Cycling infra updates in Ottawa in 2023 – part 1/2
Reading Time: 8 minutes As 2023 comes to an end, I made an overview of the cycling projects that are (nearly) finished in Ottawa this year. Here is part 1 of 2 posts.
Cycling in Ottawa
New Raised Bike Tracks on Byron Ave
Reading Time: 5 minutes Part of Byron Ave in Ottawa recently went through an integrated road, sewer and watermain upgrade. The city used that as an opportunity to upgrade the road with separate bike infrastructure. Let’s have a look!
Time for a new helmet: shall I go urban?
Reading Time: 7 minutes It was time for me to start looking for a new bicycle helmet. And just like that someone called me and we discussed the Melon helmet this spring and I ended up trying one out. One of the most contentious debates in the world of urban cycling is to wear or not to wear a helmet. While the vast majority of the Dutch absolutely despise the idea, actually can’t even imagine wearing one, the Danes are kind of split about the idea. In Canada it’s generally accepted that you wear a helmet while out on a bike, although there are [Read more…]
Retracing the First Train into Ottawa: the Bytown & Prescott Railway
Reading Time: 10 minutes Mr. Walter Shanly (1817-1899), a civil engineer, touched the ground to inspect the land underneath his snow shoes. He was on a mission: recently he, and a group of investors, had agreed on building the first railway track into Bytown (now Ottawa), all the way from Prescott on the St. Lawrence river, to connect the lumbertown on the Ottawa River with the ports in Prescott. A distance of about 50 miles (80 km). Not everyone was excited about their plans though and it had taken time to get the funds together. Thomas McKay, who built Rideau Hall, put forward money [Read more…]
Prince of Wales Bridge Reopens as Active Transportation Bridge with New Name
Reading Time: 8 minutes A large piece of new active transportation infrastructure finally opened yesterday. Here is all the background you want to read about the historic Prince of Wales bridge, now the Chief William Commanda bridge, connecting Ottawa with Gatineau and an easier gateway to Gatineau Park.
When and where are the NCC bike days 2023 in Ottawa?
Reading Time: 2 minutes Here is a table with an overview when and where you can bike, roll, walk on NCC roads in 2023 in Ottawa and Gatineau Park without having to share the road with cars and trucks.
A 19 km bike ride through Old Nepean
Reading Time: 5 minutes Cycling in the old suburb of Nepean can be surprising. Here is a 19 km loop that is 85% of multi use pathways.
A 30 km cycling loop in Orléans (Ontario)
Reading Time: 6 minutes Early September, Karen and I finally made it to Orléans (in Ontario). We cycled a 30 km loop with a short 5 km side tour to Petrie Island, mostly on pathways, and a bit on residential roads. Orléans could use more cycling infrastructure though as there are missing links. Hopefully with the arrival of LRT more cycling infrastructure will be added.
Gatineau in 99th percentile of 2022 People for Bikes City Ratings
Reading Time: 4 minutes Gatineau, across the river, scores high in the 2022 @PeopleforBikes city ratings. But look what happens if Gatineau and Ottawa are seen as a one National Capital Region, as the locals do: It has a similar rating as Vancouver, based on available data.
Ottawa in 95th percentile in People for Bikes 2022 rankings
Reading Time: 5 minutes Ottawa scores high in the 2022 People for Bikes annual bike network ratings. Where can we further improve? The ratings show that, compared with Montreal, we have to invest more in access to neighbourhoods and transit hubs.