Annie is heading to Carleton to do her MBA – way to go Annie! The cost of parking at Carleton is NUTS and vehicular access is a dog’s breakfast and will be for the next couple of years as they go about expanding the O-Train through the campus. So, with these considerations in mind, along with all the other bonus benefits that come with pedal power, biking is a very appealing option. Here is a 13km ride which takes around 45 minutes at a leisurely pace.
Our ride begins at the corner of Rothbury Crescent and Provender Avenue.
Head south on Provender. Just as it bends left, continue straight along a concrete pathway that weaves up to Foxview Place.
Turn left and continue south for a short distance and hop onto the bike lane heading west along Montreal Road.
Once arrived at the Aviation Parkway, cross over to the opposite corner.
Follow the Aviation Pathway for a short distance, then follow the sign pointing towards Clarke Avenue.
Ride through this quiet neighbourhood, first along Clarke, then Claude St, and finally Mutual St.
This brings you to St Laurent Boulevard. St Laurent is a busy multi-lane artery often filled with speeding traffic. Ride north for a short block to the lights across to Guy St if traffic is light.
Alternatively, if traffic is heavy and you don’t feel safe you can walk your bike along the sidewalk to the lights at MacArthur. On the return trip, which I have indicated by an orange line on the map for this section, there is a bike lane from MacArthur to Mutual Street heading north. Why the city didn’t extend this bike lane as far as the lights at Guy St is baffling, especially since it leads straight to Rideau High School and would help encourage student cycling.
Follow Guy St then May St, which are quiet residential streets, to the segregated bike lane along MacArthur. These bike lanes were introduced just a few years ago and are a great addition to the east/west bike infrastructure.
Ride along MacArthur all the way to it’s western end, then cross the lights at North River Road through the parking lot that links to the Rideau River Eastern Pathway.
Follow this pathway to the Adawe Bridge that crosses over the Rideau River.
Continue straight heading west along Somerset St East. There aren’t bike paths along Somerset, but instead there is a ‘road diet’ whereby a car is expected to use the shared centre lane when passing a cyclist. Not sure if this is the best solution along most roads but I find in this instance it works quite well.
Unfortunately the road diet dissapears for a couple of short sections heading up the hill to King Edward Ave. Hélas, another example of Ottawa’s tendency towards missing bike links. Sidewalk it if you don’t feel safe.
Cross the lights at King Edward and head through the Ottawa U campus along Marie Curie.
Ottawa U deserves kudos for implementing some pretty good bike infrastructure over the last few years. Continue straight where Marie Currie ends.
This gets you to a funky twisty path down and under the O-Train tracks to Colonel By Drive.
The cross lights at Colonel By Drive lead you to the Rideau Canal Eastern Pathway. Turn left onto this pathway that hugs the canal.
Continue along the pathway past Dow’s Lake all the way to the Hartwell Locks.
Once arrived at the locks cross Colonel By Drive onto the Carleton University campus.
Et voila!
OttawaVeloOutaouais 