{"id":6913,"date":"2011-10-11T08:49:31","date_gmt":"2011-10-11T12:49:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/spacingottawa.ca\/?p=6913"},"modified":"2013-01-21T09:16:49","modified_gmt":"2013-01-21T14:16:49","slug":"notes-taken-everyday-cyclists-and-the-next-city-cafe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/ottawa\/2011\/10\/11\/notes-taken-everyday-cyclists-and-the-next-city-cafe\/","title":{"rendered":"Notes taken: Everyday Cyclists and the Next City Caf\u00e9"},"content":{"rendered":"

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“Everyday Cycling” is an inclusive term that can be used to describe anyone who rides a bike for any reason: for sport, for dropping kids at school, for grocery shopping, commuting to work, for leisurely rides along the river, all can thought of as everyday cyclists.\u00a0 On Wednesday September 21st<\/sup>, cycling enthusiasts, community activists, and planners gathered at the Alpha Soul Caf\u00e9 in Hintonburg for the first session of the Next City Caf\u00e9.\u00a0 Breakout groups were tasked with answering three key questions; afterwards each brought their notes back to share with the room.<\/p>\n

The goal was to come up with constructive actions we can all do to make cycling better in our city.<\/em><\/p>\n

Q#1. Why does cycling and cycling infrastructure matter?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A: Building cycling infrastructure creates a better city by; increasing spontaneous stops at local businesses, breaks down class barriers (bicycles cost much less than cars to operate), consuming less precious public space than cars or public transit, reducing the carbon footprint of travel and providing a safer more friendly environment for pedestrians where there are fewer cars and more eyes directly on the street.<\/p>\n

Q#2. What does Ottawa need to make cycling better?<\/strong><\/p>\n

It was unanimous that more cycling infrastructure was needed to keep up with the growing intensification of the city, including; more dedicated bike lanes, better signage on bike routes, connecting existing bike routes and advanced traffic signals for cyclists.\u00a0 Cycling centered services also include; clearing snow on bike routes in the winter, fixing potholes and expanding the bike sharing network.<\/p>\n

Also discussed was the need for education both for cyclists and drivers of the rules of the road.\u00a0 It was suggested that driver\u2019s education programs and schools should integrate cycling awareness programs into their curriculum –and we need more bike festivals and events to promote cycling education.<\/p>\n

Education was also considered a vital part of advocacy efforts to promote safe urban cycling.\u00a0 This includes educating cyclists to talk to their councilors and ask for more cycling centered planning in Ottawa and increased funding for city departments that deal with cycling. Cycling, it was argued, is a mode of transportation like transit or cars and should be treated as such.\u00a0 This led to a request for tax rebates for cycling just like those that are currently applied to transit passes.\u00a0 Also discussed, was the need for public-private partnerships to provide showers, bike parking and other infrastructure to encourage cycling.<\/p>\n

Q#3 What can we<\/em> do to make cycling in Ottawa better? <\/strong><\/p>\n

Here are some of the answers:<\/p>\n