Prince of Wales Bridge: Why Isn't This a Bikeway

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As early as 2005, after the rail line was discontinued and the City of Ottawa purchased the bridge for possible future public transit use the NCC proposed using the bridge as a pedestrian and cycling bridge (Wikipedia: The Ottawa Citizen. (15 November 2005), NCC plans to link Ottawa, Gatineau with new recreation paths).

Since then the bridge has sat idle, although I assume, since the city purchased it for future public transit use, it's structural integrity has been maintained.

Such a shame. All those wasted years when the cost to use it as a Bikeway, even if temporary, would be minimal and if action had been taken in 2005 we'd be getting to close to ten years of use now. But it is never too late to do the right thing.

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All that would be needed is for a wooden boardwalk with railings to be built over the steel rails and approaches connected from the recreational pathways that are already on both sides of the Ottawa River. The timing is ideal with the newly built O-Train Multi-User Path (MUP) following the rest of the rail line on the Ottawa side all the way to the recreational pathway along the Rideau Canal. This would make an ideal link in the region's pathway system. The minimal cost would justify the expense, even if temporary, and it could be another ten years, if ever, before the bridge is used for public transit.

It is time for our elected, and unelected, officials to find ways through the bureaucratic roadblocks and make this happen for the citizens of Ottawa and Gatineau.

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Photo Source

Dumping Shit in The Ottawa River

This blog post contains graphic language because there is no way to pretty up dumping shit in the city's drinking water source.

If I were to walk into the Ottawa River and take a crap I would probably be arrested, and not just for indecent exposure but for polluting the river with human excrement.

However the City Of Ottawa routinely dumps shit in the Ottawa River due to a an inadequate and outdated sewage system. Yes, the City has been fined for some of these occurrences, but the fines are not paid by the decision makers who set the city's spending priorities but by citizens and taxpayers. Indeed the people who drink the water and swim in the Ottawa River, the victims of this environmental crime, are the ones who are punished for it, not the decision makers responsible for it.

Should there not be a law, or at least a policy, that the City spend money on improving the system responsible for this environmental crime before giving it to developers to build a shopping mall, condominiums and professional sports facilities. Should there not be a law that requires the City to spend federal and provincial infrastructure funding on reducing the amount of shit they dump in the Ottawa River before they spend it on building a road that destroys the most bio-diverse and environmentally important area in the city just to serve the desires of developers.

Indeed, should it not be legislated public policy that the City's decision makers must put the interests of taxpayers and citizens before the wishes of developers.

Cyclist Killed Near Inappropriate Pathway Detour Route

On August 13, 2010 a cyclist was killed while riding along city streets in the area of the official detour route for a section of National Capital Commission (NCC) pathway along the Ottawa River that was closed for rehabilitation.

This post is not meant to assign blame for this tragedy. I will leave that to the appropriate authorities. I also want to make it clear that I rode the official detour route and it seemed perfectly comfortable and safe to ride, for me.

That being said, the Ottawa Citizen article did raise concerns about cyclists detouring through the neighbourhood streets which I wish to address. Indeed, there are many people who choose the shared pathways to cycle because they do not feel comfortable riding on the roads and it seems appropriate to attempt to keep a pathway detour on pathways as much as possible. In this case, when there is a parallel pathway running alongside the detour route, not using it and detouring further away on city streets seems completely inappropriate. I have not been using the official route but an unofficial detour that I mapped out several weeks ago (and shared with others) before the official detour route was marked.

Click on Map To Enlarge
As you can see the official detour (and my route) follows alongside Carling Avenue for a bit on the paved shoulder. It then, out of necessity, goes down Maplehurst Avenue and then along the parallel pathway. My unofficial detour continues along the parallel pathway until it reaches the end of the construction zone and continues on an open and rideable section of the main pathway. For some reason the official detour leaves the parallel pathway at Kempster Ave. and meanders through city streets not joining the main pathway till well past the end of the construction, as the map above indicates.

As soon as I saw the official detour route I wondered why it did not follow the most logical and appropriate route rather than taking cyclists, many who choose to ride the pathways to avoid the roads, onto city streets.

UPDATE AUGUST 16, 2010

Today construction has started on the dark blue section of the detour. The old asphalt has been removed and new gravel put down and it appears to have been packed down by a roller. That section of pathway is now effectively open and being used, at least till they start repaving it. The rest of the detour, blue section, has the old asphalt removed, new gravel down, and rollers were on it today.

UPDATE AUGUST 23, 2010

All of the pathway construction is paved (lines not painted) and effectively in use, although not yet officially open.

UPDATE OCTOBER 20, 2010 (from NCC)

Re-opening: Ottawa River Pathway

The rehabilitation work of the 2 km of recreational pathway between Carling Ave. and Britannia Rd is completed. The NCC has done its final inspection and the pathway has officially re-opened.