Don Grant: Ottawa is becoming a bike-friendly city
Ottawa Citizen

  1. News Clippings
  2. Don Grant: Ottawa is becoming a bike-friendly city Ottawa Citizen
By Don Grant, Ottawa Citizen, August 8, 2014

Riding my bike into work along our lovely Rideau Canal on a sunny August morning, I was contemplating the point of that letter penned by the two European tourists. As I recall, the letter suggested that Canada’s cities, including Ottawa, were smog-ridden and car-focussed places that left little room for cyclists and pedestrians. But riding my bike along a UNESCO world heritage waterway – basked in sun and sheltered from time-to-time by the shade of beautiful trees – the only thought that kept popping up was “Wow, what a perfect place for a bike ride. ”Every day, thousands of people in this city ride their bikes to work, to school, to go shopping, or just for fun. When we look at the city-wide “modal split” – the fancy word for how we make our transportation choices – cycling made up 2.4 per cent of trips in Ottawa in 2011. This doesn’t seem like much but according to the Ottawa Cycling Plan this adds up to 43,600 trips per day, an increase of 41 per cent since 2005. The goal, recently increased because of Ottawa’s improving cycling numbers, is to double the percentage to five per cent city-wide and eight per cent of trips taken within the Greenbelt by 2031. via Don Grant: Ottawa is becoming a bike-friendly city | Ottawa Citizen.

Latest posts

Auditor slams City of Ottawa officials over handling of Barrhaven housing development

By Randy Boswell, Ottawa Citizen, November 24, 2023

The City of Ottawa’s auditor general has slammed municipal officials for mishandling a major housing development in Barrhaven that involved extensive alterations of the Jock River floodplain to accommodate a sprawling new subdivision with nearly 1,000 new homes.

Auditor General Nathalie Gougeon has released a scathing, 14-page report detailing her team’s investigation into the project after allegations of mismanagement were made through the city’s fraud and waste hotline. The report has been tabled for discussion at the city’s audit committee meeting on Monday.

...The plan involved cutting away more than 100,000 cubic metres of soil along the north shore of the Jock and depositing more than 400,000 cubic metres of soil on adjacent land immediately to the north so houses could be safely built there, beyond any flood risk.

Find the whole article here.

Ottawa city council asks province to reinstate nine-storey building heights on minor corridors

By Blair Crawford, Ottawa Citizen, November 25, 2023

In a head-spinning move that has angered some community groups, Ottawa is asking the province to reverse its decision to override the city’s official plan on building heights.

A motion, approved by council this week in a 19-2 vote, instructs city officials to ask Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Paul Calandra to reinstate rules allowing higher buildings heights along minor road corridors. It’s something the city’s planning committee rejected two years ago, when it approved Ottawa’s new official plan.

Pellerin: Speak up for the glorious, badly under-used, Rideau Canal

By Brigitte Pellerin, Ottawa Citizen Op-Ed, November 24, 2023

The City of Ottawa, the National Capital Commission and Parks Canada are launching a consultation on the Rideau Canal, and they want our opinions.

What they hope we do is complete a survey, attend a virtual meeting, visit a pop-up kiosk at Landsowne Christmas Market on Nov. 25 and send our comments. I’m going to skip right to the last step.

...Around here, we only think of roads for commuting. Everything else — even a lovely gem like the Canal — is for recreational purposes. It’s a failure of imagination that deprives everyone, residents and visitors alike, of truly magnificent public spaces in the nation’s capital.

Find the whole article here.

More — News Clippings
Email:
Phone: 613 860 5353
Address:
123 Slater St, Floor 6
Ottawa, ON K1P 5H2