Judging by Ottawa’s infrastructure, the answer is cars, not vulnerable road users.
The image on the left shows yet another broken flexipost that is supposedly there to protect a bike lane. It’s one of many that Bike Ottawa members have photographed and shared just this summer. They don’t bother taking pictures of most because they’re busy getting to work, school or doing errands.
The image on the right shows bollards and pin curbs put in place to protect cars from other cars.
Even the lanes with somewhat better protection such as the Laurier Street “pilot” project (eleven years and counting, with no decision to make it permanent), we get only pin curbs with flexiposts.
The number of people using bikes to get around Ottawa continues to grow. There is plenty of evidence that providing good, connected, bike lanes is key to getting people out of cars: better for the environment, better for physical and mental health, better for those who really need to use a car or truck.
It’s time to ensure a truly balanced approach to road infrastructure investments so that people on bikes can be safe.