Booth Street bridge bike lane fix earns mixed reviews

Newly released designsof separated bike lanes along theBooth Street bridge, intended to make the corridor more cycling friendly, show those same lanes cutting through a busy pedestrianarea in front of a bus station.

• With 2 years to go, city has blown through 90 per cent of LRT contingency fund

The city released new renderings on Sept. 7 after consultation with a number of cycling advocacy groups and community associations. The pictures show a cycle track thatbisects the pedestrian area in front of the bus station on the bridge.

City council dedicated $2 million to install segregated bike lanes following apublic backlash when the bridge reopened following light rail line construction with no dedicated cycling infrastructure.

Heather Shearer, vice president of Bike Ottawa, said it's concerning to see pedestrians and cyclists sharing space with little separation, especially at a bus stop.

"It does have some potential for pedestrian and cyclist collisions," Shearer said.

The original plan included bike lanes, but council nixed them before construction began. Shearer said her group tried to warn councillors to plan the bridge with all modes of transportation in mind, but their advice went unheeded.

She said it's difficult to adapt infrastructure for cycling after it's already built.

"It's costing more, and I think the solution is probably not going to be as good," Shearer said.

Shearer said she's hopingto see a more detailed design with more information about how the bike lane will connect with roads on either side of the bridge.

Bus loading lanes to be removed

Chris Swail, director of O-Train planning, said it was a challenge to fit bike lanes onto the recently constructed bridge.

He said the design for the lanes became a lot more clear for planners when they realized they could remove a bus lane to make way for bikes.

The city recently constructed pull-over lanes for buses to pick up passengers on the bridge. But with the new Confederation light rail line about to open, there will be fewer buses and less need for the lanes.

Swail said the city now plans to remove those pull-over lanes to make room for the bike lanes.

"I created an additional four or five metres that we could then put in those facilities in a manner that was much more safe than we had originally conceived," he said.

Design 'represents some compromises'

The city consulted several cycling groups on the design of the new lanes. Cycling advocate Eric Darwintook part on behalf of Bike Ottawa. He said the design makes the best of a less-than-perfect situation.

It's a fix, and fixes are never perfect.- Eric Darwin, cycling advocate

"It's a fix, and fixes are never perfect," said Darwin. "The design that we've worked for on the Booth Street bridge that the city has come up with represents some compromises."

There is a chance people waiting for a bus might dart across the bike lane to catch a bus, he said. But at least if there is an accident it won't be fatal.

"Whereas some of the other solutions, like just using a painted bike lane along the curb would mean buses would pull into the bike lane to stop," he said.

The bridge isin Coun. Catherine McKenney's ward.

She said the city learned from its decision to nix the bike lanes that were initially proposed for the bridge.

Construction to begin in 2018

Had they gone ahead, there would have been more room to keep pedestrians and cyclists separated. But, she said, the fact that cyclists will have a safe place to ride across the bridge is "something to celebrate."

"There's no doubt it is a much much safer design than what's there now,"said McKenney.

Darwin said similar cycle-track designs are slated for other areas of the city, including Churchill Avenue and Albert Street.

The cost of the segregated lanes approximately $2 million will be split by the federal government and the city's light rail contingency fund.

Staff will now begin work on a more detailed level of design, which will include things like benches and planters to try to separate cyclists and pedestrians as much as possible.

Construction is set to begin in Spring 2018. McKenney said the work will coincide with planned improvements to the Albert and Booth intersection to improve pedestrian safety.