Why Ottawa cyclists are being urged not to give up on biking downtown

It was supposed to be a safe way to bikedowntown, but the death of a young woman on theLaurier Avenue Westbike lane on Thursdayhasmany people spooked.

"At this point I'm not pulling my bicycle out, for fear of being hit by a car," said Sebastian Winkler after witnessing the scene at the corner of Laurierand Lyon Street, where 23-year-oldNusrat Jahandied after being hit by a constructiontruck.

Brianna St. Cyr agrees.

"I would not cycle in downtown Ottawa because of all the construction that's been going around. It's just not safe," she said.

But cycling advocates are urging riders to stay the course. According to Bartek Komorowski of Vlo Qubec, the best way to improve cyclingsafety is to get more people to take up cycling,notfor people toquit riding their bikes.

Safety in numbers

"There's a safety in numbers effect. The more cyclists there are, the less likely a cyclist is to be involved in an accident,"Komorowski said.

The theory was first published in 2003 bypublic health researcher Peter Jacobsen, whofound thatcollisionrates actually declined when more people walked or rode their bikes.

Komoroski saidthe data holds true in Canada.

"In spite of a greaterincrease in bicycle use, the number of accidents has remained constant or fallen in many cities," he told CBC News.

According to a2011 survey by the TRANS committee, a group made up of the National Capital Commission, the City of Ottawa, the City of Gatineau, the Ontario and Quebec ministries of transportation, and the transit agencies of Ottawa and Gatineau, there was a 40-per-centgrowth in the number of bicycle journeys from 2005 to 2011.

"Approximately 53,800 daily bicycle trips were made in the National Capital Region during a typical fall weekday in 2011 ...up from37,100 in 2005," the report reads.

Compare that to the number of cycling accidents over a similar time period:In 2006,231 cyclists were injured on Ottawa's roads, one of whom died. In 2014, the last year for which data is available, 228 were injured, with two fatalities.

Ottawa 'a leader in Ontario'

Ontariocycling advocacy groupShare The Roadwants cyclists to remember that, compared with other cities in the province,Ottawa isa relativelysafe place to cycle.

"One of the big reasons that I choose to live here in Ottawa is because it really is a leader in Ontario, in terms of raised cycle tracks, making connections, off-road paths for cyclists,"said executive director JamieStuckless."It could be better and there's lots more we could do, but Ottawa truly is a leader."

Stuckless said54 per cent ofOntario residents want to cycle more than they currently do, but safety is still their biggest concern.

Currently, four per centof Ottawa residents who live within the greenbelt bike to work. The city is aiming to increase that to eight per centby 2031.

Stuckless is calling on the municipal and provincial governments to ease cyclist's fears by investing in cycling infrastructure and education.

Click on the player below to hear Ottawanstalk about their cycling concerns.

Citizens concerned about cycling

8 years ago

Duration 0:54

People in Ottawa talk about their concers about cycling downtown after a 23-year old was killed at Laurier and Lyon.