Vanier is the entrance to the trailer park. I don't understand how there's room for 5 lanes of traffic along the strip, but no room for bike lanes. The strip connects two important cycling corridors in the west end: to the west there's the trans-Canada trail and other NCC trails near Nortel. To the east there's the trail system starting at Shouldice Farms, leading down to Andrew Haydon Park, and ultimately connecting to downtown and points beyond. The strip is a bike-lane-free zone between them. How many cyclists have to bounce of windshields before we get better biking infrastructure in Bells Corners?An 18-year-old woman is in serious but stable condition in hospital after she was hit by a taxi while cycling in Ottawa's west end Wednesday morning.
The cyclist's head hit the windshield of the taxi and she was thrown about the length of a parking space before landing on the road near Robertson Road and Vanier Street in the Bells Corners neighbourhood at about 9:30 a.m., said an Ottawa paramedic service news release.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Another argument for bike lanes
This is just so sad:
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3 comments:
I've bounced off some windshields in my time. Well, a windshield. And it was kind of my fault. Well, actually, mostly my fault. Really should have looked both ways. But! It did happen in Bells Corners. AND on 'the strip'. Outside the Spa, as a matter of fact, this January.
Hey Glen, glad that you're still around after bouncing off a few windshields. Not everyone is so lucky! I can only think of a few situations where a cyclist is 100% at fault for a bicycle-car collision. Cyclists need to be defensive, and drivers need to take more care around bikes. All of the risk in these collisions is on the cyclists' side! I nearly got hit by a van this am, who passed me with only cm to spare, while he had loads of room on the other side of the lane to make space.
With bike lanes, you don't have these road-sharing issues (at least in theory!).
Accident victim at fault?
The president of the Citizens for Safe Cycling posted in a blog that the girl who was hit by the taxi in front of the Tim Hortons was running a red light.
I asked him how he knew that because it wasn't mentioned in the Citizen story.
He emailed me back to say that it was the Citizen reporter who supplied the info.
The original article wasn't really accurate because it's impossible to go "northbound on Vanier" at that intersection, as it's a "T" shape with Vanier only going south into the trailer park.
Too bad she ran the red- that makes it sort of her fault.
I say "sort of" because this accident probably wouldn't have happened if the Bells Corners strip were cyclist-friendly.
It's five lanes wide with a large buffer area of shabby paving stones between the sidewalk and the curb but one whole lane is dedicated to drivers who want to hop in and out of the numerous dying strip malls that line both sides of the strip.
We're getting a BIA in Bells Corners but obviously their priorities won't include making the strip more pedestrian/cyclist-friendly.
They're talking about stringing up Xmas lights and hanging flower pots but their main push will be a marketing campaign aimed at getting Kanata suburban sprawl SUV drivers to take a break from cutting through Bells Corners to pull off Robertson/Richmond and spend some money.
Rick Chiarelli's main campaign promise during the election was "we've got to make Bells Corners a place people drive to, not just a place they drive through."
The man has vision!
Traffic on the strip is going to become even worse as sprawl continues in Bridlewood and all the agricultural land between Kanata and Stittsville is filled in with low density development.
It's unlikely any improvements will be made until the whole strip is refurbished in the next millennium (or until somebody is killed on the strip).
******
Charles Akben-Marchand - President@SafeCycling.ca wrote:
This correspondence from the writer of the Citizen article to one of
our members:
From: "Hughes, Graham (ott)" ghughes@thecitizen.canwest.com
Subject: RE: Citizen story: Robertson Road reopens after cyclist struck
Here's the story as it ran in the paper. Note the last paragraph which, I
suggest, addresses your concerns.
As it happens, the young lady ran the red light - an all-too-common
practice by some cyclists, I suggest. The cabbie was not charged, because
he did nothing wrong.
I understand that the young lady likely will not be charged; she's already
paid a heavy price for her actions.
Regards,
Graham
Police are investigating a collision between a taxi cab and a young
cyclist at the corner of Vanier and Robertson Roads in Bells Corners
Wednesday morning at about 9:45.
Robertson Road was closed between Moodie Drive and Richmond Road for
several hours while officers investigated the incident.
The 18-year-old female cyclist was taken to the Civic Campus of the Ottawa
Hospital after paramedics treated her for a fractured leg and head
injuries. Her injuries are not regarded as life-threatening.She was not
wearing a helmet and her head hit the cab's windshield before she was
thrown several yards by the impact.
The woman was northbound on Vanier at the traffic light controlled
intersection with Robertson when she was hit by the eastbound cab. The cab
driver does not face charges.
On Wed, Oct 1, 2008 at 3:49 AM, hibou wrote:
Charles, where did you hear that she ran a red light at the corner of
Robertson and Vanier? It wasn't reported that way.
I asked the people in the Tim Horton's facing the accident scene what
happened but they didn't know.
The reason I ask is that we're lobbying for a better deal for cyclists in
Bells Corners.
If the cyclist wasn't at fault it would reinforce our argument that the
strip in Bells Corners is one of the most dangerous places in the world to
bike this side of Kandahar.
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