Cycling

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Statistics on Daily Cycling Counts at a number of locations across the City are published on the City of Ottawa website by typing "counters" into the search box at the following link:

Cycling Count Data Downloads (10 locations)

City of Ottawa Cycling web page

Ottawa Cycling Advocacy Group - Citizen for Safe Cycling - website

2025-2046 Active Transportation Planned Projects

As part of the 2022 Transportation Master Plan Phase 1 Update, the list of proposed walking and cycling related infrastructure projects to be implemented over the 2025 to 2046 time frame was published.

2025-2046 Active Transportation Plan - Project List

Road SAfety Action Plan - RSAP

In 2019 the City initiated a new strategic program to reduce the number of serious and fatal injuries by 20% by 2024 (and to 0 fatalities by 2035) and seeded the initiative with annual budget funding.  Shortly thereafter the Province of Ontario empowered municipalities to install speed cameras in community safety zones.  The City of Ottawa moved to install many such camera and dedicated the revenue from fines collected by these cameras to the RSAP project.  Since then, annual funding for this project has increased to 30m$ (as of 2025).  

The program focuses on the following key areas: 

• vulnerable road users (pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists)

• intersection safety (protecting drivers as well as vulnerable road users)

• rural areas (mostly protecting drivers on higher speed roads)

• high risk drivers (education and enforcement programs)

Documents describing the program details and ongoing annual reports are available on this RSAP page

Cycling Infrastructure Project Plans

The City has implemented a mapping tool which displays the full list of planned cycling infrastructure investments as outlined in the most recent Cycling Plan.  To access take the link below and once there look for the small layers symbol (3 horizontal sheets layered on top of eachother) in the row of symbols along the top right of the sreeen.    Once you click on this symbol, a dropdown menu will appear allowing you to tick the box for "Active Transportation", then click the down arrow symboladjacent to this box in order to be shown more detailed selections where you can tick the box for "Planning", then click the down arrow adjacent to this box where you can tick the next box for "Transportation Master Plan".  This will display these items on the map.

http://maps.ottawa.ca/geoottawa/

The list of cycling projects are described as P1-xx (2014-2018), P2-xx (2019-2023), P3-xx (2023-2031).  A more detailed description of each of these projects can be found in the Cycling Master Plan (see below).

Ottawa Cycling Master Plan

This document is part of the Transportation Master Plan which is updated every 5 years.  The Cycling plan provides an overview of the City of Ottawa's strategy to promote greater levels of cycling looking forward over a 20 year time horizon.  It describes measures such as new bike infrastructure, bike parking, integration of cycling with transit, and cycling promotion/education/safety programs.  

In the 2013 Transportation Master Plan, 70m$ was allocated for investment in cycling over the 2014-2031 timeframe (approx 3.5m$ per year or 1.8% of the City's total capital investment in transportation infrastructure).  In addition, a further 40m$ was set aside specifically for bridges for pedestrians and cyclists.

The 2013 TMP provides the following chart, indicating the goal is to grow the number of cycling trips made during the 2.5 hour morning peak period from 12,300 trips in 2011 (2.7% of all trips)  to 30,100 trips by 2031 (5.0%) of all trips.

Click on this link to access the 2013 Cycling Plan (3.8MB)

Click on this link to access the  2008 Cycling Plan (11.5MB)

The City of Ottawa web pages related to cycling:  City of Ottawa Cycling Master Plan.

NCC Vision for Parkway/Driveway Network

The NCC has published a vision document outlining their vision, proposed direction for their Parkway and Driveways Network.   

In general the FCA is supportive of the NCC's recognition of the greater role the Parkways and Driveways should play for active transportation users both recreationally and for commuting.  Focus needs to be on slowing down car traffic and making the parkways/driveways into corridors that are safer and more enjoyable for all users.