Letting bicycle lanes end on busy road is bad planning

Letting bicycle lanes end on busy road is bad planning

The Ottawa Citizen

Published: Sunday, May 13, 2007

I recently attempted my first cycle commute from my home in Orleans westward to Cognos, at Riverside and Uplands drives via the newly renovated and expansive Innes Road.

The new bike lanes are wonderful and run in both directions until the point where Innes passes over Highway 417. Here the cycling lanes abruptly end proximal to the off ramp and on ramps, leaving the cyclist stranded in 80-kilometre-per-hour traffic with heavy trucks turning and merging.

With many miles behind me and no bike lane ahead, I inched along the overpass with great trepidation.

Once over I could relax only briefly. Industrial Road has no cycle lanes either but widens, with a 60 km/h speed limit-- better, but not safer. Finally at Alta Vista Drive, the bike lanes recommence only to end again at Bank Street.

Walkley Road has no bike lanes and neither does Riverside Drive but, again, the speed limits are reduced to 60 km/h.

I reported this problem, using photographs, to the City of Ottawa. The e-mail reply was that "we either build a bicycle lane that must end at some point or don't build a bicycle lane, but we will look into having a share-the-road sign erected on the bridge."

There is a problem when the city builds an enticing bike lane only to lead to a busy highway with no alternatives, no signage and no advanced planning. I'm no expert, but it seems obvious.

Cyclists must use the road; they have no choice. At locations such as the Innes-417 overpass there is no provision for pedestrians either, yet there is a median strip and grassy curbs, which could be removed since neither measure would seem to require a bridge redesign or replacement.

The sooner the city fixes the problem of bike lanes to nowhere, the better -- the better to encourage cyclists, better for the environment, and better for my life span.

Peter Karwacki Sr.,

Ottawa

© The Ottawa Citizen 2007