Read on Twitter
Today I tried to bike from my home in Vanier to the Ottawa River Path west, pulling a baby in a trailer. This is roughly the route we attempted on the way out (Google& #39;s suggested cycling route). It did not go great!
A THREAD #ottbike #Ottawa
A THREAD #ottbike #Ottawa
The good news: I only yelled at one person, and we didn& #39;t die! *Not dying* is the absolute lowest bar for a city& #39;s cycling infrastructure, but sadly that& #39;s where we& #39;re at. Navigating the mishmash of half-assed patchy bike lanes while worrying about my baby& #39;s safety was not fun.
First up: St. Patrick Street. I wasn& #39;t sure about this one, because the map shows a few gaps in the green cycle route. Sure enough, these are places where the bike lane just... ends? And then starts again, sometimes like only 50 feet later! (With a "SHARE THE ROAD" sign 
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🙄" title="Gesicht mit rollenden Augen" aria-label="Emoji: Gesicht mit rollenden Augen">)
)" title="First up: St. Patrick Street. I wasn& #39;t sure about this one, because the map shows a few gaps in the green cycle route. Sure enough, these are places where the bike lane just... ends? And then starts again, sometimes like only 50 feet later! (With a "SHARE THE ROAD" sign https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🙄" title="Gesicht mit rollenden Augen" aria-label="Emoji: Gesicht mit rollenden Augen">)">
)" title="First up: St. Patrick Street. I wasn& #39;t sure about this one, because the map shows a few gaps in the green cycle route. Sure enough, these are places where the bike lane just... ends? And then starts again, sometimes like only 50 feet later! (With a "SHARE THE ROAD" sign https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🙄" title="Gesicht mit rollenden Augen" aria-label="Emoji: Gesicht mit rollenden Augen">)">
For some reason this is okay? It is okay to be dumped from a separated bike path onto an 80 km/h four lane road??? "Damn, the road lane ends again! I hate sharing the tracks with the train." - @StevePAdams
We encountered only one person parked in the bike lane on St. Patrick! They moved after I rang my bell and waited for a while, so courteous.
Next: BEG BUTTONS. They were ten feet away from the bike lane! How do I push them? This is not exactly dangerous, just dumb and car-centric and ableist. Get rid of beg buttons! Let people cross the street!
Our trip ended abruptly at the Rideau Canal locks. The map and Google& #39;s directions said to cross the canal at this bridge, marked as a "bicycle-friendly road" on Google& #39;s cycling map. I had scoped it out on a previous visit and thought maybe I could get the trailer across.
Cyclists clearly do cross here (there& #39;s even one in the Streetview image), but I couldn& #39;t do it with the trailer, and I couldn& #39;t figure out from the map how else I could get around. It& #39;s frustrating that it& #39;s so hard to find out ahead of time where these pinch points will be.
On the way home, I yelled at a driver on Beechwood who was passing very close to me. How can I blame them, though - the bike lane is very skinny there and they were just driving in their lane.
We need better cycling infrastructure: a connected network, safe routes from start to end, routes that accomodate people who can& #39;t dismount or are pulling trailers, consistent design and rules. Tagging my city councilor @MathieuFleury - you& #39;ll be hearing from me again.
END
END
Oh I forgot one! On the eastbound bike lane on the St. Patrick bridge, there are grates on the right side of the lane that are sunk several inches below the road. I was afraid the trailer wheels would get stuck in them and kept having to move closer to traffic to avoid them.
Adding something positive: I bike with my baby all the time on the Rideau River Eastern Path, and it is a lovely amazing gem! But I also want to cycle for transportation and not just recreation.
