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Complete Streets for Ottawa – Add your voice

Posted by Lana on Mar 26, 2013 in Planning | 0 comments

Add your voice to support Complete Streets in Ottawa by signing the online petition.

Complete Streets is a way of thinking about roads from the perspective of all users. It’s a policy framework that requires city staff and decision makers to consider the needs of cyclists, pedestrians, and public transit users of all ages and abilities during the construction, retrofitting, and maintenance of all roadways. By adopting a strong complete streets policy, Ottawa will ensure that making new and existing roads friendlier to pedestrians, cyclists and transit users is the norm, not the exception.

For more information:

• Complete Streets for Ottawa (draft policy proposal)

Changes are coming to the Queensway underpasses

Posted by Lana on Mar 24, 2013 in Meetings, Planning | 0 comments

The Ontario Ministry of Transportation is starting their Preliminary Design and Environmental Assessment Study for the Rehabilitation / Replacement of Ottawa Queensway Mid-town Bridges from Holland Ave. to O’Connor St.

Several alternatives will be reviewed for each bridge including structural and construction staging options in order to minimize disruption to Highway 417. In addition, engineering, environmental, and property requirements will be established, along with the identification of mitigation measures to reduce or negate short and long term residual effects.

Complete Streets Launch

Posted by Lana on Mar 18, 2013 in Meetings | 0 comments

Complete Streets for Ottawa! March 26 2013

Ottawa is currently completing a review of five official planning
documents, including the Official Plan, and has identified Complete
Streets as one of fourteen principles to guide the review.

Join us for a fascinating discussion of how we can Complete Ottawa’s
Streets! Ryan Whitney, of the Toronto Centre for Active
Transportation, will discuss how a Complete Streets policy can direct
Ottawa’s planners and engineers to create streets that work for all
users at this key moment in the City’s planning history. Dr. Rosamund
Lewis, Associate Medical Officer of Health, Policy and Partnerships,
Ottawa Public Health, will discuss the public health benefits of
complete streets. City Councillor Keith Egli, Chair of Ottawa’s
Transportation Committee, will welcome guests and voice his support
for Complete Streets in Ottawa.

The event is being organized by Ecology Ottawa, the Student Federation
of the University of Ottawa’s Bike Coop, Walk Ottawa, Citizens for
Safe Cycling, Green Communities Canada, EnviroCentre, and the Toronto
Centre for Active Transportation.

Please RSVP at this link:
http://ecologyottawa.nationbuilder.com/complete_streets_for_ottawa_26_march_2013?recruiter_id=9

WHEN March 26, 2013 at 5:30pm

WHERE
90U Residence Lounge, University of Ottawa
90 University Private

January – February meetings and minutes

Posted by Lana on Mar 17, 2013 in Meetings | 0 comments

Agenda for Meeting 8 – February 11

Minutes for Meeting 7 – November 19, 2012

December 5, 2012 – Transportation Committee presentation

No advance walk signal at Gladstone and Bronson

Posted by Lana on Jan 10, 2013 in Centretown | 0 comments

(Edited down to the Gladstone part.  Also, the zebra striping and no right turns on red have not been implemented.)

To: Councillor Holmes
From:     Landry, Philippe (Public Works) <Philippe.Landry@ottawa.ca>
Subject:     RE: Intersections – Bronson/Somerset & Bronson/Gladstone
Date:     10 January, 2013 4:48:08 PM EST

[Regarding] the east/west advance walk at Gladstone and Bronson.   I did talk to our Traffic Operations Branch who operate the traffic signal system and they indicated that Gladstone and Bronson operates near capacity and that by adding the advance walk signal, even if only for the east/west direction, would cause the intersection to fail, therefore it would not be recommended to install this interval.

I will ask my staff to go out in the field to ensure that the signs and pavement markings (no right-turn on red and zebra markings) have been implemented.  These changes along with the geometric improvements that were made as part of the intersection reconstruction have enhanced the pedestrian environment at this intersection.   I would suggest that we monitor these improvements over the next 6 months and that perhaps in the Spring we meet on site to review the changes that have been put in place.

…

Thanks

Phil

————————

Here’s a bit more about why the intersection would “fail”.

From: Landry, Philippe (Public Works)
Sent: June 29, 2012 6:22 AM
To: Holmes, Diane
Subject: FW: Intersections – Bronson/Somerset & Bronson/Gladstone

Councillor Holmes

…
For the intersection of Bronson and Gladstone, we will implement the no right turn on red for all approaches, however, implementing the advance walk interval would cause the intersection to fail.  A few concerns with this include: northbound traffic will back up on Bronson into the new traffic signal at Bronson and Arlington, thereby vehicles potentially blocking crosswalks; traffic on Gladstone using residential streets to by-pass this intersection; and more drivers going through the amber and all-red intervals due to frustration with having had to wait for a few cycles to get through the intersection, thereby decreasing the safety for all users of the intersection.

Phil

Sustainable Transportation Week – Walkable communities breakfast

Posted by Lana on Sep 12, 2012 in Meetings | 0 comments

To register, send an email to: transport@envirocentre.ca or call (613) 656-0100 ext 113

For more information about Sustainable Transportation Week see: www.infostw.org/ottawa

September meeting

Posted by Lana on Sep 9, 2012 in Meetings | 0 comments

Our next meeting will be on Monday, September 17, 2012 at 7pm in the Richmond Room at City Hall. To get to the Richmond Room, turn right at the top of the stairs when you come in from the Lisgar Street entrance.

Documents:  Draft agenda

June “Walk Ottawa” meeting resources

Posted by Lana on Jun 21, 2012 in Meetings | 0 comments

Thanks to Charles for pulling all of this information together from last week’s meeting.

The meeting minutes will be ready soon.  Until then,  here are some resources from the meeting, for those of you who like to pore through these types of documents (and I know many of you do!):

• Questions and answers about traffic signals
  Responses from staff to questions about pedestrian signals from the May meeting

• City of Ottawa Older Adult Plan Feed-back Period
  Information on the Older Adult Plan development, which includes community sessions on June 21, 27 and 28 in various parts of the city.
  • Also on the topic of seniors, this article in Science Daily is titled “Most Older Pedestrians Are Unable to Cross the Road in Time”

• Safer Roads Ottawa
  Presentation from Rob Wilkinson, coordinator of the Safer Roads Ottawa program. He can be contacted at rob.wilkinson@ottawa.ca

•  Krista Tanaka’s presentation on the Pedestrian Safety Evaluation Program
  Krista presented on the Pedestrian Safety Evaluation Program. She is the program manager for traffic investigations/surveys. She and Philippe Landry (Manager of the Traffic Management and Operational Support department) can be reached at Krista.tanaka@ottawa.ca and Philippe.landry@ottawa.ca respectively.

•  Pedestrian Program
  The report that went to council in April 2010 to approve the Pedestrian Safety Evaluation Program has additional background information on the program.

• Pedestrian Intersection Safety Countermeasure Handbook and Pedestrian Safety Field Guide and Workbook—Crosswalks and Intersections
  Workbooks used as part of the Pedestrian Safety Evaluation Program. Some hard copies were distributed by Krista and Phil at the meeting, and we can print more if needed.
  •  Pedestrian Intersection Safety Countermeasure Handbook
  • Pedestrian Safety Field Guide and Workbook—Crosswalks and Intersections

•  Toronto Public Health documents: Helen and Sherry from Ottawa Public Health passed along these links to City of Toronto reports that were mentioned at the meeting:
  • The Road to Health – Road safety and active transportation focused
  • The Walkable City – findings of the Residential Preferences survey linking travel choices, physical activity levels and body weight.
  • America Walks report on speed - Talks about how and why engineers view traffic the way they do.

May’s Walk Ottawa meeting

Posted by Lana on May 8, 2012 in Meetings | 0 comments

May’s meeting will be Wednesday, May 9, 2012, 7pm at City Hall (Honeywell Room). There will be a presentation by Chris Brinkman and Kevin Wylie of the Roads & Traffic Operations & Maintenance Branch, to talk about signals. Please send charles.akben-marchand@ottawa.ca your questions about traffic and pedestrian signals so that he can forward them to Chris and Kevin to prepare their materials accordingly.

Also note that, while John Woodhouse has agreed to co-chair Walk Ottawa, he can’t do it alone and would like someone else to step forward to assist.

There are also a few pedestrian-related articles that may be of interest:

• “The invention of Jaywalking” The Atlantic
• “Lower Toronto speed limits by 10 to 20 km/h to protect pedestrians, chief medical officer says” Toronto Star
• “The Crisis in American Walking” Slate – Four part series on walking, Part 2, Sidewalk Science, is particularly interesting
• “A Data Driven Case for Walkability” The Atlantic

From the April meeting:

• Minutes from the previous Walk Ottawa meeting

April Walk Ottawa meeting

Posted by Lana on Apr 10, 2012 in Meetings | 0 comments

The next meeting of Walk Ottawa will be Wednesday, April 11, 2012, at 7pm.

Location: Jack Purcell Community Centre, room 101 (first floor, wheelchair accessible).

Minutes from the last meeting on the topics of speeding, signals and sidewalks are below:

• Speeding
• Signals
• Sidewalks