Abstract Manager

The establishment of active transportation facilities, such as bike lanes, cycle tracks, sidewalks, and protected intersections, is vital for improving mobility in urban and suburban areas. These modes of transportation encourage physical activity and decrease dependence on cars, promoting better public health. Thoughtful planning and design of these facilities can create safer and more accessible spaces that benefit a wide range of users, including children, the elderly, and those with disabilities.

In recent years, the City of Ottawa has prioritized the development of active transportation facilities, including the development of the City’s ‘Protected Intersection Design Guide’, which provides guidance on incorporating dedicated cycling facilities and accessibility measures into the City’s roadway projects.  Successful implementation of the active transportation facilities requires a deep understanding of local conditions, site constraints, community needs, and engagement with stakeholders. Robinson Consultants has recently completed detailed designs for two distinct 2 km segments of Bank Street, one of Ottawa’s longest and busiest streets, each with unique right-of-way characteristics. This presentation focuses on the two segments of Bank Street and examines the challenges of developing active transportation facilities in both urban reconstruction and suburban widening sections of the corridor, utilizing the City’s Protected Intersection Design Guide, and informed by best practices and insights from the recent design projects.

The urban reconstruction section, stretching from Riverside Drive to Collins Avenue, features a highly constrained commercial corridor with high traffic volumes, numerous private and commercial entrances, limited property setbacks, significant overhead and underground utilities, and ongoing redevelopment properties. Conversely, the suburban section, from Leitrim Road to Dun Skipper Drive, is in a growing area characterized by a mix of rear yard and window street residential properties and larger commercial sites, ongoing developments and managing significant traffic and heavy vehicle volumes from nearby quarries.

The characteristics of the right-of-ways posed distinct challenges for each design. While some specific issues were common across both projects, they manifested differently in each segment. These challenges included protected intersection design, connections for cycling and pedestrians on side streets, auxiliary lanes and channelization, grading and tie-ins for adjacent properties, access design, bus stop design, selection of utility corridors, street lighting design, traffic signal design, encroachments into city right-of-way, and property acquisitions. Additionally, the urban segment was challenged with a bridge to the north and lane reductions on the bridge were analyzed to provide room for cycling lanes in each direction.