By Laura Mueller, Ottawa Community News, June 12, 2014
The city is touting $70 million it intends to sink into 79 cycling projects over
the next 15 years. Councillors received an update on bicycle projects and
policies during a transportation committee meeting on June 4. The financial
commitment for the next 15 years is $70 million, or around $4.6 million a year.
That's a reduction from the annual investment in cycling made over this term of
council, which has seen the city invest $28 million since the 2010 election,
although city staff said another $40 million is intended to be "available" for
major cycling projects. The $70 million represents the cycling projects outlined
in the "affordability plan" as part of the city's transportation master plan
update last fall. It includes 40 cycling facility projects to be completed in
the first phase before 2019 and 39 projects in the decade after. The plan
includes three major projects - pedestrian and cycling bridges at the old Prince
of Wales rail bridge over the Ottawa River, a Donald-Somerset connection and a
bridge near Lansdowne at Fifth Avenue and Clegg. via
Continuing east-west bikeway city a priority for 2014.