Ottawa Citizen Article: Crackdown on Cyclists on the Gatineau Parkway

One of the ladies in our riding group sent the article below around via email this morning. I had to post a response. A few people have since suggested I submit my response to the editor, or perhaps forge an op-ed piece. I'll do the former (with some improvements), and perhaps follow with the latter if possible. My response follows the article below. Please throw in your perspective.

NCC, police to crack down on cyclists, motorists in Gatineau Park

BY DAVE ROGERS, THE OTTAWA CITIZEN MAY 1, 2009

OTTAWA — Don’t ride your bicycle in double file, in “packs” of more than 15 or speed through stop signs this summer.

The National Capital Commission and police are cracking down on cyclists and motorists in Gatineau Park as part of a share the road campaign prompted by the increasing number of traffic violations in the park each year.

“Gatineau Park belongs to all of us and for that reason it is up to us — motorists, motorcyclists and cyclists — to ensure that we use the parkways in a spirit of respect, civic-mindedness, sharing and caution,” Marie Boulet, the NCC director of Gatineau Park and the Greenbelt, said Friday.

There are 750,000 visits to the park each year between May and October and an increasing number of traffic violations.

Some drivers exceed the park’s 40 km/h and 60 km/h speed limits, park illegally and run stop signs. Cyclists sometimes ignore NCC regulations that require them to ride in single file and in groups of no more than 15 riders.

RCMP Const. Suzanne Lefort said cyclists who ride in double file or in groups of more than 15 face $95 fines. Cyclists who run through stop signs face $15 fines, plus the loss of three demerit points if they have a driver’s licence. Also, cyclists were warned about speeding last year, but this year they will be ticketed.

Drivers who exceed the speed limit by more than 40 km/h could have their vehicles impounded for seven days.

Lefort said police issued 565 traffic tickets in the park in 2008, mostly for speeding and failure to stop at a stop sign. There were 35 collisions involving cars and motorcycles.

The NCC will distribute flyers explaining the traffic safety campaign.

Lefort said the RCMP, Gatineau and MRC des Collines police will patrol 30 kilometres of park roads daily.

© Copyright (c) The Ottawa Citizen

Edit: Here is the response I submitted to the Citizen:
Letter to the Editor Re: “NCC, police to crack down on cyclists, motorists in Gatineau Park” May 1 2009.



Since last spring, my group of riding friends and I have often lamented the manner in which cyclists are targeted on the Gatineau Parkway for riding two abreast, while it continues to be used as a race track for cars and motorcycles. If you've been on the parkway on a bike you'll know there are various spots marked with memorials for people who died in motorized accidents. But this point does not really address the issue at hand, which is about respect for cycling as a legitimate sport with strong links to both matters of sustainability and health.

Cycling for sport often becomes the catalyst for integration of cycling in day to day life. I've seen this many times in my years working in Ottawa bike shops. Cycling is also one of the best activities we can partake in for our health, regardless of age (even those with balance issues can ride adult trikes). Yet, the sport is conducted on open roads alongside traffic. Do kids have to resort to playing soccer on the street? No, their are countless fields in town. Do hockey players have to share the canal with skaters? No, tonnes of rinks abound. Is there any cycling specific infrastructure in the city? No. So cyclists try to get away from the traffic and enjoy some terrific terrain on the Gatineau Parkway.

The Parkway is where we do our sport. Riding two abreast is integral to road cycling in a group. In races, groups are far wider than this. But the general technique can be practiced riding two abreast. Nobody is asking the Parkway to be designated a car free zone. I think cyclists would simply like acknowledgment that the Parkway is one of the few relatively safe and interesting places for us to ride for sport. We would like to be afforded the right to conduct ourselves in a sporting fashion on the one piece of road that is not dominated by cars. Is this really too much to ask? Is it not enough that we already have to battle for our lives on city streets and roads, while drivers tell us we shouldn't be there? Please afford us the opportunity to enjoy the Parkway without the oppression of the ever dominant automotive imperative.

I realize that the NCC’s mandate does not explicitly compel the corporation to foster cycling culture, or any other outdoor recreation activity for that matter. But supporting cycling is not really a huge stretch, when the mandate requires the NCC to:

"prepare plans for and assist in the development, conservation and improvement of the National Capital Region in order that the nature and character of the seat of the Government of Canada may be in accordance with its national significance...."(1958)

and,

"...to organize, sponsor or promote such public activities and events in the National Capital Region as will enrich the cultural and social fabric of Canada.... "(1988).

Just what sort of nature and character is appropriate for the nation’s capital? This is no small question, for it delves into the core values underlying our social structure. What sort of city is healthy, vibrant, diverse and welcoming? How does car culture figure into such a city? What about cycling? Once a mainstay in Canadian and North American culture, the bicycle as cultural artifact has all but been effaced from the history we are served via filmic and televisual depictions of urban life prior WWII. When the car came in the bike went out, and ever since cyclists have been treated with little respect on the road, while racing faded to the margins of sport.

I submit that cycling always has been and will continue to be an element that is both part of and a positive contributor to the cultural and social fabric of Canada, and certainly the National Capital Region, home of the two oldest cycling clubs in Canada – the Ottawa Bicycle Club (est. 1882) and the Brockville Cycling Club (est. 1883). As such, I, and I suspect all cyclists in the region, would like to see the NCC adjust their perspective with regard to the manner in which cycling can be legally practiced on the Parkway.

The fact that some groups of cyclists have slowed drivers due to their girth on the road does not justify creating and enforcing new rules; we are talking about a Parkway that was created for scenic touring, not rapid transit. Drivers need to recognize that the Parkway is the one road the car does not own. That recognition cannot come about unless the NCC adopts a fresh approach.

Riding two abreast should be allowed. Groups greater than 15 should be allowed. Cyclists should continue to obey stop signs. These amendments to the current policy would reflect a shift of perspective toward considering the recreation (cycling, along with inline skating and skate skiing) the priority for the Parkway rather than driving. Enabling safe cycling in this manner – rather than displacing cyclists to more dangerous roads – would surely contribute positively to the cultural and social fabric of the region. The renown of the Parkway could grow rather than wither, and riders from afar would be eager to ride a route known for its beauty, challenge, and warm embrace for the avid cyclist. Young cyclists could ride the Parkway, learning the sport and possibly even chasing Olympic goals, without fear of being run over, or ticketed. Such is a dream of possibility.