Tramways, bikeways, and loops
Ottawa 3 Speed #7: How the STO's tramway plans affect Ottawa cycling, Qwik Kurbs coming to Elgin, advisory lanes, and more!
Welcome back! Since the week off, the buzz about tramways and loops in Ottawa has gotten louder, so we’ll start off today about how that might affect existing cycling plans and which option would be the best if you’re looking at this from a bike-first perspective. There’s also a bunch of project updates from around the city (advisory lanes! Semi-permanent lanes!) and a way to give feedback on the eScooter pilot.
Before we get into all that, here’s a quick reminder that you can get this newsletter dropped into your inbox every Thursday!
First gear: What tramway option is best for people on bikes?
By now you know the story: STO is building a tramway that will come into Ottawa, it’s either going to go underground along Sparks Street or above ground on Wellington, and it’s either going to end at Elgin Street or, in a late change to the plans, will “loop” around Confederation Boulevard via Alexandra Bridge (or whatever they name its replacement, but that’s another story).
The City of Ottawa is currently leaning towards the tunnel option, both for legitimate reasons (tunnel gives a short connection to O-Train, Wellington has many competing surface needs—demonstrations, events, etc.—that may disrupt tram), and not very legitimate reasons (a battery-powered tram would somehow impede the vistas of Parliament Hill, it’s ghastly to have a Quebec-branded train roll along an Ontario surface). Sure, we could get into these debates more thoroughly, but this is a cycling newsletter—and so the questions for us today are how the STO’s tram will affect cycling plans and what option is the best if you want to ride your bike near the Hill.
Wellington Street as-is: the vista that a battery-powered tram would potentially ruin is currently dominated by pavement and private motor vehicles
As things stand right now, there’s nothing to be affected. Wellington, despite having five lanes of traffic, has no dedicated cycling infrastructure; Sparks, despite being defined in the Ottawa Cycling Plan as an important “pathway link” for people riding bikes, prohibits people from riding bikes on it. But plans are afoot, and have been for awhile, to make Wellington more appealing for people on bikes.
In the Cycling Plan, Wellington is listed as a “spine route” and is designated as “Crosstown Bikeway #1”. Number one! A bidirectional bikeway has been on the books since 2013. This facility would connect existing and planned facilities on Rideau, Mackenzie, the Rideau Canal path (via Colonel By), O’Connor, Bay, and Portage Bridge/Ottawa River pathway (and potentially Metcalfe and Elgin too). But all this uncertainty around the STO project has put the Wellington bikeway’s future in doubt; a consultation to unveil the plans was scheduled in “winter 2019/20”, which has come and gone. The implementation of the bikeway depends on the configuration of the renewed Wellington, which could drag on for a while. The project appears to be on hold.
An underground tramway along Sparks, however, wouldn’t affect the plans for the bikeway on Wellington at all. If the tram dives down under the pedestrian mall, then there’s plenty of room for the bikeway on the north side of Wellington as planned—and it could be installed immediately. So that’s a point for the Sparks option.
But a Wellington tramway still shows some intriguing potential for cyclists.
A vision of Wellington Street from Ottawa’s 2013 Downtown Moves plan: bidirectional bikeway on the north side of the street, car traffic maintained.
In their initial report, STO demonstrated three options for maintaining a bikeway on Wellington alongside the tramway. The first two options were bad: the first called for either squishing the bikeway under recommended widths; the second diverted the bikeway into Parliament Hill (which might not be doable anyway). There simply wasn’t enough room to accommodate the tram, the sidewalk, the cars, and the bikes. The third option solves that problem—and leaves room for a straight, full-width bikeway—by getting rid of the cars.
This option is being called the “car-free” option, which I don’t think is suitable. We shouldn’t define this new vision of Wellington but what it lacks; we should define it by what it gives: space for people to walk, sustainable public transportation, cycling infrastructure, and trees/greenspace. It wouldn’t just be a “car-free” street, it would be a marquee sustainable transportation corridor—a showcase green street right in front of Parliament. In this scenario, cycling would be safer, more pleasant, more appealing to commuters, and more attractive to tourists. So, that’s a point for this Wellington option.
A possible sustainable future of Wellington from the STO report: this green corridor would have 18.6 metres for pedestrians, 3.5 metres for cyclists, and 5.8 metres for trams.
And now the monkey wrench. A group of citizens calling themselves the “Supporters of the Loop” pitched an idea for a transit loop along Wellington in Ottawa and around Confederation Boulevard in Gatineau. The idea gained steam: first with some favourable news coverage, then an endorsement from NCC CEO Tobi Nussbaum, and finally, on Monday, an acknowledgement from Ottawa’s Transportation Committee that the concept should be looked into.
The Loop would be an extension of the Wellington surface tram, but the Supporters of the Loop have a slightly different version of Wellington than what STO has proposed so far. In the materials on transitloop.ca (and in renderings prepared by architect David McRobie), Wellington becomes a “pedestrian mall” with trams—no cars, buses, or trucks allowed.
But typical pedestrian malls mean pedestrians only—like on Sparks Street, one block south. This means no bikes, or at least no separated bike infrastructure. McRobie’s renderings do show a cyclist riding between pedestrians in the new promenade, suggesting the pedestrian mall would be a “shared space”. But if the idea is to create a shares space for pedestrians and cyclists, it would go against the NCC’s new pathway strategy which calls for “separating pedestrians and cyclists in busy areas”. Cyclists could be instructed to ride slowly—which is preferable to cyclist prohibitions, and works well in other areas (like the uOttawa campus)—but that still creates more conflict than separated facilities and isn’t ideal for routes designed for transportation.
Either way, the language of “pedestrian mall” is an awkward fit for a street that will have both trams and cyclists along with pedestrians. Unfortunately, Transportation Committee affirmed this language on Monday, carrying a motion that would direct staff to “include a study...for the feasibility of a transit Loop and conversion of Wellington Street to a pedestrian mall” in the Transportation Master Plan (TMP) update. Would this conversion of Wellington into a pedestrian mall supersede the existing plan to create a bikeway on Wellington? Do they mean a true pedestrian mall, or a shared space? Will we have to wait until 2022, when the updated TMP is released, to find out? The Loop idea is a good one, but would be even better if it involves separated cycling infrastructure.
There’s still a lot up in the air with STO’s tramway plans and the potential for a Confederation Boulevard transit loop. Right now there’s no clear answer whether a potential tramway or pedestrian mall on Wellington could squeeze out the long-promised bikeway. A Sparks tunnel would solve the problem easily. But the appeal of an interprovincial loop, with a sustainable transportation corridor on Wellington—where cyclists, pedestrians, and trams are welcomed and have their own space but private motor vehicles aren’t and don’t— would be a more exciting prospect for people who get around by bike.
Second gear: Around the City
Project updates
Elgin Street bike lanes: The temporary bike lanes on Elgin, which have had some implementation and consistency issues with their moveable pylons, are set to get an upgrade. At Transportation Committee on Monday, Councillor Menard (on behalf of Councillor McKenney), moved a motion to pilot new “Qwik Kurb” technology as an improvement to the temporary lanes. The pilot, which costs only $88,000 funded through a surplus in the Elgin project, would have semi-permanent curbs implemented this winter—a big improvement considering the pylons would have been removed before then. The efficacy of the Qwik Kurb will be monitored, and, if successful, may pique the interest of other councillors willing to give low-cost cycling space a shot in their wards. McKenney’s proposal for semi-permanent bike lanes on Elgin still has to be approved by Council. It would be a huge upgrade for a stretch of road known to be hostile to cyclists.
Temporary active transportation space on Bank: The temporary bike lanes and shared active transportation spaces will be coming down soon in anticipation of winter, though Councillor Menard was able to keep the pylons in on the Bank Street Canal Bridge “until the first big snow”. No Qwik Kurbs here, but there are plans to replace the sidewalks on each side of the bridge with multi-use paths—permanently.
Case of the Missing MUP: Eagle-eyed residents were suspicious when work on the Queensway bridge over the Trillium rail line was finished without the re-installation of the Trillium multi-use path. Councillor McKenney has confirmed that the path will be reinstalled in spring 2021.
Byron Avenue Advisory Lanes: Now that the “quiet street” design on Byron has been packed up for the winter, the long-planned advisory lanes on the street have finally been painted in (between Sherbourne and Broadview, if they followed the plans from a few years ago). This is the same treatment as Somerset East, where there are hashed-line bike lanes on each side of the road that drivers can pull into in order to avoid oncoming traffic. Advisory lanes are effective in low-speed, low-traffic volume areas and ideally make drivers feel uncomfortable enough to drive more cautiously. Still, a permanent extension of the “quiet street” pilot would be more desirable.
Public Consultation
eScooter feedback: The City of Ottawa wants your feedback on the eScooter pilot project! I haven’t eScootered myself, and I’d like to learn more about whether they replace trips by car rather than trips by foot, but I think they should stay in Ottawa—with improvements. The fact that so many eScooterers are riding on the sidewalk is clear evidence that our roads aren’t safe enough. The more eScooters there are, the clearer it will be that the City needs to build more separated infrastructure for micromobility—which benefits people on bikes too. Please take the survey whether you ride them or not, and let the City know that people need safer places to ride them and dedicated space to store them: https://chkmkt.com/OttawaEScooterSurvey2020
Third gear: What’s new on #ottbike
Councillor @JLeiper tweeted a video of him nearly getting struck by the driver of a box truck at the corner of Bank and Laurier. Bank is the only intersection on Laurier where the curb separating the bike lane doesn’t continue all the way to the bike stop line, making it easier for drivers to cut the corner and put cyclists in danger. It’s no accident that the near-miss happened here: the design allows for it. Glad that the councillor is okay!
@_zilla_80 reports that the multi-use path connecting Cyrville Station with the Aviation multi-use path is complete (aside some finishing touches, like the need for a curb cut at Cyrville road).
@OPSbikes tweets that the Ottawa Police Services seized 40 stolen bikes in Centretown. Remember to register your bike with 529 Garage to help deter thieves and get your bike recovered if it is stolen (and get a U-lock if you don’t have one.)
@DaveBikeSki tweets that Joel LePole has been removed. Good!
@FBorgal noticed that a section of the Rideau River Western Pathway (near Springhurst Park) has been staked out for plowing. This would be a welcome addition to the winter cycling network!
@HansontheBike posted a photo of new bike wayfinding signage in Nepean. This sign is a nice example of the kind of stuff I was talking about back in week #4 (although it has an unfortunate typo).
And Bike Ottawa is still looking for Light Ambassadors to distribute free bike lights. They’re particularly interested in people with access to Brittannia, South Keys, and Barrhaven.
And that’s the end of this week’s edition of Ottawa 3 Speed! See you next week.