Exactly!! Along with the above, you also get nice continuous street walls as seen here in Porto 😍
As if another reason to support Ottawa finally getting a bike share program was needed, but there you have it. Right @shawnmenard.bsky.social and @glengower.ca?
If I were to guess there’s two main ways:
1. It’s 3 storeys and under
2. They went through the “Alternative Solutions” framework.
Looking at streetview, I’m going to say it’s technically 3 storeys and under.
Found this great website that shows prototypes & pilots for point-access blocks in BC. Would love to see these made here in #Ottawa!
Lower o'all per-unit costs, well-designed & fam-friendly 3&4-bed units, less land-consolidation, 3-6 storeys, encourages missing-middle & mixed-use.
singlestair.ca
Density without displacement.
Accessibility as a standard feature.
No land assembly required.
Efficient and (more) affordable.
Light, Air and a Social Stair.
This is an interesting idea. Pick a commercial area in Ottawa that could use more foot traffic, identify a vacant store, City retrofits it for bike parking. It's likely cheaper than building new infrastructure. Even as - dare I say - a pilot project. @sjamieit.bsky.social thoughts?
In political communications, "message discipline" is seen as an asset. But when the same message keeps being repeated despite the fact that it's not resonating, then it becomes a liability. With Mayor Sutcliffe's oft-repeated boast about Ottawa's low taxes, I think we're at that point. 1/
Unbelievable. Or sadly, all too believable. We haven’t even got the root cause analysis of the first cartridge bearing assembly issue, and now we expect to get a root cause analysis of another problem with the same component? www.ctvnews.ca/ottawa/artic...
Excited to see more discussion on single-egress stair (SES) housing. I started advocating for this with City of Ottawa staff in 2023 and recently started again. SES opens the door to more infill development and diversifies the range of units being built. www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/artic... 1/
You know that bike lanes work when even the anti-bike lane party decides to ramp up investment.
Le #CEREMA vient de publier un dossier spécial "Carrefours cyclables en milieu urbain : les règles de conception". On y trouve les clés pour réussir un aménagement qui a toutes les chances de bien fonctionner. N'hésitez pas à l'utiliser. Avec un exemple à Clermont Ferrand ;) @cerema.bsky.social
Open-source PAB infill templates are awesome, thank you!! Would love to make these work in Ottawa / Ontario as well 🤩
Working to come up with a reasonably simple rule set for single-stair infill buildings.
Transitways should require:
Fast & comfortable vehicles that are dedicated to the line
Level platform boarding
Full right-of-way separation
Full Signal Priority
Appropriate stop spacing (0.5-1km apart)
High frequencies (Every ~5-10mins)
...standard. That's how you make transit truly work well. 🔥
So... back to the Finch West LRT.
Here's the thing: They... installed it! It's there. But its turned OFF. And now this $3.5B project is being held back when it should be allowed to excel.
It's ridiculous (a bit pathetic honestly) but that's their decision. #Ottawa, let's ensure we don't repeat it.
If we want transit in Canada we need to adapt to our context. Subways work really well in high density areas (and we should still build them where possible!) but much of our cities need transit in lower-density areas too.
This is where Priority Transitways come in, and we need to design them right.
Making transit in Canada is theoretically easy, but hard politically.
Why? Money! 💸
That's why this is so important: This makes the Transitway work like it was almost an underground subway -- except it isn't, and as such is much, much less costly to build.
We're talking 5-10X LESS $/km here!
Now, after just a few seconds, the transit vehicle passes through with (in Finch's case) up to 300 people through without stopping!
This dramatically speeds up the whole transit line, making it a much more convenient solution for the average person to get around.
Now that's efficiency. 💯
It's awesome, powerful, and should be requisite -- here's how it works:
As a transit vehicle approaches an intersection, the vehicle talks with the lights to let it know it's coming.
Instead of sitting & waiting through the light for a few vehicles to pass, we can flip the light direction.
Pushing the "make it worse" button on a $3.5B project sounds insane, right?
While I'm always excited for more transit in Canada, the Finch West LRT is showing #Ottawa something NOT to do for our future rapid lines like the Baseline Transitway.
Let's talk about two crucial words: Signal Priority.
While we need better design standards for our crossings, adopting the use of permeable pavement would really help in cases like these.
The more #transit, the better! Can't wait to ride the REM extension this Monday.
Ford:
There are two speed cameras on Walkley Rd between Bank and St Laurent that were installed in 2024. In 2022 that stretch of Walkley had 34 collisions with injuries. In 2024, after the cameras were turned on, there were just 4 collisions with injuries. Speed cameras work.
Today marks the end of the Automated Speed Enforcement camera program across Ontario. For anyone concerned about the impact of speeding on the safety of vulnerable road users, and who believes in data-based decision-making, this day is filled with frustration, disappointment, and deep concern. 1/
Yeah, energy usage is important to consider. That's why I think limiting it to only hard-to-plow areas makes sense. It's easy to plow the straight sections, but a lot of snow can build up in say the intersections -- the area with the most conflict points where you want it to be as clear as possible!
I'm excited to see how it works this year, both for heavy snow loads, as well as how it prevents ice formation on the surface.
With the first snowfall arriving in #Ottawa, I really wish we'd make it standard that for areas w/ complex/hard-to-plow surfaces (stairs/bus stops/bike racks/etc) we'd install heating (w/ permeable pavement) to melt snow and keep things clear & safe.
FYI, the new bridge at Kiweki Point is heated!🔥
It's stupid that we even have to fight things like this.
The benefit of bike infrastructure in cities is clear. Ensuring there's a lane for everything (cars, transit, bikes, & walking) gives people choice, and when those choices are more space-efficient, that frees up room and eases congestion.
