Today the Glebe BIA made a blog post about how great it is to bike in the Glebe. Given the lackluster efforts made promote cycling in the Glebe from the BIA, as well as the city, such as fighting a cycle track on Bank Street, refusing to make bike lanes on the Bank St. bridge, etc. I thought that it would be fun to take their post and replace references to cycling with driving.
I want to thank the Glebe BIA for their post promoting cycling. It’s a step in the right direction. But this was just too good an opportunity to highlight the vast discrepancy between how they view cycling and how they view driving. Cycling is ok, as long as it doesn’t take away from driving. I thought that it was especially hilarious how proud the councillor was that there was finally a safe way to bike to the Glebe from other neighbourhoods.
Note: This is essentially their work, the original version is here. I’ve made a few creative changes. I also edited the quotes below – they are not what the original person said.
The Glebe is a driver’s dream.
Anyone on four wheels knows how great it is to jump in your car roll down the windows and stroll along the Rideau Canal, with a cool breeze waving through your hair, winding trails on either side and a view of Lansdowne Park’s stunning landmarks as you approach the Glebe.
But there’s much more to see on four wheels than just the canal route in the Glebe. If you head onto the Glebe’s residential streets, you’ll find an entire driving network that can get you where you need to go – downtown, Old Ottawa South, Centertown – and you’ll find a suite of car-friendly businesses once you get here.
“There are a lot of people in the Glebe who do drive already or would like to do it more in the Glebe,” says avid driver and Capital Ward Councillor David Chernushenko.
“The residential streets are very car-friendly in the sense that traffic is calm enough, the streets feel safe enough that most people are just out doing it without giving much thought to special driving infrastructure.”
But there is infrastructure built along various Glebe streets – on Fifth Avenue, Fourth Avenue, Third Avenue, Second Avenue, First Avenue, Bronson Avenue, Bank Street, O’Connor, Holmwood Avenue, and Monk Street, along with all of the other streets that can take you all throughout the neighbourhood. That doesn’t even include parking lots, including the flagship “mobility hub”. Driving infrastructure in the Glebe gets a major, $20 million boost every year. Cyclists will finally also have a viable path to the Glebe with the Fifth-Clegg Street footbridge that will connect the Glebe to the eastern neighbourhoods like Old Ottawa East and Alta Vista. The path, slated to open in 2019 or earlier, will give people a direct cycling, skateboarding or scootering route to the Glebe. Chernushenko calls the bridge “an eye-opener.”
“That will be an amazing addition to the whole network. That means you can go around the Glebe, you can go right through the Glebe, you can come in from different directions,” he adds.
“People driving from anywhere at all can take drive across any bridge and, there I am, at the football game, at my favourite restaurant on Bank Street, getting my bagels, going to work at the Civic Hospital through the Glebe.”
And if you’re looking for a more recreational drive, you can take the Queen Elizabeth Drive all the way from Lansdowne Park to the National Arts Centre downtown. And it’s a pretty easy drive on the eyes.
“Thousands and thousands of people use those roads and it’s an enormous attribute for the neighbourhood,” adds Chernushenko.
“If the most direct, fastest route isn’t necessarily your thing, you can find your way into the Glebe through all sorts of back door routes and have an uninterrupted beautiful drive.”
Once you’re here, you’ll find that drivers are more than welcomed on our Glebe streets. There are scores of dedicated parking lots and parking along our traditional main street, service stations, and a suite of shops, restaurants and services that cater to drivers and their needs.
“Just like a cyclist, you want to be able to park as close as possible to the door, you want to be in a parking spot that is safe, that someone who says ‘hey, can I fill up my coffee mug,’ gets a, ‘sure absolutely’ response,” says Chernushenko.
“Those are the little things that make you the go-to pub, café, restaurant for people who want to come by car.”
Even those who don’t have a car can head to the Glebe and be on four wheels in no time with Vrtucar. Hop in a car at four different Glebe locations and cruise in morning traffic; turn lunch hours into thrill rides, and welcome errands as sun-soaked adventures.
The greater driving community of Ottawa is a huge one, and there are tons of resources available for those wanting to get involved. Click here for information on winter maintained driving routes throughout the city, or check out the frequently updated road conditions across Ottawa. There’s also several driving clubs in the city
So, pump up those tires and spin your way to the Glebe, you may never want to leave.