Walking in Ottawa
Walking plays a crucial role in creating an attractive, accessible, liveable, safe, equitable and healthy city. Walking is the only form of transportation that is universally affordable, and allows children, the elderly and people of all abilities to travel independently. Recognizing that everyone is a pedestrian, Ottawa’s Pedestrian Vision is: “Transform Ottawa into a world-class pedestrian city where an equally vibrant and functional pedestrian realm encourages people to walk all year-round”.
Additional information on walking-focused policies, programs and resources includes:
Cycling in Ottawa
Ottawa was the first Ontario city to receive the Gold Bicycle Friendly Community Award from the Share the Road Cycling Coalition at the 2012 annual Association of Municipalities of Ontario conference. The number of people choosing to cycle to work, to school, for errands and for recreation continues to grow every year in Ottawa, across the city.
Data counters on the city’s first segregated bike lane installed on Laurier Avenue in 2011 have already recorded over 3 million trips. The numbers continue to increase as residents and visitors enjoy Ottawa’s network of on- and off-street routes.
The Ottawa Cycling Plan 2013 Vision is to:
Develop a city-wide, connected network of cycling facilities actively used by all types and ages of cyclists to meet their transportation needs. This network will be supported by policies and programs that establish Ottawa as having one of the best cycling networks in North America, while maximizing the synergy of transit and cycling. Cycling facilities will be selected to complement local land uses and match the needs of all areas of the city.
Ready to ride? Follow the links for more information on cycling in Ottawa.
Data and Bicycle Counters
The City of Ottawa has 22 permanent bike counters including Mackenzie Avenue, O’Connor Bikeway, Trillium Pathway, and Laurier Avenue to name a few. Interested in viewing the numbers? The City posts the data quarterly.