The City of Ottawa does a…

The City of Ottawa does a lot of great things however the way we plan cycling lanes completely ignores facts and data. Cycling represents an insignificant portion of commuting per census data. We have reduced vehicle lanes on many major arterial roads in the core such as Laurier, O'Connor, Scott, Albert, Slater, and McArthur and installed poorly used cycling lanes that result in increased traffic congestion. Further, many of the new "protected intersections" are confusing for drivers and obviously very difficult for larger vehicles like delivery trucks and public transport to navigate.

I am not opposed to cycling lanes but they need to be installed where they do not impact major commuter routes. The installation of cycling lanes on major arterials is quite frankly more of an anti-car measure rather than pro-cyclist. The vast majority of Ottawans move around in personal vehicles and our transportation planning practices should reflect this. It is purely wishful thinking to believe that choking vehicle traffic will result in anything more than driver frustration. People aren't getting rid of their cars.