Guest post written by Michael Napiorkowski, co-founder of the Ottawa Bicycle Lanes Project.
A new initiative just launched in Ottawa and it is something to be excited about! It’s called the Ottawa Bicycle Lanes Project and it is rebranding cycling in the capital region.
The project is highly focused on one objective and that is to have safe segregated bicycle lane networks run through all the major districts of Ottawa. The group believes that for cycling to go mainstream, a safe cycling infrastructure needs to be built that brings people to the everyday places they need to get to (coffee shops, grocery shopping, schools, work, etc.).
The Ottawa Bicycle Lanes Project involves community outreach, marketing/branding, mass communication and education. In order to promote cycling as a valuable asset to our transportation infrastructure, this message is aimed towards all residents of Ottawa, and not just current cyclists. The project promotes the immense benefits that making cycling mainstream has for communities, businesses and people.
The co-founders point out that this project “is not about creating conflict between cars and bikes. It’s about revealing the enormous benefits that cycling has for everybody when it is practical and safe to do so. In this way, segregated bike lanes are about creating a more liveable Ottawa for future generations.”
The group welcomes anyone interested to contact them for more information, and in particular to join the cause and sign the petition that can be found at: http://bikelanes.ca.
Green Living Ottawa 