Posted by: John Dance
In an effort to improve the safety and experience of pedestrians and cyclists using the Canal’s roadways and pathways, this year the National Capital Commission (NCC) will begin building uni-directional, “summer-season” bike lanes on the roadways of both Queen Elizabeth Driveway (QED) and Colonel By Drive (CBD). The bike lane on QED will be for northbound bikes and the one on CBD will be for those going south.
The potential work is described by the NCC as “a ‘quick win’ interim improvement until such time as a longer-term vision can be implemented.” The work will occur along QED between Preston Street and Laurier Avenue and along CBD between Hog’s Back Road and Daly Avenue.
“The introduction of bike lanes is expected to alleviate pedestrian-cyclist congestion on the multi-use pathways, enhance active use, and improve access and accessibility for both pedestrians and cyclists,” the NCC’s final feasibility study report says.
“Additionally, the bike lanes are expected to contribute to traffic calming by reducing vehicle operating speeds through narrower lanes, aligning with the parkways’ planning direction to reduce the emphasis on automobile travel and improve the active user experience along the parkways,” the report says.
Growing traffic on the pathways, including pedal-assist bikes and illegal electric bikes and scooters, has made the pathways more dangerous for pedestrians and casual cyclists. The NCC seeks to separate cyclists from pedestrians on high-usage pathways but the limited width of much of the Canal lands in the central area makes it difficult to find space for separate bike lanes.
Uni-direction rationale
“The project supports NCC policies to provide safer, continuous, sustainable mobility options and helps to separate pedestrians and cyclists,” the environmental statement notes. “The NCC has reviewed areas where the space is tight or where cyclists and drivers often come into conflict. The project will address these challenges by creating continuous, easy‑to‑follow routes using separated bike lanes, shared‑lane sections, and connections to nearby multi-use pathways.”
For much of the two parkways, the existing roadways are not wide enough to accommodate bike lanes on both sides while maintaining adequate lane width for cars. Consequently, there will be a uni-directional bike lane heading downtown on the QED side and another uni-directional bike lane heading away from downtown on the CBD side.
The new bike lanes will be adjacent to the multi-use pathways so that at some locations cyclists will be able to move between the bike lane and the multi-use pathway.
“The goal is to implement bike lanes with minimal changes beyond the curbs, preserving the cultural landscape and adhering to the NCC’s cultural landscape policy,” the feasibility study says. “The work to construct the project consists of pavement markings, installing flexible delineator posts, constructing curbs ramps and connections to adjacent MUPs [multi-use pathways], and some resurfacing works to provide a smooth riding surface for cyclists.”
Project details
The estimated cost of the work is about $1.7 million. According to the NCC website, “[C]onstruction is planned to begin in summer 2026 and end in spring 2027.” The timing is dependent on satisfactory completion of an environment assessment review announced at the end of January, specifically determining if the project “is likely to cause significant adverse environmental effects.”
Necessary contracting procedures must be completed in a timely manner in order to complete the project by spring 2027.
For most of the length of the two new bike lanes, “flexible delineator posts” would define the lanes and offer some protection to cyclists. However, because of the narrowness of certain sections of the roadways and because of certain major intersections along the way, in a number of areas such as those near Pretoria Bridge there would be pavement markings (“sharrows”) rather than flex posts to define the bike routes.
At most of the stretches without flex posts, curb cuts would be made so that cyclists could move to the Canal-side pathways to avoid the stretches with sharrows.
Flexible delineator posts would be removed before winter to ensure the posts are not damaged during winter maintenance operations. Cyclists can use the adjacent Canal-side multi-use pathways during the winter months, which run along the length of both parkways and is part of the City’s winter cycling network.
Ongoing concerns
The Old Ottawa East Community Association has repeatedly requested that the NCC make active transportation improvements for pedestrians and cyclists who now share the sub-standard portions of the CBD pathway between Clegg and Bank streets. Some residents have argued that CBD should be car-free, others are of the view that CBD is an essential car route.
Several keen cyclists were asked what they think of the proposed uni-direction bike lanes and longtime OOE resident Don Fugler responded, “This does not seem like a reasonable proposal. One-way paths? Go downtown on one side of the river and home on the other side? Doubtful.”
Hans on the Bike, an Ottawa resident who writes about cycling on his blog with the same name, commented, “[I]t feels a bit like the NCC faces the issue of trying to fit a square pin in a round hole. There are some good ideas in the report and I think the evaluation is solid, but I would say none of the solutions are awesome. The limited budget is part of that and it is trying hard to please everyone. On top of that, it appears motor traffic should mostly not be impacted.”
“From my own observations over the years, the vast majority of residents and visitors ride on the pathways,” Hans says. “The bike lanes on the road will at the most be an overflow on busy days or serve those who want to bike faster than 20 km/h. One can see cyclists on the road anyway, but that is their choice as they may find the pathways too restrictive.”
He also questions the idea of merging in and out of pathways when the road is too narrow for bike lanes. “I think the risk of collisions is too big when a fast-moving cyclist merges into a bidirectional pathway with oncoming cycling traffic.” Further, Hans notes that sharrows “are often ignored or not even noticed by other road users, so relying on this type of mitigation is a waste of money in my opinion.”
On the other hand, the increased number of fast e-vehicles and road bikes on the Canal’s multi-use pathways have made them increasingly dangerous and unpleasant for many users so that the introduction of bike lanes on the roadways will provide some relief.
“[V]ehicles on our pathways must be, at maximum, ‘electric-assisted,’ with the exception of mobility devices,” says the NCC. “This policy is enforced by our conservation officers who monitor the network and issue fines to those in violation.”
Other measures that the NCC is taking to improve pathway safety are the “Share the Path” campaign and summer safety blitzes, which deploy speed monitoring radar along the pathways, help increase awareness of these regulations, and promote safety on multi-use pathways.
John Dance is an Old Ottawa East resident and daily visitor to Old Ottawa South.
This article is an updated version of a Mainstreeter article and is published with the permission of The Mainstreeter.
Featured in the March 2026 OSCAR.