Vanier split over Montreal Road bike lanes

Vanier residents are split on whether the city's plan to add bike lanes to Montreal Road will help bring customers and businesses to the area — or if it will go too far and push them away.

Dave Weatherall, who regularly bikes along Montreal Road from Overbrook, was hopeful the new proposal would mean he could bring his three-year-old child on rides with him once construction's done.

"It's kind of disappointing as a cyclist and as a parent," Weatherall said Tuesday evening after looking at a map of the proposed route from St. Laurent Boulevard to the Vanier Parkway.

"Where you hit the Vanier Parkway, where there are the most cars, the bike lane just disappears. That's a problem. I'm not going to bring my kid on Montreal Road where there's Vanier Parkway traffic coming onto it if I'm not protected."

The city's current plan links the proposed Montreal Road lanes with a multi-use path to Mark Avenue, North River Road, the Rideau River pathway and the Cummings Bridge to connect to downtown, bypassing that stretch of the Vanier Parkway.

The bike lane is part of a $25 million street revitalization that will have the city widen sidewalks and add bike lanes after doing underground utility work.

Adding those bike lanes will remove one lane of eastbound car traffic, sometimes used for parking.

'Safety risk for pedestrians'

Some Vanier residents are concerned the proposal goes too far in trying to include every mode of transportation, when foot traffic and businesses should be the priority.

Philippe Denault, member of the safety committee of the Vanier Community Association, said the raised, separated bike lane could be a hazard.

"Bike tracks raised to the sidewalk level [would] increase the safety risks for pedestrians," he said.

• LISTEN | Vanier residents look at plan for revitalized Montreal Road

Denault said the bike lanes should be on MacArthur Avenue or Donald Street instead of Montreal Road, which is zoned a traditional main street.

"Main streets are not for bicycles. The problem here is it's going to be used mainly for people crossing Vanier to go to the suburbs. It's going to be conceived again as a transit route," Denault told CBC's All in a Day.

'Not an either or'

Alain Gonthier, director of infrastructure services for the City of Ottawa, said the city needs to build bike lanes the same way it builds the roads and sidewalks.

"It's not an either or. What we're trying to do is improve the overall cycling network, which includes multiple corridors, especially in an east-west direction," Gonthier said.

"We don't have one road crossing the city."

Gonthier said the renewed streetscape will help increase confidence in Montreal Road for business owners and customers.

Hoping to attract business

The Quartier Vanier BIA has heard some concerns about the current proposal, according to executive director Nathalie Carrier.

"Some of the concerns are that we're taking away parking spots — so where are people going to stop and park when we come — we're hearing concerns about bike lanes and pedestrians," she said.

Carrier said the road work is "desperately needed" and could be a good first step to drawing different kinds of businesses to the east Ottawa community, where payday lenders and dispensaries dominate.

"I don't think it's as straightforward as changing a sidewalk. I think a sidewalk is part of a larger ecosystem that we have to create," she said.

"With the sidewalk comes more safety, with more safety comes more merchants, with more merchants comes more families."