sean report it has not been done as per July 16)

Gatineau Park buses

The buses will be driving longer in Gatineau Park. Initially, they stopped at 3 pm, but the last stop at the Visitor’s Centre is now at 5:22 PM. Here is the schedule I make every year to see what exactly is closed to motorised traffic every year at the several Mīkans.

Laurier – Elgin intersection

The intersection of Laurier and Elgin will have a make over, but it is too modest. The (apparently) 5 million dollars overhaul will see a new stretch of separate bike infrastructure on the northside of Laurier from the Laurier Ave bridge to the intersection with Elgin (near the Lord Elgin hotel).

The intersection itself will become a protected intersection with separate bike tracks arriving at the traffic signals and separate bike signals. Personally, I would have liked to see a more serious road diet as no ‘car lanes’ will be removed: all 19 (!) lanes arriving and leaving the intersection will still be there, leaving it tempting to run an amber or red light and just as difficult for a pedestrian to cross five lanes of traffic. There is no place for such a large suburban intersection smack in the middle of downtown Ottawa. Improved safety won’t come from a protected intersection alone though, a lot will stand and fall with signal timing.

Pathway behind Parliament Hill closed for another year

I had been sharing the news that the pathway was going to reopen behind Parliament Hill in spring 2025, but recently I saw on the website that this has been postponed to spring 2026. I actually don’t mind so much as I often detour via Quebec via de Chief William Commanda and Alexandra bridge. Let’s face it, how cool is it to casually mention that you detour via another province?

McCarthy bulb outs came and went

You may not bike on McCarthy, a fairly unpleasant road to bike on to begin with, but something interesting happened on McCarthy in the Hunt Club area recently. In all its wisdom the City decided to build bulb outs on McCarthy to slow down motorised traffic. With support of JP2G Consultants, a plan was drawn up to build five bulb outs in a strip of the road, separated by paint. Sharrows were to be added to the main roadway, so that everyone could safely share the road.

This was not a good idea. Using cyclists as a traffic calming device doesn’t go over well.

Cyclists now were cycling with traffic on a narrower road or had to veer in and out of motorised traffic from the lane that looked like a bike lane, but wasn’t, creating dangerous situations for everyone. By the time the bulb outs were finished recently, there was enough consensus about unsafe conditions that they were ripped out this week. Given there is obviously space for a bike lane, the city might as well leave it there.

Which makes one wonder if anybody in the active transportation department was even consulted. By the way, when checking out the road, I saw a large tractor trailer loaded with building materials not stopping much at the four way stop with Southmore Drive. 

With thanks to Patrick McKay of Obike.ca for some of the updates and drawings for this newsletter. Patrick maintains an overview of our bike infrastructure and updates the site with finished projects. You will also find future projects there.

Latest Posts by Hans on the Bike

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  Cycling updates for Ottawa – July 17
  Reading Time: 5 minutesHere are several cycling updates in Ottawa. Renewal of the Patterson Creek bridge with a wider mup, a bit of new paving near the McDonald-Cartier bridge, drawings for the Elgin-Laurier intersection (before and after slider) and a strange story about McCarthy Road in Hunt Club.
• 
  Cycling updates for Ottawa – July 7
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  Ottawa increases score once again in ratings by People for Bikes
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• 
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  When are the NCC Parkways open for cycling in 2025?
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  Is this funky bike cage being used?
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  Rethinking the Rideau Canal
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Cottage reading

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  A stone frigate in downtown Ottawa?
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  Gravel roads may return to suburban Ottawa
  Reading Time: 2 minutesIn its quest to find savings, our city is looking into more gravel roads, even in suburbs. Here is the article I saw today.
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  Merivale Road Food Map 2025
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• 
  My First Time in a Kayak on the Ottawa River
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  Are Dutch Bikes Still Dutch?
  Reading Time: 4 minutesOn August 4, 2024 the Bicycle Craft Brewery in Ottawa hosts a Bikes + Beer pop up in Ottawa featuring sales of used Dutch bikes. But what makes a Dutch bike Dutch nowadays?
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  NCC mulls replacement for Rideau Canal Skateway. “QED likely”: spokesperson
  Reading Time: 4 minutesThis morning’s local newspaper reports on the NCC mulling the Queen Elizabeth Drive as an alternative for the Rideau Canal Skateway after several disappointing skate seasons. Even the mayor might be on board. Here is the entire article.
• 
  The Short Life of the Ottawa & New York Railway
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  The Food Map of Merivale Road in 2024
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• 
  Will the Rideau Canal open for skating this year?
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