I must confess to being a fan of real marked bike lanes, and not at all enamored of the "its an unmarked lane on a wider car lane" policy favored by our fair City.
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The above two pictures are on Island Park Drive, which has wide, quite well maintained bike lanes on both sides of the street from Gatineau through to at least Westgate/Hampton Park (you can guess how far I rode on the street...). Throughout the trip, cars stayed off the bike lane and well into their own lane, except for two taxis that drifted all over it.
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As the first picture shows well, cyclists get to go to the head of the line at traffic lights, which is a nice perk.
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I was trying to recall where else I have seen separately marked bike lanes in the City. There is one on the short section of Somerset where it crests over the O-Train tracks; there is the section of Albert where it goes from Elgin to Ottawa U over the MacKenzie King Bridge (even has its own bicyle traffic light at the east end). I cycle mostly on the west side of the downtown, and cannot readily name other streets with exclusive bike lanes. Suggestions?
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As James kindly points out in the comments, separate lanes in centretown and near west end include Bronson south of the canal; Percy & Bay; and Alta Vista Drive.
Also, Prince of Wales from Preston up towards the Sir John Carling Building. Bank St by Billings Bridge. What several of these "bike lanes" have in common is bad / hazardous road strips where the bike lane aids in traffic sorting in a difficult / badly executed roadway.
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Bronson, south of the Canal (although you're pretty exposed/abandoned by the various on- and off-ramps); Percy and Bay in Centretown (lots of stop signs though); Stewart and Wilbrod in Sandy Hill; and Alta Vista Dr are the ones that I know best.
ReplyDeletePS the whole length of Island Park Dr has bike lanes, and even better, they actually connect to the Experimental Farm Pathways at the end of the Drive (a real rarity in this city, where usually bike routes usually just end somewhere, long before you've arrived anywhere)
St. Patrick Street east of King Edward and Laurier Avenue both have bike lanes, though they're a bit sporadic and seem to disappear in key places.
ReplyDeleteMoodie Drive in Bells Corners (but they peter out at both both ends and throw you into traffic).
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