Advocacy

The Weirdest Bike Ride. Ever.

June 4, 2013 Hansonthebike 9

Reading Time: 6 minutesHow I ended up cycling with three MP’s Last Saturday was the National Health and Fitness Day in Ottawa. Or was it Sunday? Or Monday? It is not entirely clear to me when I read the website of John Weston, MP for West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast. Dick Louch (Velofest) told me Sunday night there was a bike ride on the Hill the next day (Short for Parliament Hill in Ottawa among Ottawans) to celebrate the Health and Fitness Day. It was the same day that Olivia Chow’s National Transit Strategy Bill was voted down. Oddly, no one I asked had heard [Read more…]

Advocacy at Work: Changing a Sign in Favour of Cyclists

May 14, 2013 Hansonthebike 3

Reading Time: 4 minutesI have been advocating for better access to the Experimental Farm. It took nearly two years before I finally got a chance to talk to some one. Initially, I just rang the door bell at one of the administrative buildings. You have to start somewhere and I am not a big fan of firing off emails. The lady who opened the door referred me to some internal call centre guy who never called me back, after several phone calls from me. It didn’t go anywhere, as expected in the bureaucracy. Central Experimental Farm Advisory Council Eventually, I had a chance [Read more…]

2013 Tulips on Two Wheels: a Bit of Holland in Ottawa

May 6, 2013 Hansonthebike 0

Reading Time: 4 minutesOne of Citizens for Safe Cycling’s goals is to make the public more familiar with the many issues that arise around cycling. There are many ways to stay in touch through social media and meetings, but we often preach to the converted at our meetings and to our followers on Twitter and Facebook. Those are the people who put effort in finding us. But there is a whole demographic out there who cycles but doesn’t realise what it takes to build Ottawa’s bike infrastructure. And with infrastructure we don’t mean bike lanes only, but also bike parking for example. So [Read more…]

Ontario Bike Strategy Update

April 18, 2013 Hansonthebike 1

Reading Time: 2 minutesHere is a brief update on Ontario’s draft bicycle policy survey. I am told that the Ministry of Transportation received tremendous interest. There were close to 1000 submissions, over 90% of which are from individuals. The tone is generally very supportive of the fact that the Ministry is taking the issue seriously for the first time in 20 years – putting out a strategy and consulting. Initial estimates have the suggestions split fairly evenly between infrastructure, legislative changes and education. As Premier Wynne has lived in the Netherlands and raved about cycling with her kids there and Transport Minister Glenn Murray apparently cycled across [Read more…]

Entering Ottawa

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

April 8, 2013 Hansonthebike 4

Reading Time: 4 minutesTwo 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 minutesWhat 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…]

Eight, Make that Nine, Bike Counters in Ottawa

February 14, 2013 Hansonthebike 7

Reading Time: 6 minutesOne of the most underestimated tools for bike advocacy is the bike counter. They come in all kinds of sizes and shapes. Here in Ottawa, we currently have eight bike counters. Few people know about them but it has helped tremendously in proving that there are much more cycling movements than people think. As the old adagio goes in Dutch: “Meten = Weten”. (measuring = knowledge). The counters are all underground in little water tight containers, hidden in the pavement or the bushes along bike paths. Former Citizens for Safe Cycling president Krstulich has really pushed for those hidden counters. [Read more…]

Ottawa’s Second Annual Winter Bike Ride in Perfect Conditions

January 29, 2013 Hansonthebike 2

Reading Time: 5 minutesIf you mention winter cycling, one tends to think of bearded middle aged men, who’s mission it is to prove that one can live without a car in Ottawa under any circumstance, come hell or high water, or in this case, high snow. Ottawa, for those who are not from here but perhaps from a more tropical place like Toronto, is the second coldest capital in the world, leaving to Ulanbatar the first place. Which means we have to put up with fairly chilly conditions. Temperatures can go as low as -30C and to -40C if you take the wind [Read more…]

Will Sparks Street Open Up to Cycling?

January 18, 2013 Hansonthebike 9

Reading Time: 6 minutesOttawa’s Sparks street tweeted a link to a survey earlier this week. “We’d like your help to improve your Sparks Street experience. Survey closes Jan 21st. http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/SparksStreet  #ottnews #sparksstreet #ottawa” You will likely have noticed that the Sparks Street BIA has put executive director Les Gagné in charge of promoting the street, once the street of streets. I noticed a few cosmetic changes over the last few months and you will remember the New Year’s Eve celebration in Sparks Street. There were many people out to listen to several bands. (Tim Horton’s on Sparks was attracting a huge crowd too). [Read more…]

Ottawa’s Cargo Bike Scene

January 3, 2013 Hansonthebike 4

Reading Time: 3 minutesFrom what I know, there are about six, seven bakfietsen (cargo bikes) in Ottawa. It is not much, but that’s changing. The first one that comes to mind is Lana’s, who blogs extensively about her bakfiets adventures. Ottawa cargo bikes Another one is Joel Mulligan’s bakfiets. Joel now works in Denmark, but left his white Bullitt behind at Tall Tree Cycles. Then there is courier Gary Watson on his orange Bullitt, who you often see down town. And then there is an Old Ottawa South architect John Donkin, who owns a bakfiets (which I borrowed for a show, see further [Read more…]