Yesterday I reported that the election of anti-cycling Mayor Rob Ford was very bad news for Toronto cyclists. By contrast, Ottawa has just had a very positive development, with the election of pro-cycling Mayor Jim Watson, two days ago.
Part of Watson’s election platform was a 10-point Plan for Cycling. If Mayor Watson is true to his campaign promises, Ottawa cyclists can expect infrastructure improvement on a par with the cycling infrastructure improvements seen recently in Vancouver – if not even better. It seems that Watson has been moved to dynamic action plans by the stark realization that cyclists’ lives need to be protected. He said:
“Safety is at the heart of this initiative. I am concerned that the recent string of bike tragedies is having an effect on confidence. We can’t wait for safety. If the balance tips and people start to view cycling as risk, or antagonism builds with motorists, then we’ll suffer a real loss here in Ottawa.”
Mayor Watson plans to address cycling issues on multiple fronts, including dedicated bike lanes, more multi-purpose pathways, bike safety programs, bike parking, combatting bike theft, more accommodation of bikes on mass transit, and ensuring that Ottawa’s Roads and Cycling Advisory Committee becomes more meaningful and effective.
Mayor Watson champions a vision of Ottawa becoming a city that can be proud of its cycling infrastructure. He is also one of the rare Canadian mayors who realizes the potential of cycling tourism – joining Sooke’s mayor Janet Evans in that respect. Moreover, there is reason to hope that Watson’s pro-cyclist stance could spread, as he plans to work with neighboring municipalities in Quebec and Ontario.
Watson’s 10-point plan for cycling puts him in the company of Mayor Gregor Robertson, the bravely pro-cyclist mayor of Vancouver. Watson has undertaken to move forward with new dedicated bike lanes, “while respecting business concerns about the impact of bike lanes on their businesses” – easier said than done, as we have seen in Vancouver.
Many Vancouver business owners will apparently choose parking spots over cyclists’ lives any day, and Ottawa business owners are unlikely to be less selfish.
Mayor Robertson has been unflinching in standing up to the selfish demands of business owners – here’s hoping Mayor Watson will be as gutsy as Gregor. At the very least, it is encouraging to see the election of a pro-cycling mayor in our capital city. It helps to offset the disappointment of seeing an anti-cyclist elected mayor of our largest city.
My thanks to fellow blogger bentguy for alerting me to the good news about Watson.
I was originally pulling for Clive Doucet who I thought was the best option for Ottawa cyclists. Then the next morning when I saw Jim Watson was elected the first thing I had to do was check out his bike plans. Completely caught me off-guard at how well thought his plan was.
Hopefully Watson will make Ottawa a top cycling city in not only Canada but North America. I’ve always believed (nation) capitals should be bike friendly as they tend to draw a good number of tourists from other countries.
goo.gl/onJf
Hi Ryan. I agree that being bike friendly draws tourists from other countries – we are planning to visit London to use their BIXI system. It also draws tourists from the same country too. I have been to Ottawa once, and loved it. I would be back like a shot if it had dedicated bike lanes and tourist-friendly bike rentals – such as BIXIs. I remember the only thing that disappointed me in Ottawa was that I didn’t feel very encouraged to bike ride.
I worked in Ottawa for the summer of 2003, and admired their capital pathways system. (map: http://www.canadascapital.gc.ca/data/2/rec_docs/7894_Biking_Country_Au_pays_du_velo_2007.pdf) But getting around my suburban neighbourhood of Bells Corners would not have been nice by bike. Same with downtown, although it looks like that’s changing now. Guess that serves me right for living in the ‘burbs (although rent was cheap… I think I paid $300 / month incl utilities and cable for half a townhouse)
Oops, correct URL:
http://www.canadascapital.gc.ca/data/2/rec_docs/7894_Biking_Country_Au_pays_du_velo_2007.pdf
Thanks Alex for the link. When we were in Ottawa we stayed at a downtown hotel next to the Parliament buildings, and it did not feel bike-friendly at all – although I did see a lot of cyclists. Next time I will go more prepared. I am looking forward to going once Mayor Watson puts in place some of his cycling friendly plans 🙂
Chateau Laurier? Nice! Maybe you stayed in the same room previously used by some important visiting dignitary?
Yep, it was the Chateau Laurier – very swish. We didn’t pay for it – I won the CBC Dalton Camp literary award, and the CBC paid for my wife and I to fly to Ottawa and stay at the Chateau Laurier; very, very nice 🙂
I googled the award and was able to find and read the entry. Wow congrats!
Thanks Alex! It was a pretty exciting event in my life. They make a really big fuss about it. And the hotel was cool!
Hey Joe,
Thanks again for your blog. Glad to hear that Ottawa is going to improve things as when I was there last summer I thought about taking my travel bike, but decided not to when I looked at the bike infrastructure.
Not really directly relevant, but couldn’t send you an email through the website…Saw this article today and thought you might be interested…http://bikeportland.org/2010/10/28/study-cycle-tracks-mean-better-air-quality-for-bikers-walkers-41754.
I was surprised that the air quality was that statistically different. Glad I don’t normally bike along major roads for much of my commute!
Enjoy your ride home…looks like the rain may hold off.
Janine
Hi Janine, great to hear from you again 🙂 . I am concerned that you could not send me an email through the website – I thought my Contact Me was working. Could you please tell me what goes wrong, so I can get it fixed?
Thanks for the link. I am really interested in getting to Portland and doing some cycling there. I am amazed that such short horizontal distances make such a difference in air quality. I think I will have to do a post about it. That information should be more widely known, as it is yet another argument for separate bike lanes – not just for cyclists’ health, but also for pedestrians.
I had a great ride home, thanks – despite just a little rain. It’s always interesting to me that when I am at work I look out and see dark skies and rain, and I dread biking home – and then as soon as I am out in it and peddling along, it is fun and exhilirating!
We like Portland a lot – there is a ride in the Gorge (about 1 hour from Portland) that you and your family might like. It is a human-powered trail only between Hood River and Mosier above the Gorge – smooth, flat pavement, even some tunnels. It does have a slope, but we normally see lots of kids and families on it, and it’s not as steep as say, the 10th Ave hill to UBC. Can’t find a map talking specifically about it, but this shows it: http://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/HWY/HCRH/images/HCRHbikemap.pdf?ga=t Note that it is only the shorter section that I’m talking about that is closed to traffic and suitable for families…the rest they show on this map wouldn’t be IMHO. There’s also no sales tax in Portland, which is a bonus! 🙂
Re the emailing, not sure what the problem was. I filled in the form, including the cap text, submitted and it came back “Your email was not sent” or something like that. Tried it a couple of times, same problem. Now, I’m using Firefox and use some ad-blocking apps, so that could be it…sorry I don’t have more details!
I don’t mind any day except all but the most heinously wet days!
Thanks Janine … I will definitely check that trail out. And do some shopping in Portland too!
I will look into that emailing problem. I also have Firefox, so I guess I can just see if I can email myself 🙂