With more people cycling or walking during the summer, a federal Liberal candidate is asking for safety improvements to be made to Ottawa’s bike and pedestrian paths, especially along the busy Rideau Canal pathways.
Catherine McKenna, the federal Liberal candidate in Ottawa Centre, announced a proposal to the National Capital Commission (NCC) on June 6. McKenna said the NCC, which administers the pathways along the canal and other bike and pedestrian routes in the city, needs to create bike-only lanes for local cyclists.
“I use the pathways often to commute downtown, but I also see kids using the pathways to hang out and go for walks. Especially in peak times, it can be dangerous for cyclists biking on the path and those just using it for leisure,” she said.
The Rideau Canal connects Carleton University and the University of Ottawa, and its bike and pedestrian pathways are heavily frequented by students from both universities.
Julia Hayko, a recent Carleton social work graduate who frequently bikes on the canal’s pathways, said she understands the dangers of summer biking and walking in the nation’s capital.
“People run or walk in packs on the bike path and you can’t get by them, especially with their headphones in,” she said.
There have been two serious incidents along the Rideau Canal bike paths so far this year. McKenna said she has spoken to a number of experts who say bike path safety issues are a growing concern.
“Bike paths in the city have doubled in use over the past 15 years and they were originally designed for leisure, not commuting,” she said. “This idea of creating separate bike paths wherever possible to separate cyclists from those walking or running is the best practice.”
McKenna added that a new study by the City of Vancouver suggested Ottawa has the second-highest number of cycling fatalities per capita in Canada.
Jasmine Leduc, a communications officer for the NCC, said her organization takes safety on the pathways seriously.
She said the NCC is staging about 15 safety blitzes between Victoria Day weekend and Labour Day weekend along its pathways on both sides of the canal.
“These blitzes aim to promote safety and safe cycling on [our] recreational pathways,” Leduc said in an email.
Another part of McKenna’s proposal was for the NCC to create a formal protocol to record collisions.
The Ottawa Road Safety Report recorded a total of 1,568 collisions reported by cyclists on city roads from 2009 to 2013, including 15 fatalities.
Leduc said the NCC does not have any representative statistics of accidents on its pathways because they are not always reported by the public.
She said her organization is looking forward to reviewing McKenna’s recommendations.
“I think they’re really practical, realistic recommendations,” she said. “I think they require some effort, but I don’t think they’re all that difficult to do.”
Hayko said she would welcome the idea of bike-only lanes and increased cycling safety in the community.
“I would bike more if they make them,” she said. “It’s important to be safe out there.”
