Ottawa Accident Lawyer David Hollingsworth , Personal Injury Lawyers . Good news for Ottawa cyclists….The City of Ottawa wants to close some of the gaps in its bike-path network, and could be looking for National Capital Commission funding help. 5 projects recommended for next year would link existing paths and provide better access to institutions, transit stations and communities, says a staff report to go before council’s transportation committee on Monday. The work would cost about $7.7 million, according to “very preliminary” estimates, and the report suggests staff be directed to seek a cost-sharing arrangement with the NCC, which has also identified most of the proposed projects as future pathways. The NCC and city have developed their paths at different rates, and that, along with previous budget cuts and general inattention to the path system, has left several gaps in the system that have become a common complaint among cyclists.

In 2008, council approved the long-range Ottawa Cycling Plan, which calls for 1,200 new km of bike lanes, multi-use pathways and bike-friendly paved shoulders over 20 years. Council also approved spending $26 million over five years for the first phase of the project, which includes closing some of the gaps. The proposed pathways are designated in the cycling plan as future off-road cycling routes, and in a 2006 report, the NCC referred to four of them as projects to be constructed within 10 years, the staff report says.

Although the city hasn’t made a formal request, the NCC is aware of the staff report’s recommendations and “shares the city’s objectives of improving the pathway network,” said NCC spokesman Jean Wolff. Mona Abouhenidy, the city’s program manager of transportation strategic planning, said the NCC has so far been supportive of making the capital region more cycling-friendly, so she’s hopeful a cost-sharing agreement can be worked out.

City staff are also exploring what other projects could be proposed for next year that wouldn’t involve the NCC.  “The ultimate objective is to create better and safer facilities for cyclists, so it becomes a more attractive mode of transportation,” Abouhenidy said. Between 2000 and 2009, the city added about 160 kilometres of new bike routes to its network. Including projects already underway in 2010, the city will have about 560 kilometres of the routes by the end of the year, Abouhenidy said.

Planners look at what cycling-friendly facilities can be added at the same time as other projects such as road reconstructions are done, she said. And city policies call for pedestrian and cycling facilities to be included on new and reconstructed roads. But it’s more of a challenge to link bike routes in older communities, where rights-of-way are limited and there are competing interests among drivers, cyclists and pedestrians, Abouhenidy said. And, of course, finding the money is always a challenge.

City councillors Clive Doucet (Capital), Diane Holmes (Somerset), Christine Leadman (Kitchissippi), Maria McRae (River) and Rainer Bloess (Innes) were consulted for the staff report because the proposed work takes place in their wards, and all said they support filling the gaps. All but one of the proposed paths are within seven kilometres of Parliament Hill, a distance that takes about 20 minutes cycling at a moderate pace, the report says. They all connect to an off-road route or a street that has a bike lane.

If approved by the transportation committee, the proposal would go before council on Aug. 25. Meanwhile, the city is also conducting a cycling safety study, and on its website is asking for input on dangerous areas. Staff will then analyse up to 20 sites deemed to be well-used but “difficult.” It’s expected the study will be finished by the end of the year, “but an on-going program will be developed based on many of the recommendations made within this project,” according to the city.