cYCLING ADVISORY COMMITTEE
COMITÉ
CONSULTATIF SUR LE CYCLISME
1. CYCLING ADVISORY COMMITTEE – 2001/2002 ANNUAL REPORT AND 2003
WORKPLAN / COMITÉ CONSULTATIF SUR LE CYCLISME – RAPPORT
ANNUEL DE
2001/2002 ET PLAN DE TRAVAIL 2003
This item was dealt with as the 2nd
item of business.
Brett Delmage, Chair and Diane Dupuis, Vice Chair of the Cycling
Advisory Committee provided an overview of their Annual Report and the 2003
Workplan.
Councillor Cullen found the details contained under Objective 2
– Official Plan/Transportation Master Plan, somewhat sparse, and hoped the
committee would be able to provide more information to the linkages between
their committee and the Official Plan.
Ms. Dupuis agreed the text was somewhat less than what it could be and
stated that the committee plans to review the new OP document when it is
released in the new year, to ensure the material contained in their Position
Paper is included.
The councillor commended the CAC for submitting such an excellent
Position Paper on the OP to the Planning and Development Committee earlier this
week. Given that the OP will be such a
major item, as will the Transportation Master Plan, he questioned whether their
request for funds would be sufficient.
He was prepared to amend their request to give them the $8821 remaining
in the budget for the two advisory committees.
Ms. Dupuis indicated they budgeted for $4000 to carry out their 2003
Workplan, but a recent tally of expenditures associated with their OP
consultation session came to just over $5000 so it was hoped additional funding
would be forthcoming.
Councillor Harder echoed the previous comments about their
Position Paper and suggested that members of the Transportation and Transit
Committee who do not sit on the Planning and Development Committee receive a
copy. The coordinator agreed to
distribute this accordingly. The
councillor believed the CAC was doing an exemplary job and the input they have
provided has been excellent. With
respect to the committee’s proposal to have three Community Cycling Tours, she
suggested the TransCanada Trail might be a good choice for one of those tours. She referred to a concern she raised at the
Planning and Development Committee meeting, about the cycling lane on the
reconstructed portion of Woodroffe Avenue in south Nepean. She explained that the lane is situated
between two lanes of traffic and did not look safe and she was concerned cyclists
would opt to use the sidewalk instead.
Ms. Dupuis agreed to raise this issue at their next meeting.
Councillor Legendre was pleased to see the committee’s
initiative with respect to the Bicycle Parking Policy and hoped the Standing
Committee would take some action through resources being applied to the
matter. With respect to the CAC’s
workplan and their initiative to invite guest speakers to their meetings, he
indicated he had declined their offer because he believed the committee was
there to offer advice to the committees of Council. Mr. Delmage explained that invitations are extended to elected
representatives because they may be aware of issues or changes in their
communities that affect cycling, that the CAC is not aware of and this provides
a forum to discuss those issues.
Councillor McNeely indicated that Prescott-Russell have combined
with the Quebec municipalities and will have a walking/cycling trail to
Montreal; the trail will reach the City’s border (Canaan Road) late this year
or early next year. He asked the CAC to
keep this project in mind because once the trail crosses the boundary, there is
nothing happening as the trail moves into the city. Ms. Dupuis agreed that an investigative cycling tour could be
arranged to determine what, if anything, could be done to ensure there is
smooth access to connect to that trail.
Mr. Delmage indicated that one of the positive things that came out
of their Official Plan consultation process was the range of the rural issues
raised with respect to cycling outside the urban boundary. This is something the committee is
definitely interested in they plan to hold one of their meetings next year in
one of the rural areas.
The representatives thanked staff for their assistance and
advice and to members of the Standing Committee for supporting their
recommendations and initiatives brought forward.
Moved by A. Cullen
That Recommendation
2 be amended to replace the sum of $4000 with “up to $8821.”
CARRIED
1. That the
Transportation and Transit Committee recommend Council:
a) receive the 2001/2002 Annual Report of the
Cycling Advisory Committee, as detailed in Attachment 1; and
b)
approve the objectives
contained in the 2003 workplan, as detailed in Attachment 2.
2. That the Transportation and Transit Committee approve the
provision of funds in the amount of $4000 to implement the objectives contained
in the workplan, subject to any amendments to the workplan approved by Council.
MOBILITY ISSUES ADVISORY COMMITTEE
COMITÉ
CONSULTATIF SUR LES QUESTIONS DE MOBILITÉ
2. MOBILITY ISSUES ADVISORY COMMITTEE – 2001/2002 ANNUAL REPORT
AND 2003 WORKPLAN / COMITÉ CONSULTATIF SUR LES QUESTIONS DE MOBILITÉ – RAPPORT
ANNUEL DE 2001/2002 ET PLAN DE TRAVAIL 2003
David Bell, Chair of Mobility Issues
Advisory Committee (MIAC) provided an overview of the 2001-02 Annual Report and
the 2003 Workplan.
Councillor Cullen hoped the
committee would provide input during the budget process, particularly with
regards to the balance between transit and road infrastructure. Mr. Bell confirmed they would be making a
presentation to the Standing Committee at that time. He indicated the committee would like to be able to provide input
on budget issues as early and as often as possible, but he recognized this is
difficult because of the inability of departments to share that information
with them. However, the MIAC feels the
City needs to rebalance the shares between the various modes, i.e., walking,
cycling, public transit and road infrastructure and there should be an
ever-increasing share of the budget to public as opposed to private
transportation, over the long term.
Councillor Arnold wondered whether
the timing of advisory committee input into the budget process could be examined,
so their advice would not come too late in the process to make any necessary
changes. She then posed questions
around the priorities in the Workplan, specifically the focus on the Winter
Walking aspects, and the level of success the committee has had in being
consulted on major developments such as Lebreton Flats. With respect to priorities, Mr. Bell
indicated that the MIAC would like to see walking and cycling as modes of
transportation year-round, which would mean having a network that is safe to use
and which would be maintained all year.
On the issue of success of consultation, he indicated that when asked,
the MIAC has willingly appointed a representative to a Public Advisory
Committee for a particular project.
They are then able to present their views and provide feedback to their
committee in turn. Even when they have
not been approached about representation on a particular project, if they felt
the issue significant, they have been proactive and have asked to be involved.
Councillor Legendre was disappointed
their Workplan did not include any action to be taken with respect to the issue
of aggressive driving. He indicated
that this concern had been raised by the former RMOC and was to be an initiative
that brought the Health Department, the Transportation Department and the
Ottawa Police together. Mr. Bell stated
that they had not formally dealt with it because of the numerous other issues
already before them. He agreed to raise
it with the committee, but recognized the effort that would be involved because
of the number of departments they would have to liase with.
When questioned whether there were
resources to examine this issue, Mike Flainek, Director of Traffic and Parking
Operations advised that the ‘Safety Awareness Program’ is a three-part
partnership with TUPW, the Police and staff in the People Services
Department. They have been working over
the last 18 months, implementing programs on the roadways and will be hiring a
Program Manager in the very near future.
It is the intention to bring forward some initiatives with People
Services between January and March 2003.
In response to a question posed by Councillor Legendre, the Director
confirmed there would be a line item in the 2003 budget to address the need to
put resources into this area and he agreed to flag this for the councillor’s
attention during budget review.
Mr. Bell
then complied with a request from Councillor Doucet to make their monthly
position papers available to the Transportation and Transit Committee, as they
are prepared.
Councillor
Doucet questioned the status of the Sidewalk Harmonization and Design
Guidelines and was advised by Rob Orchin, Manager of Mobility Area and Traffic
Management that an interim guideline had been developed last year and is the
current model being used. He indicated
the department has to move ahead with a more consolidated view of walking and
pedestrian issues, which the sidewalk design is a part of, and this is on their
work program.
The General
Manager further clarified that the guidelines are being used now as sidewalks
are refurbished or new ones are constructed.
She went on to state that staff is in the process of consulting with
staff in Development Services and the development industry on all
infrastructure standards for new developments, with the expectation the new
guidelines will be available by Spring 2003.
She confirmed that further consultation with the advisory committees and
the community would be ongoing.
Ms. Leclair
further noted that when the department originally started the consultation
process, they were looking at the general direction the City was moving in with
respect to smart growth initiatives; they are now adding into that the general
direction they have perceived through the long-range financial plan of needing
to look at the degree to which standards drive costs. She noted that there had been a lot of discussion in terms of the
different standards of municipalities, and the department is now trying to
determine to what degree these standards drive costs, reflect community values,
reflect smart growth principles, et cetera.
When the new standard is brought forward, all of these things will have
been taken into consideration and the committee and Council will be provided
with the recommended standard which achieves the best balance, and the options
available should a different approach be desired.
Councillor
McNeely inquired as to whether the MIAC had reviewed the Transportation Demand
Management document presented to the committee at it’s last meeting. Mr. Bell
confirmed it was on the agenda for discussion at the next MIAC meeting.
In a closing statement, Mr. Bell acknowledged that the committee
would not have been such a success without the support of their Council liaison
Councillor Doucet, and staff members Rob Orchin, and Joel Koffman.
1. That the
Transportation and Transit Committee recommend Council:
a) receive the 2001/2002 Annual Report
of the Mobility Issues Advisory Committee, as detailed in Attachment 1; and
b) approve the objectives contained in the 2003
workplan, as detailed in Attachment 2.
2. That the Transportation and Transit Committee approve the
provision of funds in the amount of $8,825 to implement the objectives
contained in the workplan, subject to any amendments to the workplan approved
by Council.
CARRIED
INQUIRIES
DEMANDES DES
RENSEIGNMENTS
Bicycle
Lockers
Councillor Harder asked for an explanation of how the bicycle
locker system operates at the park and ride lots, i.e. how a person reserves
one, where the locks are, the cost of these units, et cetera.
Construction Season
Councillor Cullen was concerned that the recent weather has
halted works being done to narrow a road in his ward (Connaught Avenue). The General Manager assured the councillor
that construction would not be suspended in the first few days of bad weather,
as it appears possible to accomplish all required sub work at this time and
complete any necessary resurfacing in the spring.
Bus Bench Advertising
Councillor Legendre referred to a complaint he received from a
company who advertises on bus benches.
Apparently, a planter box was placed in front of the bench, thereby
blocking the advertisement. He noted
that OC Transpo staff had proposed a solution, but before it could be put in
place, word was received that the bench poses problems for snow clearing and
would be removed. The councillor
explained that there are at least 14 such removals currently slated, some for
the purpose of snow clearing and some because of the competition with waste
receptacles, which also have advertising on them. He believed removing the benches is a disservice to transit users
and suggested that a more functional solution be arrived at than the one
currently being carried out.
Snow Disposal Facilities
Councillor McNeely noted that the recent approval of this report
generated a lot of concern among residents in his ward, particularly with
respect to the sites on Tenth Line and Vanguard and on Mer Bleu and Innes. While he acknowledged that public
consultation was carried out by the former RMOC in the mid-to-late 90’s, he
inquired how to accurately inform the people about this issue. The General Manager indicated that staff
would work with the councillor and perhaps have the Project Manager attend a
community information briefing. She
confirmed that while approval gives the Department the ‘go-ahead’ to close some
sites and re-engineer others, there are next steps that will involve public
consultation.
OTHER BUSINESS
AUTRES QUESTIONS
Accents on French Street Name
Signs
Councillor Legendre referred to a previous issue he had raised about
the accents on street name signs and the interim response he received via
e-mail from the Sign Administrator on 7 October. He has since learned from the City Clerk that accents could be
easily and inexpensively added or removed by the application of a sticker and
he asked that when changes are obvious, that they be made immediately, without
having to do any research on the correct spelling of the name. In this regard, he advised that he was
accumulating the history on the correct spelling of la rue Cote and would
provide that information to staff.
Another street name which does not require research is chemin Montreal. He stated that it should have an accent and
therefore can be easily corrected. Ms.
Leclair indicated that staff would consult the source by-law and if the name
shows no accent in that document, they would need to amend the by-law
accordingly.
Den Haag at Montreal Road
Councillor Legendre noted that a traffic control signal is proposed
to be installed next year at the intersection of Den Haag and Montreal
Road. However, the residential
development behind the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) building
on Montreal Road is largely filled and residents are finding it difficult to
turn left from Den Haag onto Montreal.
He was very concerned about this inherent danger, which is compounded by
the fact the CMHC has installed barriers to prevent motorists from accessing
Montreal Road via the Aviation Parkway through their parking lot. He understood a petition is forth coming,
possibly asking for police assistance, but was unsure of what to do on a
temporary basis, except to look for staff’s assistance to put pressure on the
CMHC to help address this safety problem.
On a point of order, Councillor Harder noted that similar issues are
frequently raised in her ward, which are brought forward to staff on a weekly
basis and she asked if it was preferred they be raised by contacting staff
directly or during committee meetings.
The General Manager indicated that the former practice is more widely
used and if the response is unsatisfactory to the councillor, then the issue
can be raised at committee.
Councillor Legendre commented that he does work with staff, but in
this particular situation, he felt the resolution is uncertain so he wanted to
alert committee members to the fact there may have to be some emergency
measures put in place.
NOTICES OF MOTION (FOR CONSIDERATION AT
SUBSEQUENT MEETING)
AVIS DE MOTION (POUR ÉTUDE LORS D’UNE
RÉUNION ULTÉRIEURE)
Barriers at the U.S. Embassy on Sussex Drive
and MacKenzie Avenue
Councillor Cullen submitted to
the Coordinator a draft report, which he asked, be considered at the next
meeting. He indicated this would provide
an opportunity for councillors to ask questions.
ADJOURNMENT
LEVÉE DE LA SÉANCE
The Committee adjourned the meeting at 10:55
a.m.
__________________________ ________________________
Committee Coordinator Chair
