JOINT CITY AND NCC CYCLING
INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS MAP DOCUMENT 1
|
3. JOINT
national capital commission and cITY of Ottawa Cycling infrastructure -
proposed Multi-use pathway facilities Entente conjointe entre la
Commission de la Capitale NationalE et la Ville d’Ottawa sur l’infrastructure
cyclable – installations de sentiers polyvalents proposés |
Committee RecommendationS
That Council:
1. Direct the Deputy City Manager, Infrastructure Services and
Community Sustainability to seek a cost-sharing agreement with the National
Capital Commission for the proposed multi-use pathway projects as identified in
this report; and
2. Direct staff to include the list of proposed multi-use
pathway projects in the City’s 2011 draft capital budget.
RecommandationS DU Comité
Que le Conseil :
1. de
demander à la directrice municipale adjointe, Services d’infrastructure et
Viabilité des collectivités, d’établir une entente de partage des coûts avec la
Commission de la capitale nationale dans le cadre des projets de sentiers
polyvalents proposés, comme l’explique le présent rapport;
2. de
demander au personnel d’inclure la liste des projets de sentiers polyvalents
proposés dans le budget préliminaire des immobilisations de 2011 de la Ville.
Documentation
1. Deputy City Manager’s report dated 12
August 2010 (ACS2010-ICS-PGM-0150).
2. Extract
of draft Minute, 23 August immediately follows the report
And Council / et au conseil
12 August 2010 / le 12 août 2010
Submitted by/Soumis par : Nancy Schepers, Deputy City Manager/Directrice
municipale adjointe, Infrastructure Services and Community
Sustainability/Services d 'infrastructure et Viabilité des collectivités
Contact Person/Personne ressource : John L. Moser, General Manager
Planning and Growth
Management/Urbanisme et Gestion de la croissance
(613) 580-2424 x,
john.moser@ottawa.ca
REPORT RECOMMENDATIONS
That the Transportation Committee recommend that Council:
1. Direct
the Deputy City Manager, Infrastructure Services and Community Sustainability
to seek a cost-sharing agreement with the National Capital Commission for the
proposed multi-use pathway projects as identified in this report; and
2. Direct
staff to include the list of proposed multi-use pathway projects in the City’s
2011 draft capital budget.
RECOMMANDATIONS DU RAPPORT
Que le Comité des
transports recommande au Conseil :
1.
de demander à la directrice
municipale adjointe, Services d’infrastructure et Viabilité des collectivités,
d’établir une entente de partage des coûts avec la Commission de la capitale
nationale dans le cadre des projets de sentiers polyvalents proposés, comme
l’explique le présent rapport;
2.
de demander au personnel d’inclure
la liste des projets de sentiers polyvalents proposés dans le budget
préliminaire des immobilisations de 2011 de la Ville.
BACKGROUND
The Official Plan (OP) and accompanying
Transportation Master Plan (TMP) place importance on strengthening existing
communities while developing new smart growth communities that are
environmentally sustainable, providing community-friendly transportation
facilities and integrate employment centres.
As directed by the City’s Strategic Plan, in 2008 City Council approved
the Ottawa Cycling Plan (OCP). The OCP identifies the need to improve
existing off-road multi-use pathways and on-road cycling facilities and to complete
missing links in the City’s cycling network and provide connections to the
National Capital Commission (NCC) pathway network. The OCP network calls for 1,200 new
kilometres of bike lanes, multi-use pathways and paved shoulders.
The City,
through its current plans, policies, guidelines and implementation programs,
has ensured that pedestrian and cycling facilities are included in all new and
reconstructed roads. It is estimated
that between years 2000 and 2009 approximately 160 kilometres of new bike
lanes, paved shoulders and multi-use pathways have been added to the City’s
transportation infrastructure, excluding new pathway construction by the
NCC. Furthermore, in 2010, the City has
made significant investments in its cycling and pedestrian network to close the
gap between planned and built pedestrian and cycling infrastructure and to
provide for multi-use pathways.
The NCC
has had a strong interest in the development of pathways, originally for
greening the capital and for recreational purposes. However, with the development of the NCC’s Pathway Network for Canada’s Capital Region
– 2006 Strategic Pathway Plan, there has been recognition of the role NCC
pathways play in utilitarian cycling.
The NCC, along with its partners (chiefly the cities of Gatineau and
Ottawa) proposed a framework for the planning and development of the Capital
Pathway Network for the next 10 years.
This plan was built on the need to ensure the pathway network will be
multi-purpose, accessible and safe, connect to other transportation networks to
encourage sustainable transportation and promote recognition of the National
Capital Region (NCR) in the greater international context.
The NCC
pathway plan, which was endorsed by City Council when presented in October
2006, includes considerable intertwining of pathways with the OCP’s on- and
off-road cycling routes. In 2009, the
NCC has convened two committees (tripartite and regional) with representatives
from the various jurisdictions comprising the NCR in order to better coordinate
and move forward with the implementation of the 2006 Strategic Pathway
Plan.
According to the 2006 Census, Ottawa-Gatineau was ranked first in
Canada as having the highest bicycle commuter mode share of large cities at 2.1
per cent, followed by Vancouver and Montreal at 1.7 per cent and 1.6 per cent,
respectively. However, Ottawa-Gatineau
is in danger of losing this status as both Montreal and Vancouver have been
making proportionately larger investments in cycling infrastructure in recent
years and both have introduced a variety of new cycling facility types not yet
introduced in Ottawa-Gatineau.
Since the
City’s and the NCC’s cycling facilities have been developed at different paces
over time, they consequently created gaps in the cycling network. The target for priority cycling projects for
2011 is to close as many of these gaps as possible. Therefore, this report proposes a list of
multi-use pathways for inclusion in the 2011 draft capital budget that will
extend and increase access to the existing NCR cycling network. Residents and visitors will benefit from
increases in sustainable transportation alternatives that create positive
social and environmental impacts, improving our quality of life, improving
health outcomes, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
DISCUSSION
The proposed multi-use pathways below are recommended for inclusion in
the 2011 Draft Capital Budget as priority projects subject to a cost-sharing
agreement with the NCC:
1.
Champagne/O-Train
Corridor Pathway (parallels the O-Train corridor between Ottawa River and Dow’s
Lake);
2.
Rideau
River Western Pathway (Belmont Street to Ottawa University’s Lees Campus);
3.
Sawmill
Creek/LRT Corridor Pathway (Brookfield Pathway to Walkley Road);
4.
Hampton
Park Pathway (Sebring Avenue to Island Park/Merivale Intersection);
5.
Aviation
Pathway (Innes Road to Prescott-Russell Pathway).
The above
projects are shown on Document 1. The
map indicates project subcomponents should there be a need to split up more
complex projects for implementation and/or funding purposes.
The
pathway candidates are all designated future off-road cycling facilities in the
Ottawa Cycling Plan (OCP) either approved by Council as part of the plan in
July 2008 or appended to the plan at Transportation Committee on 2 December
2009. All of these proposed pathway
projects except the Hampton Park Pathway are also identified on the NCC’s
“Pathway Network for Canada’s Capital Region – 2006 Strategic Plan” as future
pathway projects to be constructed within either the short term (0 to
five years) or medium term (five to 10 years). The Hampton Park Pathway has already been
agreed to in principle by NCC staff.
These projects are recommended for the following reasons:
The following section provides a description of each of the proposed
projects:
1. Champagne/O-Train
Corridor Pathway
The proposed multi-use pathway (identified in
the NCC pathway plan as the Champagne Corridor Pathway) follows the O-Train
corridor on its east side from the Ottawa River Capital Pathway to
Prince of Wales Drive at Preston Street where it links to the Rideau Canal West
Capital Pathway. This project would link
the Ottawa River with Dow’s Lake and associated pathways and would create a
continuous off-road circuit of the entire downtown area that would not only
increase sustainable transportation, it would also encourage bicycle tourism
and meet other City and NCC objectives.
Various linkages to existing rapid transit stations and the surrounding
residential community on local streets will guarantee this pathway will be
well-used. The estimated cost of this
project is about $3.2 million.
2. Rideau
River Western Pathway
The proposed Rideau River Western Pathway
will fill in a substantial gap between existing multi-use pathways. It will connect the already built pathway
from Bank Street to Belmont Street in Windsor Park to the new campus of
University of Ottawa on Lees Avenue.
University of Ottawa is agreeable to provide full access for pathway
users along the entire riverfront of its Lees campus leading to both a
pedestrian/cyclist bridge across the river and under the Queensway to a pathway
leading northwards into Strathcona Park.
The proposed pathway will mirror the existing NCC eastern bank pathway
along the Rideau River and provide a cycling alternative to the busy streets of
Main and Lees. It will tie together communities
on either side of the river such as Overbrook, Sandy Hill and Old Ottawa East,
provide access to institutions such as St. Paul University and University of
Ottawa’s Lees Campus as well as strengthen connectivity to existing multi-use
pathways along both sides of the river and rapid transit facilities at Lees and
Hurdman Stations. The estimate cost of
this project is $1.5 million.
3. Sawmill
Creek/LRT Corridor Pathway
The proposed Sawmill Creek/LRT Corridor
Pathway parallels Sawmill Creek, the O-Train/future North-South LRT, the
Southeast Transitway, and Airport Parkway.
It will close the gap between two currently under construction pathways
that are being funded through the Stimulus Funding Program: the Sawmill Creek
pathway between Walkley and Hunt Club Roads and the pathway from Brookfield to
Confederation Heights O-Train Station and Heron Road bus station. With the construction of this final ‘gap’
segment, a continuous multi-use pathway along a natural green corridor will
exist between Hunt Club Road and Heron Road.
It will provide accessibility for sustainable transportation to a wide
range of destinations and facilities in coordination with the proposed
multi-use pathway to be constructed over the Airport Parkway. The Sawmill Creek/LRT Corridor Pathway and
associated links will provide entirely new access to existing rapid transit
stations at South Keys, Walkley Road and Confederation Heights as well as tying
together the Hunt Club residential community, Confederation Heights' employment
centre, residential communities abutting Brookfield East and West, South Keys
shopping centre and other land uses.
Cyclists will also be able to connect to the NCC multi-use pathways at
Hogs Back/Mooney’s Bay by riding along Walkley Road to the pathway constructed
in 2009 at Riverside Drive. The
estimated cost of this project is $1.2 million.
4. Hampton
Park Pathway
The proposed Hampton Park pathway will
provide a cycling-friendly east-west route as an alternative to busy Carling
Avenue. It will pass through parklands
owned by both the City and the NCC. The
pathway will provide access to quiet local streets in an older residential
neighbourhood, recreation facilities in Hampton Park, and retail facilities at
Hampton Court Shopping Centre. It will
also connect the designated community cycling route along Dovercourt to
existing bike lanes on Island Park Drive and soon-to-be constructed bike lanes
on Merivale Road. The estimated cost of
this project is $400,000.
5. Aviation
Pathway
The proposed pathway will follow Hydro Ottawa
corridor connecting Prescott-Russell
Pathway, a Stimulus-funded project being constructed in 2010, with the existing
segment of the Aviation Pathway on the north side of Innes Road that is being
extended further to the north by the NCC this year (between Montreal Road and
Ogilvie Road). Estimated cost of this pathway, which will include a bridge over
Green’s Creek, is in the order of $1.4 million.
RURAL IMPLICATIONS
The proposed Aviation Pathway segment above
would allow a direct link from rural areas of Ottawa via the Prescott-Russell
Pathway into the urban cycling network.
CONSULTATION
Extensive public consultation occurred during the development of the
OCP and the NCC pathway plans.
COMMENTS BY THE WARD
COUNCILLOR(S)
Ward 17 – Councillor Doucet (re: Rideau River Western Pathway)
Councillor Doucet is very supportive of multiuse
pathway projects moving forward, and welcomes the opportunity to
complete these important missing links.
Ward 15 – Councillor Leadman (re: Hampton Park and Champagne Corridor
Pathways)
“Thank you for the opportunity to comment on this report. I would like
to congratulate staff on their efforts with the NCC and the City of Gatineau in
developing a strategic cycling plan that closes existing gaps which will provide
better and safer cycling facilities for residents. It is a good first step and
look further to a much more aggressive approach over the coming years in
improving the cycling network throughout the city.”
Ward 14 – Councillor Holmes (re: Champagne Corridor Pathway)
Councillor Holmes supports the initiative to include Champagne/O-Train
Corridor multi-use pathway in the 2011 Draft Capital Budget. Completing the
link from Dow's Lake to the Ottawa River is an essential component of the
Carling-Bayview Community Design Plan, and our Pedestrian and Cycling Master
Plans.
Ward 16 – Councillor McRae (re: Sawmill Creek/LRT Corridor Pathway)
Councillor McRae is aware of this report and supports the construction
of Sawmill Creek/LRT Corridor Pathway to close the final gap in a continuous
multi-use pathway between Hunt Club Road and Heron Road.
Ward 2 – Councillor Bloess (re: Aviation Pathway)
The Councillor is aware of this report. Further clarification is required about the $1.4M being set aside for the construction of the bridge over the Green’s Creek.
LEGAL/RISK MANAGEMENT
IMPLICATIONS
There are no legal/risk management impediments to implementing the recommendations contained in this Report.
CITY STRATEGIC PLAN
A1. Improve the City’s
transportation network to afford ease of mobility, keep pace with growth,
reduce congestion and work towards modal split targets.
A2. Ensure current federal and
provincial commitments for transportation programs are maintained, and seek
enhanced support for existing and new potential programs.
E6. Require walking, transit and
cycling oriented communities and employment centres.
TECHNICAL
IMPLICATIONS
N/A
FINANCIAL
IMPLICATIONS
The cost estimates for the recommended projects are very preliminary
and have been developed without the benefit of engineering investigations and
design. The combined estimated high-level cost of the above works is $7.7 M of
which a cost-sharing arrangement with the NCC would be developed.
These works will be included in the City’s Long Range Financial Plan.
Funds will be requested as part of the 2011 Capital Budget process cycle to be
approved by Council; cost-sharing revenue estimates will be included.
SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION
Document 1 Joint
City and NCC Cycling Infrastructure Projects Map
DISPOSITION
Upon Committee and Council approval, the Deputy City Manager (ISCS)
will seek a cost-sharing agreement with the NCC; and staff will include the
cycling projects listed in this report in the 2011 Draft Capital Budget.
JOINT CITY AND NCC CYCLING
INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS MAP DOCUMENT 1
JOINT
national capital commission and cITY of Ottawa Cycling infrastructure –
proposed Multi-use pathway facilities
Entente conjointe entre la Commission de la Capitale
Nationale et la Ville d’Ottawa sur l’infrastructure cyclable – installations de
sentiers polyvalents proposés
ACS2010-ICS-PGM-0150 City Wide / À L'échelle De La
Ville
The Committee
received the following public delegations :
John Dance, Ottawa East Community
Association and Sustainable Living Ottawa East spoke briefly in support of
the report, particularly with regards to the Rideau River Pathway Project. He recognized this would fill a missing link
for pedestrians and cyclists alike and will be a great investment.
George Darouze, Osgoode
Snowmobile Club elected not to speak to this item.
Paul Webber, Bell Baker
expressed concern that this item is being discussed whereas an item dealing
with a multi-use pathway (Item C of Information Previously Distributed) is not
open for discussion. The Chair clarified
that the Committee is not dealing with motorized vehicles on pathways.
On a point of order, Councillor
Thompson stated that the delegation was asking questions about an item that is
not open for discussion. The Chair
confirmed for the delegation that the IPD dealing with the Osgoode Multi-use
Pathway was ‘ received’ by the Committee and is therefore not to be
discussed. She indicated she would rule
out of order anyone who raised the same issue.
In response to additional questions
posed by the delegation, the Chair explained that the report being considered
relates to cost-sharing with the NCC for cycling infrastructure and multi-use
pathways and speaks specifically about those linkages.
Councillor Bloess indicated that he
wanted to listen to Mr. Webber’s questions and his concerns. The Chair cautioned the delegation that
anything related to snowmobiles on this item would not be entertained. In response to a question posed by the Chair,
Vivi Chi, Manager, Transportation Planning confirmed that the report does deal
with multi-use pathways for pedestrians and cyclists and other non-motorized
users, because these links are in the urban area.
Councillor Wilkinson noted that
under the provincial legislation electric bicycles (E-bikes) can use multi-use
pathways and she asked staff to look into the use of these vehicles on such
pathways. Valerie Bietlot, Legal Counsel
indicated she would take that direction and would respond by the time this item
rises to Council on 25 August.
Eric Darwin, Dalhouse Community
Association spoke in support of the Champagne/O-Train Corridor Pathway as
this link is vital to cyclists. He
stated that the proposal along the O-Train corridor is widely supported.
In considering the report,
Councillor Bloess inquired about costs, noting that some NCC pathways are being
completed at a less expensive rate than what the City is paying. Ms. Chi explained that staff brought forward
five pathway proposals and whatever the cost is at the end of the day that is
what the City would cost-share with the NCC.
She explained that staff would look to refining the costs later on
during design and assured the councillor they were not firm at this stage.
Ms. Abouhenidy gave a detailed
presentation, highlighting the five pathways to be pursued with the NCC. A copy of her presentation is held on file.
Councillor Desroches inquired if
costs would be split 50/50 between the City and the NCC and staff advised that
they would be. The councillor referred
to the Champagne/O-Train corridor pathway and was seeking assurance that when
the City moves to light rail, that this link would not interfere with the
LRT. Ms. Chi confirmed that the pathway
would not interfere with the O-Train or future North-South LRT operation. The councillor also inquired how staff
prioritized the missing links reflected in the report and Ms. Chi explained
that they looked at projects that would be of interest to the City as well as
the NCC and the top five candidates were put forward in this report. She confirmed that each are in both pathway
plans for the City and for the NCC.
Councillor Wilkinson inquired about
the cost-sharing arrangement with the NCC and Ms. Chi explained that if
the Committee and Council adopts the report recommendations that will endorse
staff’s formal request for funding from the NCC. In response to additional questions posed by
the councillor, Ms. Chi indicated that staff would identify the amount of
cost-sharing in the 2011 budget.
The councillor further referred to
the variety of motorized vehicles in use and suggested the City should make it
clear what is and is not permitted on those pathways. In this regard, an educational component
would be very helpful to ensure people are clear what the use of these pathways
is for.
Councillor Holmes referred to the
Champagne/O-Train Corridor Pathway and indicated that part of the Somerset
Street reconstruction includes a tunnel which is considered an essential link
for this connection. She asked if this
could be done in pieces or does the City need the funding all at once to
complete that project. Ms. Chi confirmed
staff would look at this project as one and would liaise with the NCC to get
their support. She confirmed that the
City has the flexibility to build it in sections and because of the Somerset
Street reconstruction, would take advantage of that first.
Councillor Legendre noted that the
estimates are based on the surface of the pathway being paved, but suggested
stonedust is less expensive, works just as well and is quite acceptable to all
users. During negotiations with the NCC,
he asked staff if they could be flexible about the surface of the pathway. Ms. Chi advised that in setting a budget
envelope they did anticipate it would be paved because of the high volume of
cyclists in the urban area. If not, the
project could be rescoped. She confirmed
that there is no policy that states these pathways must be paved.
That the Transportation
Committee recommend that Council:
1. Direct the Deputy City Manager,
Infrastructure Services and Community Sustainability to seek a cost-sharing
agreement with the National Capital Commission for the proposed multi-use
pathway projects as identified in this report; and
2. Direct staff to include the list of
proposed multi-use pathway projects in the City’s 2011 draft capital budget.
CARRIED
DIRECTION
TO STAFF
That staff provide to Council by 25
August, an explanation of E-bikes (electric bicycles) and how they fit into
multi-use pathways.