First phase of 20-year plan fast-tracked
Ottawa’s cycling plan is shifting to a higher gear.
The timeframe for implementing the first, $26-million phase of Ottawa’s 20-year plan to improve its cycling amenities — including more bike lanes and multi-use pathways — should be completed in five years rather than the original 10-year schedule, a committee decided yesterday.
“Cycling is an important part of the city, and we are under tremendous pressure to improve and expand our facilities,” said Coun. Alex Cullen.
Cullen proposed spending $5 million a year on improvements, rather than $2.5 million proposed by the original plan, with the money mostly coming from the capital budget. Cullen said it does not necessarily equal a property tax increase.
Phase two carries an estimated $60-million price tag. The cycling plan will add 160 kilometres of routes over five years, based on a main spine running though the city that’s linked by community routes starting in 2009.
The new timeframe delighted most advocates who attended the transportation committee meeting yesterday, although some expressed concern that the plan left a hole in the centre of the city.
Between Preston Street and the Rideau Canal, and from the Ottawa River to Gladstone Avenue, the plan is blank and won’t be filled until the Transportation Master Plan is completed, said Alayne McGregor, a past president of Citizens for Safe Cycling.
The city will also consider a smart bike program that will allow people to rent bicycles for a small fee.
–tim.wieclawski@metronews.ca
