New Democrat MP Paul Dewar (Ottawa Centre) released the report of his consultations with community groups and residents about the future of cycling in Ottawa.

“The report puts forward a set of recommendations that were raised by community members in order to make cycling in Ottawa safer, more popular and more pleasant” said Dewar. “I will continue to work in parliament and with the City and the NCC to implement ideas that would improve cycling in our community”.

The community’s recommendations for better cycling in Ottawa included:

• Policy and planning focus on the concept of Complete Streets where streets would include a more comprehensive and contiguous cycling network, demarcated by different coloured paint or raised lanes, linking all major streets and bridges from the suburbs to the core;
• Improvements to infrastructure such as repairing potholes and sewer grates, as well as ensuring that all new and newly paved roads include cycling lanes;
• A cycling education program incorporated into safety awareness campaigns for drivers, cyclists, bus drivers and pedestrians;
• Winter maintenance of NCC paths for all-year-long transit use; and,
• Federal government’s proactive approach to investments in cycling and pedestrian infrastructure which immensely improve the quality of life, health, environment and tourism in our city.

"Encouraging cycling and improving cyclist safety requires action on many fronts, including better awareness by drivers, safety training for cyclists, and improved facilities for cyclists” said Zlatko Krstulich of Citizens for Safe Cycling [Citoyens pour la sécurité en vélo], a non-profit group founded in 1984 to promote cycling as a mode of transportation in Ottawa. “We appreciate the attention brought to bear by the cycling summit and welcome cyclists to work with us to follow up on the many ideas brought forward at the consultation".

"The enthusiastic community response to Paul Dewar's consultation shows that cycling safety is a hot topic in Ottawa that needs more support from governments," said Charles Akben-Marchand, the past president of Citizens for Safe Cycling. "Even though many policies and plans already exist to improve cycling infrastructure and education, these plans are being carried out with too few resources to be effective".

As a follow-up to his consultations with the community, Dewar seconded a bill by a BC New Democrat colleague Nathan Cullen which called for dedicated federal funding to municipalities for the building of cycling infrastructure, as it does with public transit and highway infrastructure.

"Federal government can play an important role in improving cycling not only in Ottawa but across our country” concluded Dewar. “It’s a smart policy where we can see modest investments making huge improvements to life in our communities”.

Read Paul Dewar’s report of the community dialogue 522.19 Kb