by Pierre Boileau
A Capital Idea
Ottawa, as the capital of Canada, is the seat of the national government. It is located in the Northeast corner of the province of Ontario along the Ottawa river and is a rapidly growing high-tech centre often referred to as Silicon Valley North. Through a provincial government effort to amalgamate large urban centres, Ottawa has recently grown in population from about 325,000 to 785,000, by incorporating several of the surrounding bedroom communities. This new structure has created with it a broader municipal government structure and amalgamated not only the 11 regional and city governments, but also their respective political leanings, under one roof.Because of Ottawa's traditional government-town lifestyle, green spaces and cycling paths abound. In winter Ottawa is the home of North America's longest skating rink, the Rideau Canal. Ottawa also has an extensive bus system which covers most of the city and suburbs and is linked to a dedicated busway. In addition, we will soon have our own north-south light rail link. So it is quite possible to live completely car-free in Ottawa if you make a little effort.
Challenges to Living Car-Free
The beauty of cycling in Ottawa is that it can be a great recreational sport. Two parkways, which run along the Ottawa river, are closed off on Sunday mornings to allow pedestrians, cyclists, and other enthusiasts to roam free. However, commuter cycling in Ottawa is more of a chore. The city is laid out much like any North American city, with a small concentrated core holding many of the government offices, surrounded by smaller bedroom communities and suburbs. These smaller communities are typically beyond the greenbelt, a section of specially zoned land which is set aside as open space and surrounds the main city. If you live beyond the greenbelt, getting to downtown can take more than an hour by bicycle.However, many do make the trek, and there is a core of dedicated commuter cyclists in Ottawa which I feel is growing little by little. I am one of those who braves the weather and the car-filled streets to travel to and from work from April to October. Over the last few years I have seen many things on our streets which would discourage someone who wasn't dedicated to the sport and and to living car-free. Most of these involve motorists who are uneducated and feel very strongly about their "right" to own the road. Despite the network of cycle paths and paved shoulders to ride on, the main barrier to active commuter cycling in Ottawa is cyclist safety, and I am convinced that the community would grow even more if there was more understanding between motorists and cyclists.
Still, the municipal and federal governments continue to promote alternate modes of transportation. There has been success through activities such as Clean Air Day and the Commuter Challenge. These activities challenge people to make a change in their lives and try to live free of the four-wheeled prosthetic. Organisations such as Auto-free Ottawa and Citizens for Safe Cycling continue to work on behalf of cyclists and pedestrians to improve understanding. Most of these are voluntary activities and not typically well funded, but the message is getting out.
Ottawa is also learning a thing or two from its sister city, Hull, on the other side of the Ottawa river. Hull has actively promoted cycling for a number of years and has conducted several campaigns to sensitise motorists to the presence of cyclists. I have cycled in both cities and can vouch for the fact that it is a much safer practice in Hull than in Ottawa.
What Does the Future Hold?
I have to say I'm optimistic about the growth and popularity of commuter cycling in Ottawa, but I think that the municipal government faces a number of challenges in promoting a car-free lifestyle. Firstly, the city is growing by leaps and bounds. The bedroom communities and suburbs are being swallowed up by McMansions and snout-houses (those whose most prominent front feature is not a porch or a door but the broad blank gate of the two-car garage). They are also developing further and further away from the downtown core. All of this leads to the need for more cars, more driving, more congestion rather than less.The city will have to struggle with controlling urban sprawl and creating incentives (both financial and lifestyle incentives) to increase the density of construction. This is a difficult but critical step for maintaining the quality of life for the people that live here. It is also very important for those of us who wish to live car-free or just those who wish to cycle in the summer time, and enjoy the comforts of modern public transit otherwise.
I also think that motorists need to be educated and become sensitive to the presence of cyclists, so that riding the main roads is a safe activity. For the more dedicated cyclists, it really isn't the distance that matters, it's arriving alive. I think Ottawa can be a model community of what does work, but it will take vision and it will take time.
