Cyclists rejoice!

Cyclists rejoice! NCC adds10 km of new bike paths

Safety a priority on170-km network

By KENNETH JACKSON

Metro Ottawa, May 18, 2006

Boasting 10 kilometres offresh pathways this year —and with 10 more klicks still in the works — the NationalCapital Commission (NCC)yesterday officially launched Ottawa’s cycling season.

Cyclists will have morethan 170 kilometres of pathsto explore this year alongOttawa’s recreational networkafter several pathwayswere extended or refurbishedsince last season.

“A half-million users are on these pathways each year,” Michelle Comeau, theNCC’s vice-president of environment,capital lands and parks, said at an event to open the pathways and promote the 36th season of the Alcatel Sunday Bikedays,which begin May 21.

Safety along the networkwas a key component of yesterday’slaunch event. Since the murder of Ardeth Woodin August 2002 off an NCCpathway, volunteer security has dramatically increased along the network, said Ottawa Pathway Patrol chairman Richard Corbett.

“We’re out there making sure people have a good, safe time. Our number of volunteers increased from 40 to140 after the Wood murder,”said Corbett. The patrol is equipped to fix a broken chain or flat tire and can provide first aid when needed.

This year, a new five-kilometre stretch along the Greenbelt Pathway from Green’s Creek to Tauvette Road in Blackburn Hamlet isopen for users. Also, a new two-kilometre segment of theAviation Pathway has opened from the Canada Aviation Museum to the Ottawa River.

The NCC has also rehabilitated three kilometres ofthe Ottawa River Pathway into Orleans.Alcatel Sunday Bikedays along the scenic pathways begin again on Sunday, from9 a.m. to 1 p.m. For information,call 239-5000.

(A footnote: Since the 1970s, the NationalCapital Commission hasbeen building pathways along waterways that connectthe capital’s green spaces. )