● Advisory bike lanes coming to Ottawa?

The CBC is reporting that Ottawa is considering installing ‘advisory’ bike lanes on Byron Avenue between Island Park Drive and Sherbourne Avenue.

So what the heck is an ‘advisory’ bike lane? Basically, it’s a bike lane into which cars are allowed to encroach because the street is too narrow to accommodate two way motor vehicle traffic (see illustration below). It sounds to me like the end result would be very similar to sharrows.

Before moving into an advisory bike lane, cars would have to yield to cyclists. Unfortunately, for many motorists, the idea of yielding to a cyclist often produces a situation where the cyclist has to brake hard.

Whatever the case, it appears that advisory bike lanes have been used with some success in other cities. Moreover, they could be helpful as an educational tool to get motorist to understand that they have to share the road with cyclists.

advisory-lanes

1 Comment on ● Advisory bike lanes coming to Ottawa?

  1. not sure if this is a good idea, ottawa drivers have enough problems choosing what colored socks to put on in the morning let alone trying to figure this scheme out. Keep it simple is key. Add a bike lane to each side, keep it simple! Then comes quebec drivers, which further complicates the equation, even worse drivers… I like Pueto Rico though, in the city, cyclists drive down the center lane…. anything goes there though, including cycling down the highway late at night with cars passing at 140km/h … gotta keep it simple for the mind gets confused if things are too complex.

Leave a comment