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In the first 20 days the O’Connor bike lanes were open — a period of fairly light volume — three cyclists have been struck by tonnes of rolling steel.
If you look at the video of the latest collision, near the corner of Waverley Street, we’re lucky someone isn’t dead.
And if city hall’s fingers are not reaching for the reset button, they must be drumming the table. This is a bad situation.
We know the problem. The two-way bicycle lanes were built on the driver’s left — which runs counter to our everyday road experience. So the city strategy has been to retrain the motoring public with a lot of signage, coloured paint, and boots on the ground in the form of police and safety advocates.
But think of it. There are more than 650,000 licensed drivers in Ottawa alone. Many rarely go downtown. Now add to the motoring crowd those visitors from other cities or countries, now throw in the usual yahoos and incompetents. Now, make it dark at 5 p.m.
Should it be a surprise that, in the early days, we’ve run into serious problems? Why on earth would we think a few blinking signs and some green paint would rewire the way a driver’s brain has worked all these years, on so many other streets?
We drive, after all, by habit. When you leave your driveway, you stop at the same local stop signs without even looking at them — so often have you made the same trip. When you see a bike lane, you no doubt exercise extra caution, but one doesn’t expect cyclists coming AT you as well closing in BEHIND you.
But this is the O’Connor model. In the 14 blocks between Laurier Avenue and the Queensway, there are at least five intersections where the southbound driver can turn left onto a side street, like Waverley — or Ground Zero — where two of the collisions have occurred. The friction is eternal.
Authoritites responded with a safety blitz Thursday during the afternoon rush-hour. It had, of course, the desired effect. But how many days can Ottawa police spare eight officers, including a sergeant, to act as vigilance troopers?
Sgt. Patricia Urquhart was on the windswept corner of O’Connor and Isabella, one of the trickiest intersections.
“We’re trying to educate the cyclists and the drivers that they have to share the road,” she said, as free reflective armbands and flashlights were being handed out. “You do have to have a constant view to the left,” she said of trouble spots.
“It’s not something people are used to.”
A city official said the lanes were put on the left-hand side for several reasons. Firstly, there is parking on the right, which also provides curbside access for services such as Para Transpo. (This wouldn’t work on the left.)
More importantly, said senior project manager Robert Grimwood, having the bikes on the left is “oppositional” to the motoring traffic flow, which is what drivers are used to.
“We recognize there is going to be an adjustment period for drivers,” he said. “We’ve been doing a lot to get the word out.”
Between 400 and 450 cyclists are using the lanes every day, a volume the city is pleased with. There seems to be no serious consideration the city may have made a mistake with its bi-directional design.
“This has been done in many other (cities).”
Rob Wilkinson of Safer Roads Ottawa was busy handing out reflective ankle wraps and flashing front- and rear-lights to passing cyclists.
“Our message in the program is be hyper-vigilant,” he said, as a motorist blew through a red light at Isabella, mistaking the green bicycle icon for the regular green traffic arrow. “We have to look after each other out there.”
He also thought it was too early to hit the panic button.
“Certainly, we wouldn’t want to evaluate any kind of infrastructre after 20 days to see if it’s worthwhile.”
So, what to do? Well, the lanes are built, the millions spent, so there’s no moving them now.
But a thought: if this keeps up, I think the city should consider making the lanes northbound only, so that cyclists would be coming AT the motorist from one direction and easier to see. In a similar vein, southbound traffic could be moved onto Metcalfe.
A final statistic to ponder. In 42 months, there have been 32 collisions on the Laurier Avenue bike lanes. In less than one, three on O’Connor.
What does this add up to?
To contact Kelly Egan, please call 613-726-5896 or email kegan@postmedia.com
Twitter.com/kellyegancolumn
查看原文...
If you look at the video of the latest collision, near the corner of Waverley Street, we’re lucky someone isn’t dead.
And if city hall’s fingers are not reaching for the reset button, they must be drumming the table. This is a bad situation.
We know the problem. The two-way bicycle lanes were built on the driver’s left — which runs counter to our everyday road experience. So the city strategy has been to retrain the motoring public with a lot of signage, coloured paint, and boots on the ground in the form of police and safety advocates.
But think of it. There are more than 650,000 licensed drivers in Ottawa alone. Many rarely go downtown. Now add to the motoring crowd those visitors from other cities or countries, now throw in the usual yahoos and incompetents. Now, make it dark at 5 p.m.
Should it be a surprise that, in the early days, we’ve run into serious problems? Why on earth would we think a few blinking signs and some green paint would rewire the way a driver’s brain has worked all these years, on so many other streets?
We drive, after all, by habit. When you leave your driveway, you stop at the same local stop signs without even looking at them — so often have you made the same trip. When you see a bike lane, you no doubt exercise extra caution, but one doesn’t expect cyclists coming AT you as well closing in BEHIND you.
But this is the O’Connor model. In the 14 blocks between Laurier Avenue and the Queensway, there are at least five intersections where the southbound driver can turn left onto a side street, like Waverley — or Ground Zero — where two of the collisions have occurred. The friction is eternal.
Authoritites responded with a safety blitz Thursday during the afternoon rush-hour. It had, of course, the desired effect. But how many days can Ottawa police spare eight officers, including a sergeant, to act as vigilance troopers?
Sgt. Patricia Urquhart was on the windswept corner of O’Connor and Isabella, one of the trickiest intersections.
“We’re trying to educate the cyclists and the drivers that they have to share the road,” she said, as free reflective armbands and flashlights were being handed out. “You do have to have a constant view to the left,” she said of trouble spots.
“It’s not something people are used to.”
A city official said the lanes were put on the left-hand side for several reasons. Firstly, there is parking on the right, which also provides curbside access for services such as Para Transpo. (This wouldn’t work on the left.)
More importantly, said senior project manager Robert Grimwood, having the bikes on the left is “oppositional” to the motoring traffic flow, which is what drivers are used to.
“We recognize there is going to be an adjustment period for drivers,” he said. “We’ve been doing a lot to get the word out.”
Between 400 and 450 cyclists are using the lanes every day, a volume the city is pleased with. There seems to be no serious consideration the city may have made a mistake with its bi-directional design.
“This has been done in many other (cities).”
Rob Wilkinson of Safer Roads Ottawa was busy handing out reflective ankle wraps and flashing front- and rear-lights to passing cyclists.
“Our message in the program is be hyper-vigilant,” he said, as a motorist blew through a red light at Isabella, mistaking the green bicycle icon for the regular green traffic arrow. “We have to look after each other out there.”
He also thought it was too early to hit the panic button.
“Certainly, we wouldn’t want to evaluate any kind of infrastructre after 20 days to see if it’s worthwhile.”
So, what to do? Well, the lanes are built, the millions spent, so there’s no moving them now.
But a thought: if this keeps up, I think the city should consider making the lanes northbound only, so that cyclists would be coming AT the motorist from one direction and easier to see. In a similar vein, southbound traffic could be moved onto Metcalfe.
A final statistic to ponder. In 42 months, there have been 32 collisions on the Laurier Avenue bike lanes. In less than one, three on O’Connor.
What does this add up to?
To contact Kelly Egan, please call 613-726-5896 or email kegan@postmedia.com
Twitter.com/kellyegancolumn
查看原文...
