Hello, my name is Florence Lehmann and I’m the president of Bike Ottawa. I thank you for the opportunity to speak today.
On March 1, 2023, City Council approved the deferral of the Airport Parkway widening until the TMP update is completed and the Trillium Line is operational for two years. At the same time, it approved funding for the non-widening aspects of the project, including a MUP.
While this was a laudable decision, here we are two years later, talking yet again about making an active mobility project contingent on car infrastructure.
Imagine if every time there’s talk of building a road, City Council or PWIC proposed a motion to defer or cancel it unless active mobility infrastructure is built. There would be an uproar!
While it’s normal to consider building or widening roads as standalone projects, it’s considered wasting money to build active mobility infrastructure on its own. Double standard and motonormativity at its best.
Now, imagine as well if someone said: sorry, you can only have one car lane going South. There’s already a road going in the other direction on the other side of South Keys.
Drivers have many options. People biking, walking or rolling don’t. They must be content with the few options available to them.
The Trillium Line has only been operational for a few weeks. What does it mean for the MUP to the West side of the parkway? That its construction would be delayed by how many years? If this motion is approved, what year will we see these routes opened for people on bikes? 2027? 2029? It’s too late.
One must not forget that making it safer, easier, and more comfortable for people to walk and bike to the O-Train stations will also help to achieve the ridership the city is seeking for the O-Train and its overall modal shift goals.
Without these changes there are serious gaps in access to cycling infrastructure – notably a gap between Sawmill Creek multi-use path and Walkley Road and O-Train station.
Currently access is limited to a small elevator, which means people biking on adaptive bikes, cargo bikes, a bike with a trailer, or with small children who can’t be left unaccompanied are not able to move between these locations safely.
Last but no least, the Airport Parkway shouldn’t be widened. Period.
First, there is a train running right beside it that the city has invested a lot of money in already.
Second, widening roads only provides temporary relief from congestion due to induced demand.
Third, the city has set objectives to make a majority of trips made by sustainable modes of transportation by 2046. This requires funding and building transit, cycling, walking but not expanding existing car infrastructure.
Bike Ottawa and our members ask that councillors support building these amenities for people walking and cycling as soon as possible.
