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Lane only for bicycles!!!
COPENHAGEN —Gatineau Mayor Marc Bureau threw down the gauntlet to Ottawa Mayor Larry O’Brien on Friday, challenging him to see who could create the most bike-friendly city the quickest.
Bureau said the challenge is a friendly one, since the two cities are intimately linked and must work together to create a network of bike lanes to bring commuters and shoppers to their destinations on both sides of the Ottawa River quickly and efficiently.
Bring it on, said O’Brien, who is home in Ottawa.
“Marc is taking an unfair advantage of Ottawa because we’re 2,750 square kilometres, we’re half the size of Prince Edward Island,” he said. “But I tell you what — square kilometre by square kilometre, we’ll be way more bike-friendly than he is.”
Bureau was full of ideas as he left the bike-themed conference. He said that now is the time for Gatineau to integrate bicycles into its transportation strategy, with the complete overhaul of the downtown going ahead, and the Rapibus transitway taking shape.
“Rapibus is coming at just the right time. We’ll have to have bike parking spots (at terminals), we’ll have to have facilities for bikes,” Bureau said.
He said one thing the city can do immediately is to paint its 100 kilometres of existing on-street bike lanes to make them more visible.
Bureau said he believes the citizens of Gatineau want more bicycle infrastructure, and that a yearly budget of $1 million for bike projects — about $4 per citizen — would be a reasonable expenditure. The City of Ottawa has $5 million budgeted for “multi-purpose pathways” serving pedestrians and cyclists, for 2010-2011...
Source: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/travel/...359/story.html
Bureau said the challenge is a friendly one, since the two cities are intimately linked and must work together to create a network of bike lanes to bring commuters and shoppers to their destinations on both sides of the Ottawa River quickly and efficiently.
Bring it on, said O’Brien, who is home in Ottawa.
“Marc is taking an unfair advantage of Ottawa because we’re 2,750 square kilometres, we’re half the size of Prince Edward Island,” he said. “But I tell you what — square kilometre by square kilometre, we’ll be way more bike-friendly than he is.”
Bureau was full of ideas as he left the bike-themed conference. He said that now is the time for Gatineau to integrate bicycles into its transportation strategy, with the complete overhaul of the downtown going ahead, and the Rapibus transitway taking shape.
“Rapibus is coming at just the right time. We’ll have to have bike parking spots (at terminals), we’ll have to have facilities for bikes,” Bureau said.
He said one thing the city can do immediately is to paint its 100 kilometres of existing on-street bike lanes to make them more visible.
Bureau said he believes the citizens of Gatineau want more bicycle infrastructure, and that a yearly budget of $1 million for bike projects — about $4 per citizen — would be a reasonable expenditure. The City of Ottawa has $5 million budgeted for “multi-purpose pathways” serving pedestrians and cyclists, for 2010-2011...
Source: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/travel/...359/story.html
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