I recently returned from Copenhagen, Denmark, exhilarated and in awe of a city that truly functions and prioritizes its people. Read MoreDue to poor planning, urban sprawl and a dysfunctional public transportation system, Ottawa has fallen behind. We need workable solutions.
Due to poor planning, urban sprawl and a dysfunctional public transportation system, Ottawa has fallen behind. We need workable solutions.
Article content
I recently returned from Copenhagen, Denmark, exhilarated and in awe of a city that truly functions and prioritizes its people.
Article content
That city was designed and evolved to serve people rather than cars, accommodating families, bikes and strollers. Copenhagen is completely conducive to walking or biking. There is no shortage of public transportation. Numerous bus, train and metro options meet travel needs within the city and beyond.
Article content
Article content
Story continues below
Article content
With such an efficient and well-designed road, bike and transit system, there is not the same need for cars. This means much less car ownership and use, and far fewer cars on roads. Throughout Copenhagen, at any time of the day, there is scarcely, if any, traffic congestion. It’s a sight to see and hear — the absence of cars.
Article content
Naysayers will argue Copenhagen’s weather is better than Ottawa’s, and it can therefore accommodate such a system, and that Copenhagen was designed for this purpose — to reduce the need for cars and support other transportation modes.
Article content
That doesn’t mean we can’t strive for more.
Article content
How is it that we are leagues behind? Will Ottawa ever catch up to European counterparts?
Article content
With poor planning, urban sprawl and a dysfunctional public transportation system, Ottawa has fallen behind in terms of what a city can offer its people. We need workable solutions.
Article content
Story continues below
Article content
For example, I used to walk or bike 4.5 kilometres to work, but then I changed work locations. Though I am only 14 km from my new workplace, I can no longer bike. I am too afraid of being hit by a car on the commute. There is also no direct bus service to my workplace, and the train is not yet a viable option. I have to rely on a car, and yet I live well within the city.
Article content
Read More
-
Canton: Brian Doyle, at 90, remains ‘one of the greatest writers of books for children that Canada has ever seen’
-
Denley: Mayor must reform Ottawa’s incompetent, sluggish planning department
-
Advertisement embed-more-topic
Story continues below
Article content
Other transportation limitations immediately come to mind.
Article content
From either direction, the Queensway is a nightmare to use, congested, somehow, at any given time.
Article content
Bike lanes were installed helter-skelter throughout the city with no consistency, and do not provide easy connections. They are also unsafe. They are not one-directional, as they are in Denmark, where a bike does not compete for space on the road. Here, there is also uncertainty that a bike lane will suddenly, well, just end.