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's suggested cycling route). It did not go great!
A THREAD #ottbike #Ottawa

The good news: I only yelled at one person, and we didn't die! *Not dying* is the absolute lowest bar for a city's cycling infrastructure, but sadly that's where we're at. Navigating the mishmash of half-assed patchy bike lanes while worrying about my baby's safety was not fun.

First up: St. Patrick Street. I wasn'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 )

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's directions said to cross the canal at this bridge, marked as a "bicycle-friendly road" on Google'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's even one in the Streetview image), but I couldn't do it with the trailer, and I couldn't figure out from the map how else I could get around. It's frustrating that it'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't dismount or are pulling trailers, consistent design and rules. Tagging my city councilor @MathieuFleury - you'll be hearing from me again.

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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.