Infrastructure

Is Ottawa Building its own Sagrada Familia?

May 28, 2013 Hansonthebike 3

Reading Time: 2 minutesIf you have ever been to Barcelona, you likely went to see the Sagrada Familia, Gaudi’s church known for being under construction since 1882. It is a matter of taste, but I really like that eclectic look. Park Güell is another of his great designs. Construction of the church only passed its midway point in 2010, 131 years later. That is quite a timeline, but if you are born after 1950 you might actually be able to see the finished product: the plan is to finish the church in 2026, the centennial of Gaudi’s death. I can hear you thinking, [Read more…]

Of a Woonerf, Too Many Signs and Complete Streets

April 15, 2013 Hansonthebike 19

Reading Time: 6 minutesA world without signs? We have one woonerf in Ottawa: part of Cambridge is designated as a woonerf. An ‘erf’ is a somewhat old fashioned Dutch word for the area around the farm house, where chickens roam, the dog guards and the cow explores. ‘Woon’ comes from the verb ‘wonen’, Dutch for ‘to live in a place’. Woon-erf more or less literally translates to “living yard”. Here in Canada, we’d like to translate it with ‘complete streets’ sometimes, but typically a woonerf has few curbs; traffic calming measures are taken to the extreme with planters, coloured pavers, bike racks and [Read more…]

Destination Kanata and the Greenbelt

July 30, 2012 Hansonthebike 2

Reading Time: 7 minutesMost of the cycling advocacy efforts are naturally focussed on the down town area. It is where the pressure of traffic is highest and where many people converge on their way to work. Besides commuter cycling, Ottawa’s down town offers great recreational cycling; there are lots of opportunities to bike around and this is an asset for Ottawa that has not been exploited very much. I am trying to convince Tourism Ottawa, but other than some polite exchanges, we haven’t really moved on that file. Judging by the name, you’d think they promote tourism, but the focus is really on [Read more…]

Ottawa: Impressions of Ontario’s First Green Bike Box

July 17, 2012 Hansonthebike 8

Reading Time: 5 minutesSomething new appeared on the streets of Ottawa, the very first bike box in Ontario. Earlier I had seen them in Vancouver, but this is an Ontario first and judging by the 50 thumbs up on Citizens for Safe Cycling’s Facebook page, it is solidly approved by cyclists. The green material is similar to the paint used in Laurier and should last quite a while, even through the harsh winters (which are getting less and less harsh anyway although I don’t have the evidence [citation needed].) I hadn’t really planned to go out and see it, but I had to [Read more…]

Ramping up the Ramps

April 4, 2012 Hans on the Bike - Ottawa, Canada 0

Reading Time: 6 minutesOttawa City council gets input from several advisory groups (soon to be abandoned apparently) on specific issues. One of those groups is called the Roads and Cycling Advisory Committee aka RCAC. RCAC has 9 members at large and 3 representatives from the cycling community, amongst others the Ottawa Bicycle Club and Citizens for Safe Cycling. This is a valuable channel for citizens to stay in touch with decision makers. The City of Ottawa’s website says the following about RCAC: The mandate of the Roads and Cycling Advisory Committee is to provide advice and guidance to Ottawa City Council and its [Read more…]

bus shelter Rijssen

Rain Sensor for Dutch Cyclists – “Braille” for the Viennese Pedestrian

January 4, 2012 Hans on the Bike - Ottawa, Canada 2

Reading Time: 2 minutesNo more seeking shelter in this bus stop for this Dutch family when rain threatens. Picture: Urban Commuter Ottawa Dutch city of Groningen councillor Karin Dekker activated the first rain sensor in the city with the highest bike modal share in the world. The sensor measures rain and snow. If precipitation is measured, the traffic light cycle changes, so that cyclists get green lights more often. If the test is successful, more bicycle friendly traffic lights will follow in 2012. The rain sensor is already implemented in the Dutch province of Noord-Brabant. When it is raining ánd the temperature is [Read more…]

Bikeway image by Dennis Leung - Ottawa Citizen

Whoosh!

December 30, 2011 Hans on the Bike - Ottawa, Canada 0

Reading Time: 5 minutesYou probably read already that Ottawa city staff is designing a bike way through the city. Some will argue that it is yet another example of a waste of tax payer’s money (as if $220,000,000 for the Queensway isn’t), but the reality is, that it will be a long term gain. The idea behind a bike way is to create a safe corridor for cyclists from one end of town to the other end. It will feed commuters into the down town as well as encouraging more people to take their bike to get across town for errands. Or to get around their own [Read more…]

Rethinking Sparks Street: 7 Necessary Changes to Bring Back the Spark

December 21, 2011 Hans on the Bike - Ottawa, Canada 0

Reading Time: 6 minutesI used to walk more or less the same loop during my lunch time hour and Sparks Street was mostly included. But since the Laurier bike Lane is in place, I have changed my route and abandoned Sparks. Laurier is livelier, and with the bike lane in place, there is not only more to see in terms of cyclists, there are also some nice restaurants. The Persian Express has become a hang out for meetings for me as they offer nice food for a relatively low price (all you can eat buffet) and they have a three season terrace. Presse Café [Read more…]

Halifax Revisited

October 12, 2011 Hans on the Bike - Ottawa, Canada 0

Reading Time: 6 minutesShe is young, she is bright and she is an entrepreneur. Twenty four year old Sarah Craig decided to forego a government career in CO2 calculations (who can blame her?) and decided to start a bike rental shop on the board walk in Halifax. Really, how many people, fresh from university start a bike shop? I decided to visit Sarah on a crisp Friday afternoon. The place is not bigger than roughly a 150 ft2 but rents out 15 Townies, with helmets (mandatory for everyone in Nova Scotia). Sarah also has a collection of T-shirts, bells, claxons, magazines and alcohol [Read more…]