City report recommends permanent bike lanes on Laurier

Laurier Avenues bike lane pilot project is set tobecome a permanent part of downtown Ottawa.

A city staff report to be tabled at Ottawas transportation committee recommends the segregated lanes running from Bronson Avenue to Elgin Street be kept.

Staff said 22 new parking spaces should be added between Bronson Avenue and Bay Street to address concerns about losses of parking space on Laurier Avenue, a frequent complaint of commuters.

The city said in a news release the concrete curbs keeping cyclists and drivers apart has resulted in fewer collisions and near-collisions while tripling the number of cyclists travelling along the route to over 716,000.

It also said emergency vehicle response times have not been affected since they were officially opened in July 2011.

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Once Ottawas light rail system is finished, staff recommend using leftover money from the original $2 million budget to turn the lanes into a "raised cycling track."

The report will go to the transportation committee July 5 and is likely to then go to full council July 17.