Permanent Holland bike lanes

As the new Jackie Holzman bridge was being constructed, the City installed bike lanes and traffic calming on Holland while pedestrian and cycling traffic was detoured and a level of cycling infrastructure installed. As I noted in my newsletter a few times, I've received requests from cyclists and Bike Ottawa to make those measures permanent. Staff have been evaluating whether that is feasible, and I have been informed that it is. To that end, I expect at the Transportation Committee meeting in October to bring notice of a motion asking to make the existing measures permanent that will be voted on at the November meeting.

The configuration would remain the same as what is in place today, although I continue to have a discussion with City staff about the location of the northbound bus stop. The key change will be an increase in the speed limit to 40 km/h from the current 30. Holland is a transit priority corridor and the current temporary speed reduction is affecting operations. I'm also frequently vexed by the unenforceability of the speed limit which leads to frustration in my office and on the part of residents. This is an issue I'd like to re-visit when the signage issues associated with speed cameras in urban areas are resolved that I would hope lead to the eventual installation of speed cameras and school zone rules in front of Fisher.

With the bridge now open, the shared sidewalk designation will also be removed. Holland is well-used by commuting cyclists and it would be a step backwards to remove the minimal infrastructure that's already there. I believe that Holland is safer for having the measures in place that we have. Over time, we're also responding to speed concerns further south on Holland with traffic calming. It is my belief that traffic would be calmed north of Kenilworth with the bike lanes in place on a permanent basis.