2023-04-29
2022-06-30
Glen Cairn Pathway System Deterioration
This pathway through Glen Cairn is also crumbling away.
Posted by rww at 10:56 0 comments
Labels: bicycling, bicycling infrastructure, Bridlewood, climate change, environment, freeze-thaw cycles, Glen Cairn, Kanata, multi-use pathways, MUPs, Ottawa, outdoors, recreation
2022-05-19
The Bridlewood Small Hydro Line Pathway – The Crumbling Continues
A year ago I wrote a blog post, Climate Change, The Pandemic and Multi-Use Pathways (MUPs), in which I talked about the state of Ottawa’s Multi User Pathways citing The Bridlewood small hydro line as an example.
This is the current state of that pathway compared to a year ago.
May 2022
May 2021
Posted by rww at 10:52 0 comments
Labels: bicycling, bicycling infrastructure, Bridlewood, Kanata, multi-use pathways, MUPs, Ottawa, outdoors, recreation
2021-05-17
Climate Change, The Pandemic and Multi-Use Pathways (MUPs)
The greatest long term threat to humankind is undoubtedly climate change. While the planet can no doubt survive anything short of a collision with a planet sized meteorite or asteroid, climate change has the potential to be be disastrous to human habitat.
In the short term the greatest threat to humankind is the COVID-19 pandemic.
While both of these threats are said to be non-discriminatory and many claim “we are all in this together”, that clearly is not true because while the threats may not discriminate, our societies and dominant economic system certainly do. Both climate change and the pandemic have a greater impact on the developing world than the developed world, and within the developed world a greater impact on poor and marginalized communities.
But what does this all have to do with multi-use pathways (MUPs).
Climate change has created multiple freeze-thaw cycles every year, rather than one each spring, causing excessive damage to cycling infrastructure, in particular MUPs. At the same time the pandemic has created an increase in outdoor activity and in particular much greater demand for bicycles putting much greater demands on cycling infrastructure including MUPs.
This is is the impact on a typical Ottawa MUP in Kanata.
We need to improve our multi-use pathway standards so that they do not completely deteriorate after one winter and connect the MUPs together to create a city wide system for recreational and utilitarian use, commuting, shopping, etc.
While considering this we need to keep these important facts in mind. Improving cycling infrastructure increases the number of people using bicycles for utilitarian purposes like commuting and shopping, which reduces the strain on roads and automobile infrastructure and reduces road traffic congestion. At the same time improving cycling infrastructures costs considerably less improving automobile infrastructure. Leaving the only reasonable conclusion that the most cost efficient way to reduce road traffic congestion is to improve cycling infrastructure.
Posted by rww at 21:45 0 comments
Labels: bicycling, bicycling infrastructure, Bridlewood, climate change, COVID-19, environment, freeze-thaw cycles, Kanata, multi-use pathways, MUPs, Ottawa, outdoors, pandemics, recreation
2020-12-18
The Pensioner and the Pandemic
This is the post I was going to write before I was rudely
interrupted and told to lock myself in my room.
I may indeed be the least affected person on the planet by this pandemic, and the only one that it seems to be not such a big deal, simply because it simply has not had a huge impact on my daily life.
Health-wise, although technically in a higher risk group by age, I am in the lowest risk group by perhaps the most important metric, economic status. I am not living in a long term care facility or living with a pre-existing condition that puts me at greater risk and I am relatively healthy with a strong immune system. As long as I follow the recommended precautions regarding mask wearing, physical distancing and avoiding crowded indoor gatherings I feel completely safe.
As a retired pensioner I do not have to worry about either being out of work and out of income or conversely having to work in an environment that may expose me to the virus. This is a huge issue for many people, especially those in lower income occupations, many of whom are in the highly praised but underpaid “front line” occupations we hear so much about now and who will no doubt go back to being ignored when this is all over.
Most importantly my daily lifestyle has been impacted very little. The biggest inconvenience has been having to wear a mask when grocery shopping. My daily routine of outdoor exercise, primarily cycling with some hiking, has had little impact other than having to be somewhat more aware of keeping as much distance as possible when passing people.
Yes, we have not been able to eat out at restaurants but we only did that once every two or three months anyway, and that is a luxury many live their wholes lives without being able to afford.
We have not been able to travel outside the country for the past year, but then most people are not in a position to undertake foreign travel on an annual basis, and we have not done any recreational travel within the province for the last year, again something that many do not have the economic means to do regularly.
We saw investments in equities fall significantly (but they have now recovered) but our concerns about economic effects should be saved for those living from paycheck to pay check rather than for those that can afford to invest in the stock market.
I really have no reason to feel hard done by due to the pandemic.
Posted by rww at 14:57 1 comments
Labels: Coronavirus, COVID-19, economic status, health, income, lifestyle, mask wearing, nature, outdoors, pandemics, pensions, physical distancing, poverty, SARS-CoV-2, senior citizens
2020-03-31
The Pensioner and the Pandemic and ...
The Government Wants
to Lock Me in My Room
Self-assessment result
You are in an at-risk group because you said one of the following applies to you:
- are over 70 years of age
You must self-isolate, which means:
- only leave your home or see other people for critical reasons (like a medical emergency)
- seek services over the phone or online or ask for help from friends, family or neighbours
- do not go into a hospital or clinic to get a COVID-19 test unless you are asked to by a health care provider
Posted by rww at 20:38 0 comments
Labels: Age discrimination, civil disobedience, Coronavirus, COVID-19, economy, guaranteed basic income, health, inequality, lifestyle, nature, outdoors, physical distancing, poverty, SARS-CoV-2, senior citizens
2010-04-29
Old Quarry Youth Mountain Bike Skills Park
Submission to the National Capital Commission Greenbelt Master Plan Review - Part 3
By Richard W. Woodley, environmentalist, hiker, mountain biker, snowshoer, cross
country skier, kayaker
(Please note: click on images to enlarge)
While this may seem like a my most radical proposal yet it follows naturally from what I have already written:
Getting people out into the environment, onto the lakes and rivers and into the forests builds healthy lifestyles, and healthy lifestyles improve our health and reduces our health care costs. This is important at a time when obesity, and childhood obesity in particular, is at epidemic levels. We need natural spaces and trails to teach our children the benefits and enjoyment that can be had in the great outdoors. The National Capital Region is fortunate that we have a population that celebrates healthy lifestyles and rises up to challenge those that want to take our natural spaces and trails away from us. Allowing mountain biking on the trails is one more way to encourage people to get out and enjoy nature.The Old Quarry are trails are particularly suited for young riders just starting out in mountain biking because they provide a wide range of difficulty from easy flat gravel trails to intermediate level rooty and rocky trails.
Young people need the type of challenges the outdoors can provide as an alternative to spending their time in a sedentary lifestyle centred on electronic devices, or other even worse, but seemingly exciting, activities like gangs and drugs. Youth can be attracted to these things by the very risks we want to protect them from. Outdoors activities such as rock climbing and mountain biking can provide exciting healthy risks that build character and a healthy body.
Mountain biking is the perfect activity to get young people active and out in the environment. It combines man and machine (or boy and machine) with a sense of adventure, all in a natural setting. The Greenbelt trails are the ideal location as many are closes to neighbourhoods and they have a wide variety of levels of riding difficulty and challenge.
A beginner level mountain bike skills park adjacent to these trails would be ideal for this location that is close to communities with young families and schools, as well as having it's own parking and close proximity to additional parking and facilities at the Hazeldean Mall.
The proposed location is off to the side of the trails and separated from roadways and traffic by bush.
There are two documented changes in young people's lives from when I grew up to today. They are a decreased level of physical activity and a disconnect from nature. Part of this stems from parents fear of letting their children play and wander outside alone and part of it stems from competition for their attention from technological devices from television to video games to the Internet.
We need to excite kids to get them to choose real outdoor physical activity over indoor virtual pursuits. Mountain biking is seen as an exciting "extreme" sport that can provide that excitement, yet when done with proper training at each individuals ability level it can be as safe as any other sporting activity.
A skills park can provide the setting and resources to teach young people how to handle their bikes safely and how to safely navigate technical mountain bike trails, as well as how to judge what they are capable of safely attempting on their bikes.
As well as including natural and man-made features to learn and practice their skills on, the park could also include educational displays on safe and responsible riding and respect for the trails, the environment and other trail users.
I believe this location is an excellent one for a beginner level mountain biking skills park as young riders can practice the skills they learn in the park on the adjacent trails that provide a wide range of trails of varying levels of technical difficulty.
I also intend to propose that a more advanced level skills park be established adjacent to the mountain biking trail system in the South March Highlands.
Posted by rww at 11:02 1 comments
Labels: environment, Greenbelt Master Plan Review, mountain biking skills park, National Capital Commission, NCC, Old Quarry Trails, Ontario, Ottawa, outdoors, physical activity, public consultations, youth