Infrastructure

Newly paved path on Colonel By.

Colonel By – A Missed Opportunity

June 20, 2017 Hansonthebike 4

Reading Time: 3 minutes Last week, I cycled along the renovated canal walls on Colonel By. The path there has been repaved after extensive work on the walls, but I was a bit disappointed that the path wasn’t made any wider now everything was open anyway.   Most of the multi use pathway is a fair bit away from the road, which makes it a much nicer cycling experience. Unfortunately, the stretch east-ish of the Bank Street bridge runs right next to the road, a stretch of about 400 metres. At the other side of the road there is an area that is really [Read more…]

Main Street Ottawa opens as (almost) Complete Street

June 19, 2017 Hansonthebike 11

Reading Time: 8 minutes Last Saturday, the renovated Main Street in Ottawa was officially opened. The opening of this brand new complete street was folded into the annual Main Street fest and part of the street was closed off for motorized traffic. There was a brass band playing, there was an artisan farmers market, there was the bouncy castle (no event in Ottawa is complete without a bouncy castle, face painting and a booth of Safer Roads Ottawa) and there were hamburgers (veggie and halal included) for the fundraising part of the event. Cast iron for David Chernushenko From the tongue-in-cheek gift of the [Read more…]

The Mackenzie bike lane seen from north towards south in front of hte US Embassy

Bike Lane at US Embassy Open 2/2: Photos

May 19, 2017 Hansonthebike 7

Reading Time: 5 minutes As you read in the previous post earlier today, the Mackenzie bike lane was opened today. The stretch in front of the embassy was an eye sore after a lane was blocked off by concrete barriers. Mayor Watson called it something else, but I forgot what he called the barriers. (Update, Mathieu Fleury wrote they are called Jersey barriers) The mayor mentioned former ambassador Bruce Heyman and thanked him for his initiative. Dr. Kristmanson said a few words, mentioning the closing of the ceremonial boulevard this Sunday morning for Bike Sunday (“The first time ever that the boulevard is closed [Read more…]

Doug went out and did the measurements. The bike gives you an idea of the size. This photo looks south bound.

Bike Lane at US Embassy Open 1/2: Concrete Barriers Removed

May 19, 2017 Hansonthebike 4

Reading Time: 4 minutes Today, the bi-directional bike lane on Mackenzie Ave in front of the US Embassy will officially open. It is probably the safest one in the world, with bollards anchored in two meters of underground concrete. Why is that? To protect the embassy. Soon after the attacks on 9/11 the American embassy in Ottawa became even more fortified as it already was. On the west side of the embassy in the Byward market, Clarence street was slightly reconfigured so that truck bombers couldn’t drive straight into the embassy. The road got a wave built in, to stop high speed attacks; an [Read more…]

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 minutes Over 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 minutes Last 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 minutes Dynes 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 minutes Last 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…]

Rain water management in western Netherlands is vital.

Rain sensors to adjust bike signals before it rains

March 28, 2017 Hansonthebike 0

Reading Time: 2 minutes Although it doesn’t rain that often when I want to bike, I do try to plan around a rain shower if possible when there is even a threat of rain. One of my best sources is the weather radar at the Environment Canada website. By estimating the speed of the incoming rain from the 7 images displayed, I can usually work around getting soaked. Rain sensors in the Netherlands are going to help getting you home dry. Rain sensors installed Netherlands’ cities installed rain sensors already a few years ago. When they detect rain, the computer adjusts traffic signals in [Read more…]