The Manor Park Community Association wrote to the city for improved cycling safety on St. Patrick Street.
Here is the letter:
Mayor Jim Watson
Councillor Peter Clark
Councillor Mathieu Fleury
110 Laurier Avenue West
Ottawa, Ontario
K1P 1J1
RE: Towards a Complete Street – bicycle lane on St Patrick Street during resurfacing
Concerns are growing in the east end of the city’s core. After Vanier and Lowertown, Manor Park Community Association too wrote a letter to express their concern about the lack of proper bike infrastructure on St Patrick. City staff maintains that they cannot narrow the lanes to 3 meters (the province mandates 3.25m), in order to create bike lanes for thousands of potential new cyclists who are now to nervous to bike on such a busy thoroughfare.
The rumour is that no city engineer can be found who wants to sign off on a design with bike lanes that are somewhat narrower than the required 1.50 meter. Does bureaucracy and liability fears trump safety for the residents?