Cycling in Orleans

Priorities for improving cycling access and infrastructure in suburban environments has a whole different set of challenges compared to urban centres. Given the spread-out nature of most Ottawa suburbs, cycling can be a major way to enable community residents to save money, time, and energy getting around their neighbourhoods.

If you’d like to get involved with plans to advocate for safe cycling infrastructure in Orleans, please send a message to rob.attrell@bikeottawa.ca and let us know you’d like to receive messages about ongoing advocacy and activities to broaden the cycling culture that already exists in Orleans.

We are also reaching out to community leaders in other suburbs of Ottawa to plan similar advocacy, check out bikeottawa.ca/suburbs and reach out if you are interested.

Building a strong cycling culture in Orleans necessarily forms part of a broader approach to transportation, because owning and riding a bike (which is very common in Orleans) doesn’t mean you get around on two wheels. Cycling for sport/leisure/exercise is great but isn’t the same as taking the bike to the grocery store or to visit friends and family. Helping to advance the goals of Bike Ottawa as they apply to the suburbs includes things like:

  • Safe and connected bike infrastructure
    • Advocating for safer bike options to get around our communities
    • Discussing new connections in bike transportation infrastructure to form a complete bike network
  • Improved signage/wayfinding and formalizing desire paths
    • Ask for cheap wins to make getting around outside the street network easier
  • Experimenting with underused roads to dedicate more space to active transportation
    • Propose locations for pilot road diets where underutilized space can be used for active transportation
  • Exposing children and their families to frequent and habitual activities that include cycling as transportation
    • Plan recurring social family bike rides run by local community volunteers that end at parks or playgrounds and could include snacks and play
  • Showcasing available bike options to the community during other events or community activities
    • Bringing interesting personal bikes or inviting local bike businesses to attend community events to showcase interesting bike options that are available
  • Canvass local businesses and property managers to assess bike parking options and show what safe, accessible, and protected bike parking can look like to draw in more business.

These are just examples of the kinds of ideas we’d like to explore over the coming year, and the more volunteers we have, the more we can do.