Defence Research and Recherche et de´veloppement Development Canada pour la de´fense Canada

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Active commuting to Star Top

Some suggestions from scientist-cyclists

Matthew R. MacLeod Talia J. Beech

Terms of Release: This document is approved for release to Public Release. Further distribution of this document or information contained herein is prohibited without the written approval of Defence Research and Development Canada (DRDC).

Defence Research and Development Canada Reference Document DRDC-RDDC-2019-D077 July 2019

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IMPORTANT INFORMATIVE STATEMENTS

This document was reviewed for Controlled Goods by DRDC using the Schedule to the Defence Production Act.

Disclaimer: This publication was prepared by Defence Research and Development Canada an agency of the Department of National Defence. The information contained in this publication has been derived and determined through best practice and adherence to the highest standards of responsible conduct of scientific research. This information is intended for the use ofthe Department of National Defence, the Canadian Armed Forces (“Canada") and Public Safety partners and, as permitted, may be shared with academia, industry, Canada’s allies, and the public (“Third Parties"). Any use by, or any reliance on or decisions made based on this publication by Third Parties, are done at their own risk and responsibility. Canada does not assume any liability for any damages or losses which may arise from any use of, or reliance on, the publication.

Endorsement statement: This publication has been published by the Editorial Office of Defence Research and Development Canada, an agency of the Department of National Defence of Canada. Inquiries can be sent to: [email protected].

⃝c Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, Department of National Defence, 2019 ⃝c Sa Majesté la Reine en droit du Canada, Ministère de la Défense nationale, 2019

CAN UNCLASSIFIED Abstract

Several Defence Scientists who work at Star Top Road regularly commute by bike or other active transportation. As scientists are rotated through these positions—as are our military colleagues—they decided to document and share their experiences, to better enable people who are working in the building for the first time to understand their options.

Résumé

De nombreux scientifiques de la Défense travaillant sur le chemin Star Top se déplacent régulièrement en vélo ou en transport actif. Les scientifiques affectés à cet endroit, tout comme nos collègues militaires, ont décidé de consigner et de partager leurs expériences afin que les personnes qui y travaillent pour la première fois comprennent les options qui s’offrent à eux.

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ii DRDC-RDDC-2019-D077 Table of contents

Abstract ...... i

Résumé ...... i

Table of contents ...... iii

List of figures ...... iv

Acknowledgements ...... v

1 Introduction ...... 1

1.1 A note on Coventry Road ...... 1

1.2 References and nomenclature ...... 1

1.3 Notes on the facilities ...... 2

2 Western approaches ...... 3

2.1 Connecting to the bike network ...... 3

2.2 Tunney’s to the Canal ...... 4

2.2.1 Northern route—Rideau River ...... 4

2.2.2 Central route—Laurier protected lane ...... 4

2.2.3 Southern route—Trillium Pathway ...... 5

2.3 Crossing the ...... 6

2.3.1 (Somerset St) ...... 6

2.3.2 Pretoria Bridge ...... 7

2.3.3 Flora Footbridge ...... 7

2.4 Rideau Canal to Rideau River ...... 7

2.4.1 Somerset option ...... 8

2.4.2 Lees option ...... 8

2.4.3 Hurdman Bridge variant ...... 9

DRDC-RDDC-2019-D077 iii 2.5 Rideau River to Star Top ...... 10

2.6 Tremblay Road option ...... 10

2.7 Industrial—Innes variant ...... 11

2.8 St. Laurent—Cyrville variant ...... 11

3 Southern approaches ...... 13

3.1 Connecting to the bike network ...... 13

3.2 Rideau River Route ...... 13

3.2.1 Station to Rideau River ...... 13

3.2.1.1 Western route—Hog’s Back Park ...... 14

3.2.1.2 Eastern route—Airport Continuation ...... 14

3.2.2 Rideau River to Star Top ...... 14

3.3 Greenboro Pathway route ...... 14

3.4 Conroy—St. Laurent variant ...... 15

3.5 Hawthorne—St. Laurent variant ...... 15

3.6 St. Laurent Rd—Innes Rd–Startop Rd ...... 16

4 Central—North Approaches ...... 17

4.1 Aviation Parkway option ...... 17

4.2 Rideau River option ...... 17

4.3 Alternatives to consider ...... 18

5 Concluding thoughts ...... 19

References ...... 21

List of symbols, abbreviations, and initialisms ...... 21

List of figures

Figure 1: Map of the Greenboro Pathway system. Map data: Google...... 15 iv DRDC-RDDC-2019-D077 Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge Ramzi Mirshak for advice on his routes.

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vi DRDC-RDDC-2019-D077 1 Introduction

The authors decided to put this document together as the 2018 posting season approached, and they found they were being asked to give advice on their cycling and other active transportation options to get to Star Top. This was particularly pressing as the number of occupants in the building continued to increase, parking remained a challenging topic, and the public transit options remain limited. While many Defence Scientists (DSs) have cycled to the Star Top building over the years, the best routes are not completely obvious. As the 2019 posting season approached, many of the same challenges remained, and ’s light rail system remain delayed. This guide has therefore been produced to help both DSs and other military and civilian occupants of the building.

1.1 A note on Coventry Road

The authors have not worked at 285 Coventry Road, and targeted this guide at all residents of 1600 Star Top rather than to Canadian Joint Operations Command (CJOC) generally. That said, many of the routes pass by the Coventry Road facility, so this guide can provide some context.

Specifically, the Max Keeping pedestrian bridge connects Tremblay Rd (see Section 2.6 for the approach from the West) near the Via Rail station to the vicinity of the baseball stadium across the street from 285 Coventry Rd. An approach to this area from the South is also possible (see Section 3.2.2).

Approaching from North of Coventry Rd the approach is less well known to the authors. The intersection of the Vanier Parkway and Coventry Rd is fairly hostile to pedestrians and cyclists, and is best avoided. If approaching from the Rideau River Eastern pathway, one could simply continue up to connect to the Tremblay Rd option, although this involves crossing the 417 only to cross back over. It appears from Google Maps that a cycling cross- ride exists at Presland Rd and Vanier Parkway, one intersection North of Coventry Road, which is likely a safe crossing option (there is a back way to reach this intersection from the pathway, involving Prindville St, N River Rd, and W Presland Rd). It is not obvious from the map the best way to then get to 285 Coventry Rd, but it could involve going as far as Lola St and then coming back down Coventry Rd.

1.2 References and nomenclature

There are several overlapping jurisdictions in the National Capital Region (NCR). For consistency, National Capital Commission (NCC) maintained pathways will be referred to by the names used on its website [1]. References will also be made to infrastructure. Frequent mention will be made of Multi-use Paths (MUPs), which are shared pathways for the use of cyclists, pedestrians, and other low speed traffic (generally they are posted with a speed limit of 20 km/h).

DRDC-RDDC-2019-D077 1 Another valuable resource for those searching for routes not listed here is Bike Ottawa’s interactive biking maps [2], which can be used to plot level of ‘traffic stress’ (i.e., how bike friendly a given route is), amongst other features.

1.3 Notes on the facilities

Star Top has bicycle racks near both the front and back entrances of the building. Those using the back racks will have to be prepared to show their building pass to the Commis- sionaires to access the back parking lot. Both sets of racks are exposed to the elements.

Showers and change rooms are available in the Star Top gym. Notably, they are closed for cleaning from 0900–1000, so those whose work hours tend to start later in the morning must plan to arrive in time to shower and change prior to their closure. The lockers in the changerooms are only for temporary use, so one must be prepared to store their cycling clothes, helmet, etc., in their workspace.

2 DRDC-RDDC-2019-D077 2 Western approaches

Mr. MacLeod commutes from the West side of downtown (in the vicinity of Tunney’s Pasture). Those commuting from further West can join this route along the Pathway near Parkdale Rd/Tunney’s Pasture, or from the South-West near Dow’s Lake.

His intent is to ride on dedicated bike infrastructure where possible, even if creates a slightly longer route. That said, coming from the West there are a few unavoidable choke points in crossing the Rideau Canal and Rideau River, that force some difficult choices—although improvements to bike infrastructure are underway to mitigate these.

Notably this route is basically from Tunney’s Pasture to Cyrville, which is nearly the full length of Phase 1 of the of the Light Rail Transit (LRT) system. As it is currently government policy to include active transportation routes along all new transit corridors, there are several new connections and changes going in along this route that are likely to improve cycling along this axis (as well as providing a rapid transit alternative for days where biking is less appealing).

2.1 Connecting to the bike network

There are a few options to enter bike network from the Mechanicsville area:

North up Parkdale — biking North along Parkdale Ave, a bike lane appears on the right near Burnside Ave. As Parkdale Ave passes under the John A. MacDonald Parkway and becomes the westbound on-ramp, small bike cut-outs appear on the right and left, to enable bikes to wait for a break in traffic to make a left turn across the off- ramp. From there a short length of path connects to the Ottawa River Parkway. In reverse the connection is a bit less friendly, as the bike lane abruptly ends, one has to contend with merging traffic from the eastbound off ramp, and making aleftturn into Mechanicsville requires turning left in a regular traffic lane.

East to Bayview — at the North edge of Mechanicsville, one can take Burnside Ave going East to a roundabout, allowing one to connect to Bayview Rd going South, and make a left turn onto a path that connects behind the Bayview LRT station to the Trillium Pathway. Burnside Ave has modest traffic calming measures, and heading East one gets a speed boost from a substantial hill down to the roundabout. There are wide parking lanes on each side of Bayview, which can be used as ersatz bike lanes, particularly early in the morning when they are relatively free of cars. Coming in reverse the main issue is tackling the hill at the end of a long ride, while contending with cars parked on the street and approaching from behind.

Scott Multi-use Path — Scott St features a MUP along the /LRT corridor. Where it crosses Bayview Ave, one can make a “left” turn (as this is a pedestrian crossing one should walk their bike) onto Bayview, and then a quick right onto the

DRDC-RDDC-2019-D077 3 aforementioned path behind . In reverse, one can make a left into traffic, and then a quick right onto the MUP.

2.2 Tunney’s to the Canal

There are three main routes that one can use to get from Tunney’s to the Rideau Canal, which will be discussed in turn.

2.2.1 Northern route—Rideau River

This is perhaps the least complicated route, at least to explain. One takes the Rideau River Pathway all the way East (uninterrupted save for one light at Booth St), until it essentially turns into the Rideau Canal Western Pathway at the locks to the East of Parliament. The notable downsides are the relative length of the route, and coming East the lengthy and steep hill between Parliament and the locks. Coming West the hill coming approaching Portage Bridge is not as steep or long, but can be tiring towards the end of a commute.

Making the transition from the Canal pathway to the River pathway is less intuitive coming West/North. If one continues on the pathway next to the Canal when crossing under Laurier, one will eventually have to climb some stairs to rejoin the bike path. While it involves riding against the (limited) flow of traffic, one can bike up the ramp next to the Nataional Arts Centre, and connect directly back onto the bike path at the North East corner of the building. This works in reverse as well.

Finally, it should be noted that spring flooding in 2017 and 2019 has covered parts ofthis pathway, which in some areas (notably behind ) requiring lengthy closures for repairs and rebuilding.

2.2.2 Central route—Laurier protected lane

When one connects to the bike network behind Bayview station (or comes South up the Trillium Pathway from the Ottawa River Pathway), one can continue East up a bike path that connects back onto the Albert St MUP. As Albert splits into Albert St and Slater St approaching downtown, there is a small intersection signalized for bikes to cross over Albert St, connecting to a bike path that runs up the ‘Nanny Goat Hill’ connecting bikes to the intersection of Slater St and Laurier Ave, which is also signalized for bikes. After crossing in both directions, one follows a swooping path around a dog park, and can cross the road to join the Laurier protected lane. When in the lane one will receive signal priority over cars (the light turns for cyclists and pedestrians a few seconds before cars), and there are bike boxes to enable turns. For purposes of reaching the Canal, one takes the off ramp just prior to the MGen Pearkes building at 101 Colonel By, and crosses Queen Elizabeth Drive to join the Rideau Canal Western Pathway.

Coming in reverse, one joins the protected lane by taking the same on-ramp to Laurier Ave heading East that cars reaching the end of Queen Elizabeth Drive will take. This involves

4 DRDC-RDDC-2019-D077 merging between two lanes of traffic (there is an extended right turn lane between thebike lane and the sidewalk starting from before the crossing at City Hall, all the way to Elgin), so can be stressful, but the traffic is usually at or near a standstill during commuting1 hours. The connection at the Eastern terminus of the lane back across to the Albert MUP works as well or better than in the other direction (one does not need to cross Laurier Ave).

The main disadvantage to this route is that although the lane is protected, drivers can en- gage in unexpected or illegal behaviour along Laurier, so one must still stay alert (Mr. Mac- Leod prefers not to do this stretch in the morning for this reason, but will take it in the evening if in a hurry—e.g., if it is raining). Trucks will sometimes park on the lane to un- load, and pedestrians, mobility device users, and even cyclists heading in the other direction have a tendency to dip into the lane. It does have the other advantage of connecting to the O’Connor St protected lane, which can be useful for diverting to run errands in . The traffic lights also seem well-timed for keeping a steady pace of approximately 20km/h.

2.2.3 Southern route—Trillium Pathway

The most southerly route, and Mr. MacLeod’s preferred route, makes use of the Trillium Pathway.2 This pathway runs from the Ottawa River Pathway and Bayview station in the North, down to Dow’s Lake in the South, with non-signaled crossing at Gladstone Ave and Beech St, and fully signalized crossing for cyclists and pedestrians at Carling Ave. The majority is a MUP, although between Beech and Carling there are separate paths for pedestrians and for cyclists. One downside is that as of late May 2019 until Fall 2020 the pathway involves a detour between Gladstone Ave and Young St due to 417 bridge replacement. The detour consists of bi-directional separated lanes on Preston St and Young St, and sharing the lane on the quieter Louisa St [4].

After crossing Carling, the path continues South to Prince of Wales Dr, then takes a left turn towards the intersection of Preston St and Prince of Wales/Queen Elizabeth, crossing a parking entrance. One has two options to cross the road: a) immediately when reaching Prince of Wales Dr one can wait for a gap in traffic, and make a full left turn to end up inthe bike lane on the other side of the road; or b) one can take the path to the intersection, and use the crossing signals to cross in both directions (recognizing that legally one will need to dismount and walk their bike). Coming back East, Mr. MacLeod has been opting to merge onto Queen Elizabeth Dr from the pathway using the curb cut-outs further back from the intersection, bike through the intersection with traffic, join the bike lane on the other side of the intersection, then take the turn onto the path just past the parking entrance.

Once on the Rideau Canal Western Pathway, it is relatively straightforward to bike as far as the Fifth–Clegg Bridge, the Pretoria Bridge, or the Corktown Footbridge as desired.

The main advantage of this route is that it starts out on a proper separated path in the morning, and in the evening can allow for a relaxing end to the commute and/or side trips

1 This “floating lane” portion was the site of a fatality in May 2019[3]. 2 This path is owned and maintained by the City of Ottawa, rather than the NCC.

DRDC-RDDC-2019-D077 5 to Preston St. The main disadvantage is the lack of good connections to get through the final hurdle of crossing Prince of Wales/Queen Elizabeth to join the Canal pathway.3

2.3 Crossing the Rideau Canal

There are relatively few points at which one can usefully cross the Canal on a bike. While the road bridges for Bronson Ave, Bank St, Laurier Ave, and Mackenzie King all make some concession to bikes, they do not provide useful enough connections to justify their consideration in this context. When using the Southern route to connect to the Canal, one could also consider the option to bike up the West side of Dow’s lake and cross over to the Rideau Canal Eastern Pathway at the Hartwell Locks near Carleton, but this is a considerable diversion.4 This then leaves the Corktown Footbridge and Pretoria Bridge, and the new option of the Fifth–Clegg bridge [5].

2.3.1 Corktown Footbridge (Somerset St)

The Corktown Footbridge essentially provides a connection from Somerset St West to Som- erset St East (interrupted by the ), and other than the various locks is one of only two motor vehicle-free crossing of the Rideau Canal in the city, along with the new Fifth-Clegg bridge. While that makes it useful to bike across to connect from the Western Pathway to the Eastern Pathway, it also means it can be quite congested with pedestrians, other cyclists, and photo seekers. On the West side there is basically a four- way intersection for pedestrians and cyclists, and on the East side there are some tight switchbacks.

This has been the easiest place to cross on a bike up until the completion of the Fifth-Clegg bridge, but it is quite out of the way from the Southern route from Tunney’s to the Canal.

It also worth noting that the East side of this bridge connects pretty directly into the uOt- tawa LRT station. A MUP connects from this station along the tracks to , and thjen across the Rideau River to connect with the other pathways in the vicinity of Hur- dman station. This provides a useful additional cycling route option, although—especially after work—it may be quite congested with students moving between Lees, uOttawa, and other area destinations, and the underpass at the uOttawa station that connects to the Canal may be particularly difficult to bike through.5

3 At a public information session Mr. MacLeod was told that because the parking lot in this area is slated for redevelopment as part of a new hospital site, the city was not interested in building a more complicated design that would need to change in a few years. An improved crossing should therefore not be expected in the near term. 4 Cyclists beginning their commute in the South West may consider this option, but realistically they could simply take the Rideau River Eastern Pathway from Hogs Back all the way to Hurdman, and avoid entering downtown altogether. 5 This underpass also provides for cyclists passing through to the bike infrastructure on Somerset St E, which connects to another pedestrian/cycling bridge over the Rideau River, so it is a major artery/chokepoint for active transportation.

6 DRDC-RDDC-2019-D077 2.3.2 Pretoria Bridge

The Pretoria Bridge (where Elgin St transitions into Hawthorne Ave) is a crucial connection across the Canal due to being well located, relatively flat, and hosting bike lanes, but due to its historical character and narrow width there are limited concessions to ease connecting onto or off of it.

Connecting from the Rideau Canal Western Pathway, there is a path offshoot about 100 m south of the bridge that allows one to merge into traffic on Queen Elizabeth Dr across from Patterson Ave (there is a path offshoot closer to the intersection, but there is no curb cutout at its end to smoothly join the roadway). This allows one to join the right turn lane onto the bridge, and make a right turn into the bike lane on the bridge.

Connecting to the bridge from the East is only really legally possible on a bike by either a) coming in straight from Hawthorne Ave, or, b) making a left turn from Colonel By (how one connects to these locations will be discussed below). Heading South on the Eastern Pathway, it is possible to come up an offshoot of the path towards the intersection, but this becomes a pedestrian sidewalk before reaching the intersection, and it is difficult to enter the bike lane from this angle. In most situations if one is already North of Pretoria on the Eastern Pathway, it makes more sense to use the Corktown Footbridge.

2.3.3 Flora Footbridge

As this document is being finalized the Fifth–Clegg (or “Flora Footbridge”) is due for completion within days, so this section is somewhat preliminary. The bridge provides a bike friendly crossing that does not require one to go as far North as the Corktown Footbridge, particularly if one is using the Southern option (or coming from the South West of the city more generally). On the East side of the bridge, it appears that one will be able to use Clegg St to connect to a paved extension of the Rideau River Western Pathway that is potentially being built from the vicinity of the uOttawa Lees campus past the campus.6 There are crossrides in all directions at the intersection of Clegg St and Main St, which one can use to connect onto the Main St separated lane, proceed North to Springhurst Ave, and use that to connect to the Rideau River Western Pathway (see final paragraph of Section 2.4.2).

2.4 Rideau Canal to Rideau River

The distance between the Canal and River can be quite short, but the meandering courses of the waterways has led to irregular street grids, further complicated by the presence of Highway 417 and the limited number of crossings of each waterway. How one wishes to get through this area also impacts options for the other parts of the route.

6 The status of this construction is unclear. A city website referring to a consultation on the “Rideau River Western Pathway” with targted completion of Fall 2017 is no longer available, and this term no longer generates useful search results. The current state of the path will be discussed in Section 2.4.2.

DRDC-RDDC-2019-D077 7 2.4.1 Somerset option

As alluded to in Section 2.3.1, the Eastern offramp of the Corktown Bridge leads toa traffic light signalized for cyclists and pedestrians, that connects to a MUP leading under the uOttawa LRT station.7 From there, a cyclist can fairly straightforwardly connect onto Marie-Curie Pvt, which becomes Somerset Str East at King Edward Ave. Somerset St East features a mix of sharrows and a pilot project of ‘advisory bike lanes,’ as well as a fair bit of car parking. Ultimately the street ends in a transition to the Adàwe Crossing—a cycling and pedestrian bridge over the Rideau River, connecting directly to the Rideau River Eastern Pathway. The reverse is straightforward in this case—simply cycling West along the full length of Somerset St East, which turns into Marie-Curie Private, and connects to the MUP under the LRT.

The primary challenges on this route are the large volume of pedestrian traffic in and around uOttawa campus, and the mix of traffic and parked cars on stretches of Somerset StEast. There is also a substantial hill to climb when heading West on Somerset St East. As it also puts one relatively far North overall, Mr. MacLeod has not made much use of this route.

2.4.2 Lees option

This section picks up assuming you are leaving the Pretoria bridge heading East. There are two options to do this, neither of which are ideal. One could continue straight onto Hawthorne Ave, and then turn right onto Main St to ride the block to the intersection with Lees Ave, but there is no concession to bikes until one reaches Main. If, instead, one turns right onto Colonel By Dr, one can immediately move left into a tiny, bike-sized left turn lane.8 This left turn lane allows one to make the turn onto a contra-flow lane (protected by flexiposts) on Graham Ave.

Assuming you have reached the intersection where Graham Ave meets Main St and Lees Ave, there is a bike signal to help cross Eastwards. This allows one to connect onto a semi- protected (flexiposts) lane on Lees Ave (as noted below there is no such lane in thereturn direction). While there are sewer grates and some uneven pavements along this stretch, as well as buses making stops, it is downhill and reasonably safe. When one reaches the intersection with the entrance to the Lees campus of uOttawa (across from the uOttawa LRT station), one can turn right into the campus, onto a driveway that has a mix of bike lanes and sharrows. One can follow this around the North side of the buildings, and then get on a path on the North side of the sports field, which connects directly to the Rideau River Pedestrian/Cycling Bridge (a converted rail bridge).

7 As of this writing this area is under construction and undergoing various changes, with pedestrians and cyclists in contention for limited space. 8 This is less intimidating than it sounds, as even if one is confronting a red light, traffic coming off of Colonel By Dr has extended left turn signals, during which one can make a right turn in relative safety. That said, northbound traffic on Colonel By Dr does not always respect the existence of the bike turning lane, and relatively frequently will cross the yellow line here.

8 DRDC-RDDC-2019-D077 On the return version, leaving the campus one has to make a left turn (there are no yellow dots on the pavement, but it is fairly easy to see where the sensors are in the pavement to activate the traffic light), directly into a short stretch of bike lane. This lane soon ends, and one is obliged to bike alongside a long line of parked cars, and contend with a stop sign at the offramp from the 417. A long line of traffic can also form at the topofthehill where Lees intersects with Main. While one can sometimes slide between the left turning and right turning cars, or along the right side of the right turning cars, this is not always possible—and more often than not one gets to the front to find the frontmost vehicle is covering the bike box that is there.

Once reaching the intersection with Main St, one can proceed straight through to Graham Ave and make a right onto Colonel By. One is then obliged to join traffic to make a left turn onto Pretoria Bridge, which can take one or two light cycles, and is not particularly comfortable. Alternatively, at Main St one can turn right onto a raised bikelane that goes North up Main St, which has a bike signal for crossing Hawthorne Ave, and a left turn area and bike signal to then cross Main St to head straight up Hawthorne Ave and onto Pretoria bridge (this has become Mr. MacLeod’s preferred option). This stretch of Hawthorne does not allow parking before 17:30, so depending on exact commute timing, it can be two lanes of moving traffic, a nearly empty lane with one or two parked cars discouraging through traffic from using it (ideal), or a long line of parked cars obscuring the view ofpeopletrying to back in and out of the businesses along this stretch.9

There are a few other alternative options that can be attempted. One is to carry on in the raised bikelane on Main, under the 417, and northwards to where Main St ends at Colonel By—however, there is no clear way to cross Colonel By to join the path at this point, and the bikelane ends a block or so before the end of the road. The other, more promising option, is to take a hard left coming off the rail bridge, and proceed around the South side of the sports field on the Rideau River Western Pathway. As alluded to in Section 2.3.3, this pathway is potentialy being extended, and is paved as far as Springhurst Ave.10 One can use side streets to connect up to Main St and join the raised bikelane further South of Lees Ave, and avoid cycling West on Lees Ave unprotected while adding relatively little overall distance to the commute. Once the Fifth–Clegg Bridge is open, this connection may become part of the overall preferred option of Mr. MacLeod, especially for Westward trips.11

2.4.3 Hurdman Bridge variant

A final set of variants has more recently become available as the Confederation Linenears completion. Coming East on Lees, instead of entering the Lees campus of uOttawa, one

9 Note that Cyco’s bike shop is along this stretch, which is inexpensive for repairs. 10 At Springhurst Ave the path continues but becomes unpaved, one can find a photo of what this looks like at the following reference, with the caption “I am assuming this is temporary as it is a terrible surface to cycle on” [6]. Indeed, as of late May 2019 the unpaved path was fenced off again, and then unfenced afew weeks later. A map depicting an aerial view of the paths and construction zone can be found at [7]. 11 As alluded to above, it should be possible to use the separated lanes on Main St to head South to Clegg St, use the crossrides there, and connect onto the bridge.

DRDC-RDDC-2019-D077 9 can turn onto path just before the train overpass, leading to a path on the bridge the light rail takes over the river. There are in fact paths on both sides of the bridge, with each connecting to the Rideau River Western Pathway on the West side of the river, and both wrapping around to on the East side. These paths directly connect to the overpass over Riverside Dr.

Heading East, this does not provide much advantage to connect to from Lees Ave with respect to proceeding around the uOttawa sports field to the converted rail bridge, although it avoids any potential conflict with buses or cars in the driveway area there at the costof slightly lengthening the route. Coming in the opposite direction, however, it more naturally connects into the options to avoid biking West on Lees Ave without a bike lane.

Finally, it is more natural to connect to this bridge from the MUP connecting the uOttawa and Lees LRT stations to Hurdman. Also, it connects more directly into the path system around Hurdman station, which would logically connect to any future option for cycling along Industrial Ave (see next section).

As a safety note, during the spring floods the pathway connection under the Hurdman Bridge on the North side may be underwater. However, since the bridge has paths on both sides, one can avoid this by crossing the tracks on the South side of the river, which happens well back from the river.

2.5 Rideau River to Star Top

Currently this section has limited options, but is somewhat complicated to explain. The only real variant as of this writing is if one uses the Adàwe Crossing (see Section 2.4.1), in which case one has to first cycle South along the Rideau River Eastern Pathway from that crossing to the vicinity of the Rideau River Pedestrian/Cycling Bridge.

2.6 Tremblay Road option

The MUP on Tremblay Rd forms the backbone of this route, at least at present.

Whether one has cross the Rideau River at the Pedestrian/Cycling Bridge, or at the Hur- dman bridge, the next step is to proceed to the pathway that runs just South of the light rail tracks as they leave Hurdman station to the East. One can then take a slight upward fork in the path leading up to a lane on the light rail bridge over Riverside Rd.12 This path then crests a short hill, and ultimately passes the Southern end of the Max Keeping pedestrian bridge, leading to the intersection of the Via Rail station entrance and Tremblay. One can navigate this intersection either as a road vehicle would or cross on foot, with the goal of ending up on the North-East corner, where a MUP running along the remainder of

12 Until late 2018 ne was obliged to cross Riverside Rd at street level, which one can still do, but this is more dangerous and takes longer.

10 DRDC-RDDC-2019-D077 Tremblay Rd begins.13 This is similarly inconvenient when reversing the process heading East, as the MUP simply ends in sidewalk towards the intersection with Riverside Dr. The Via Rail side of the intersection has yellow dots that are nearly entirely worn away as of this writing, and there does not appear to be a good way to trigger the light from the other side of the intersection with a bicycle at this point.

Once connected onto the Tremblay MUP, it is straightforward to follow it East as far as St. Laurent Blvd (there is one traffic light to be crossed at Belfast Rd). As one approaches St. Laurent, one can cross onto a traffic island to await crossing with pedestrians. Once across St. Laurent, one must cross an on-ramp used by traffic to join Highway 417, and then join a paved (although poorly maintained) path than runs alongside the Volkswagen dealership and connects with the intersection of Triole St and Parisien St. This works essentially the same in reverse.

Once through the pathway, one must navigate various roadways with no dedicated cycling infrastructure to reach Star Top Rd. Other than Star Top Rd itself, these are mostly low traffic, although being in a light industrial area can feature large trucks. Mr. MacLeod’s preferred route is to bike to the end of Parisien St, turn right on Marchand St, take the left at the end onto Algoma Rd, and finally turn right onto Star Top Rd (which has awide shoulder). He also does the same in reverse (which involves joining traffic to make a left turn from Star Top Rd onto Algoma Rd, which requires a certain degree of confidence).

2.7 Industrial—Innes variant

As discussed in the Southern approaches section there is a MUP alongside Innes Rd that can be used to do much of the final approach to Star Top from the West. However, although the recently rebuilt intersection of Industrial Rd/Innes Rd and St. Laurent Blvd (Industrial turns into Innes here) contains some cycling features, the connections on the Industrial Rd side taper off quickly. So while there is some indication of intent to eventually provide some sort of cycling route on Industrial Rd between Hurdman station and St. Laurent Blvd, it is unclear when or if it will actually be built. While this would be a more direct route, it cannot currently be recommended.

2.8 St. Laurent—Cyrville variant

There is currently a gated off path that leaves the Tremblay Rd MUP and runs underthe 417 into St. Laurent station. On the theory that cycling infrastructure will follow the LRT route, it would seem logical that some cycling provision would be made between St. Laurent and Cyrville stations, but the authors are not familiar with this at present. There are bike lanes on Cyrville Rd crossing the 417, so it could become possible to use such a path to connect to Cyrville Rd, then directly onto Star Top Rd, but this is speculative. It would

13 There is also a path that runs under the East side of the intersection, connecting the station side with the MUP, but it is not well maintained.

DRDC-RDDC-2019-D077 11 also introduce extra crossings of the 417. As of this writing, it appears most likely that this path will simply be used as an emergency exit from the fare paid zone of the St. Laurent station.

12 DRDC-RDDC-2019-D077 3 Southern approaches

Ms. Beech commutes from the Greenboro/South Keys area in Ottawa South. Ms. Beech’s standard operating procedure for cycling includes safety as the primary factor for route decisions. Similar to Mr. MacLeod, Ms. Beech will ride primarily on dedicated bike infra- structure where possible, even if this decision creates a slightly longer route.

Bike lanes from the Greenboro / South Keys area are mature and have very little construc- tion associated with them as the LRT routes have been established. Two primary bike lane options exist for the bulk of the travel from Ottawa South to Star Top: the bike pathways through from Albion Rd through Greenboro and the longer route along the Rideau River.

3.1 Connecting to the bike network

There are a few options to enter either bike path network from the Greenboro/South Keys area:

West across — biking west across Bank St to Daze St, near the Rd intersection, then taking a right turn into the South Keys Walmart parking lot, riding through to the South Keys bus station, walking through the bus station tunnel will take the cyclist to the set of paths that wind parallel to the . Going North on the bike path will set you on a course along the Airport Parkway along the Rideau River. In reverse, the directions are exactly the same, with opposite turn directions.

East to Greenboro pathway network — entrances to the network of pathways cover- ing the Greenboro area are plentiful as the bike path cuts through many small side streets. The end of the pathway reaches Albion Rd and extends through Hawthorne Rd, covering a distance of approximately five kilometres, parallel to Hunt Club Rd. The bike paths cut through major side streets such as Lorry Greenberg Dr, Conroy Rd and Pike St, which each provide entry ways to the path network. Cyclists need to be cognizant of the side streets the path cuts through and stop at each intersection to ensure the way is clear of traffic.

3.2 Rideau River Route

Once on the bike path network, there are two primary routes to follow. The first is the Rideau River Route discussed in this section and the second is the Greenboro Pathway route discussed in the next section.

3.2.1 to Rideau River

There are two main routes that one can use to get from the South Keys bus station path way entrance to the Rideau Canal pathway, which will be discussed in turn.

DRDC-RDDC-2019-D077 13 3.2.1.1 Western route—Hog’s Back Park

This is likely the safest route, as bike paths can be employed most of the way, with the exception of part of the sidewalk on Brookfield Rd at the approach to Hog’s Back Falls Park. Converesely, this route does add an extra 2 km to the route relative to taking the route in the next sub-section. The bike path called the Sawmill Creek Pathway follows the route of the Airport Parkway through to the Brookfield exit. The cyclist must then naviagte through a traffic circle, which is manageable in terms of trafffic, to cross to thesouthside of Brookfield Rd then take the multi-use pathway through to Hog’s Back Park, going under the bridge at the park and linking up to the Rideau River Eastern Pathway, which runs along the Rideau Canal through to the exit for Tremblay Rd. The directions work the same way in reverse, staying on the south side of Brookfield Dr to return to the Sawmill Creek Pathway.

3.2.1.2 Eastern route—Airport Parkway Continuation

Instead of taking the Brookfield Rd to link through to the Rideau River Eastern Pathway, one may continue past the Consumer and Clinical Radiation and Protection Bureau to use bike paths to Heron Rd, passing the Mooney’s Bay LRT station en route. One must climb the hill after the station to Heron Rd, where a traffic light is provided to safely cross Heron Rd and link back to the bike path that takes you through a bike path that leaves you to cycle down a ramp to Riverside Dr. This route is not preferred because of the inherent danger of this activity. One may then cautiously cross Riverside Dr to link up to the Rideau River Eastern Pathway but traffic can be an issue here. The Rideau River Eastern Pathway can then be followed through to the exit for Tremblay Rd. Directions for the return trip are the same, though the cyclist will need to take the opposite ramp back up the bike paths that lead back to the entrance to the Sawmill Creek Pathway off of Brookfield Dr.

3.2.2 Rideau River to Star Top

Currently the best option for this portion of the route is well defined in Section 2.6. Please refer to it for details on use.

3.3 Greenboro Pathway route

The Greenboro pathway route can be accessed at many points between Johnston Rd and Hunt Club Rd, between Albion Rd and Hawthorne Rd (yellow stars on the map shown in Figure 1, which was created using a screenshot from Google Maps of the area). The pathways snake through the Greenboro community and are dedicated MUPs, acceptable for cycling. On the Western approach, one may pick the pathway up at the entrance off of Pebble Rd (green star on Figure 1). Once at Albion Rd, the pathway may be entered at several locations along the road. Entering the pathway on the most Southern approach from Albion Rd, one may keep right the entire pathway through to Conroy Rd, or straight through to Hawthorne Rd (this route is shown marked in red on the map in Figure 1). This

14 DRDC-RDDC-2019-D077 route is the preferred route for the safety-minded cyclist without time to spare in the day. This route takes approximately 30 minutes from the Albion Rd entry to the doors at Star Top. Figure 1 shows the map of the area with markers for various points in the descriptive sections below.

Figure 1: Map of the Greenboro Pathway system. Map data: Google.

3.4 Conroy—St. Laurent variant

Upon exiting the Greenboro pathway at Conroy Rd, a left turn is made onto Conroy. The cylcist maintains course until St. Laurent Blvd, when a right hand turn is made. Adjacent to the sidewalk on St. Laurent from Conroy Rd to Walkley Rd, a brick path is provided for cyclist use. Once the cyclist has passed Walkley Rd, a dedicated bike path is present on St. Laurent Blvd, which becomes a grade-separated path Lancaster Rd on both sides of St. Laurent Blvd until it reaches Innes Rd.

3.5 Hawthorne—St. Laurent variant

The cyclist can keep right on the Greenboro pathway through the traffic light crossing at Conroy Rd and maintain course until exiting via a left turn onto Hawthorne Rd. Hawthorne Rd can be quite a busy road to cycle on, and the cyclist may want to con- sider options to walk their bike on the sidewalk in the area. Hawthorne Rd can be followed past a busy traffic light on Walkley Rd and straight through where Hawthorne Rdturns into Russell Rd. Russell Rd meets St. Laurent Blvd at the Lancaster Rd intersection, where

DRDC-RDDC-2019-D077 15 a MUP also becomes available for the cyclist to take down St. Laurent Blvd through to Innes Rd.

3.6 St. Laurent Rd—Innes Rd–Startop Rd

Upon reaching Innes Rd from St. Laurent Rd, the cylist turns right (East) onto Innes Rd along a MUP, which goes straight through on Innes Rd to Startop Rd. There are a few bumps on the pathway as maintainence appears to not have been a priority for the city over the years, so caution must be taken around potholes. Some sections of the MUP have also been interrupted with concrete sidewalk slabs just after the lights on Bantree St.

16 DRDC-RDDC-2019-D077 4 Central—North Approaches

This section is less thoroughly developed than the ohters, and is primarily based on input from Dr. Mirshak, who was posted out of Star Top in 2018 [8].

4.1 Aviation Parkway option

There is a NCC MUP available along the Western side of the Aviation Parkway, which one can reach from the Ottawa river pathways coming from Rockcliffe or the Northern parts of Gloucester, or from Beechwood Ave/Hemlock Rd in New Edinburgh. This pathway terminates at Ogilvie Rd, where one then enters the City of Ottawa road and cycling network, an area which is currently in flux.

The current legal option coming from the North is to turn right onto Ogilvie Rd (which has a bike lane), then move across three lanes of traffic to turn left with motor vehicle traffic onto Cummings Ave, and then left again onto Cyrville Rd (which has bike lanes). Cyrville Rd crosses the highway (passing ) and intersects with Star Top Rd, where one can then turn right and proceed to the building. To avoid the stressful turn from Ogilvie Rd, one can consider walking their bike across Ogilvie Rd, and working their way through Beaulieu Pl and Beauparc Pvt to Cyrville Rd. In the reverse direction more of the turns are right turns, but the problem remains of crossing Ogilvie Rd.

It appears Ottawa is pursuing various options to mitigate cycling issues in the area. There is for instance an Cyrville Station to Ogilvie Road Multi-Use Pathway project underway which specifically aims “to connect the NCC pathway on the north side of the Aviation Parkway / Ogilvie Road intersection to the new Confederation Line Cyrville LRT Station via the addition of a new multi-use pathway” [9]. However, it will continue to legally require a dismount at Ogilvie Rd: “[c]yclists connecting to the NCC pathway to the north of Ogilvie Road will be required to dismount and walk to use the pedestrian crossover at the intersec- tion. . . . The crossride design will be retained for future purposes” [9]. It will avoid the need to turn onto Ogilvie Rd and Cummings Ave, however, by directly connecting South towards Cyrville station. It is not clear how one may cross the road at Cyrville station, however.

There is also a project underway to build a MUP on Ogilvie Rd between Montreal Rd and Blair Rd, but it is not clear how one would then connect from Blair Rd to Cyrville Rd [10].

4.2 Rideau River option

Coming from Vanier or New Edinburgh, one can join Rideau River Eastern Pathway at any convenient point (e.g., Beechwood Ave or Montreal Rd). After passing under the Highway 417 Overpass, one will be basically at the point in Section 2.6, and can follow the directions from there.

DRDC-RDDC-2019-D077 17 4.3 Alternatives to consider

There are also options available to weave through side streets in Vanier. If one reaches Coventry Rd there are bike lanes and crossrides available, and the potential to use the Max Keeping Pedestrian Bridge to cross over to Tremblay Rd, or use Belfast Rd to do the same. Continuing on Coventry Rd to the intersection of St Laurent Blvd in an attempt to reach Cyrville is not recommended at this time.

18 DRDC-RDDC-2019-D077 5 Concluding thoughts

While cycling and other active transportation options will continue to evolve, especially in light of the Confederation Line, the authors believe this guide will provide a useful starting point to those considering cycling into Star Top Road. Comments or suggestions are welcome, including options for biking from other directions, which may be incorporated in any future revisions.

DRDC-RDDC-2019-D077 19 This page intentionally left blank.

20 DRDC-RDDC-2019-D077 References

[1] National Capital Commission (2018), Cycling in the Capital (online), http://ncc-ccn.gc.ca/cycling (Access Date: 21 June 2018).

[2] Shearer, H. (April 2018), Launching: Interactive Bike Maps (online), Bike Ottawa, https://bikeottawa.ca/index.php/news/news/249-map (Access Date: 21 June 2018).

[3] Tumilty, R. (May 2019), has highest number of collisions involving cyclists (online), https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/ laurier-avenue-cycling-collision-1.5139739 (Access Date: 27 June 2019).

[4] Leiper, J. (May 2019), MTO bridge replacement pedestrian and cycling detours (online), Kitchissippi Ward, https://kitchissippiward.ca/content/ mto-bridge-replacement-pedestrian-and-cycling-detours (Access Date: 27 May 2019).

[5] Moore, R. E. (April 2018), Rideau Canal Crossing (Fifth to Clegg) (online), City of Ottawa, https://ottawa.ca/en/city-hall/public-engagement/projects/ rideau-canal-crossing-fifth-clegg (Access Date: 21 June 2018).

[6] Hans on the Bike (July 2018), Visiting Hurdman bridge and the New Pathway (online), http://hansonthebike.com/2018/07/31/hurdman-bridge-new-pathway/ (Access Date: 10 May 2019).

[7] Ottawa East Community Association (March 2016), Temporary Closure of River Pathway on the Oblates Lands—begins March 14 (online), https://www.ottawaeast.ca/node/229 (Access Date: 10 May 2019).

[8] Mirshak, R. (2019), Unpublished communication.

[9] Zahabi, A. (August 2018), Cyrville Station to Ogilvie Road Multi-Use Pathway (online), City of Ottawa, https://ottawa.ca/en/city-hall/public-engagement/ projects/cyrville-station-ogilvie-road-multi-use-pathway (Access Date: 10 May 2019).

[10] Porter, J. (October 2018), Ogilvie Road multi-use pathway (online), City of Ottawa, https://ottawa.ca/en/city-hall/public-engagement/projects/ ogilvie-road-multi-use-pathway (Access Date: 10 May 2019).

List of symbols, abbreviations, and initialisms

CJOC Canadian Joint Operations Command

DS Defence Scientist

DRDC-RDDC-2019-D077 21 LRT Light Rail Transit

MUP Multi-use Path

NCC National Capital Commission

NCR National Capital Region

22 DRDC-RDDC-2019-D077 DOCUMENT CONTROL DATA *Security markings for the title, authors, abstract and keywords must be entered when the document is sensitive 1. ORIGINATOR (Name and address of the organization preparing the 2a. SECURITY MARKING (Overall security marking of document. A DRDC Centre sponsoring a contractor’s report, or a the document, including supplemental markings if tasking agency, is entered in Section 8.) applicable.) DRDC – Centre for Operational Research and CAN UNCLASSIFIED Analysis

Carling Campus, 60 , building 2b. CONTROLLED GOODS 7S.2, Kanata, ON K1A 0K2, Canada NON-CONTROLLED GOODS DMC A

3. TITLE (The document title and sub-title as indicated on the title page.) Active commuting to Star Top: Some suggestions from scientist-cyclists

4. AUTHORS (Last name, followed by initials – ranks, titles, etc. not to be used. Use semi-colon as delimiter) MacLeod, M. R.; Beech, T. J.

5. DATE OF PUBLICATION (Month and year of publication of 6a. NO. OF PAGES (Total 6b. NO. OF REFS (Total document.) pages, including Annexes, cited in document.) excluding DCD, covering and verso pages.) July 2019 28 10

7. DOCUMENT CATEGORY (e.g., Scientific Report, Contract Report, Scientific Letter) Reference Document

8. SPONSORING CENTRE (The name and address of the department project or laboratory sponsoring the research and development.) DRDC – Centre for Operational Research and Analysis Carling Campus, 60 Moodie Drive, building 7S.2, Kanata, ON K1A 0K2, Canada

9a. PROJECT OR GRANT NO. (If appropriate, the applicable 9b. CONTRACT NO. (If appropriate, the applicable contract research and development project or grant number under number under which the document was written.) which the document was written. Please specify whether project or grant.) 06ac

10a. DRDC DOCUMENT NUMBER 10b. OTHER DOCUMENT NO(s). (Any other numbers which may be assigned this document either by the originator or by the DRDC-RDDC-2019-D077 sponsor.)

11a. FUTURE DISTRIBUTION WITHIN CANADA (Approval for further dissemination of the document. Security classification must also be considered.) Public Release

11b. FUTURE DISTRIBUTION OUTSIDE CANADA (Approval for further dissemination of the document. Security classification must also be considered.) Public Release 12. KEYWORDS, DESCRIPTORS or IDENTIFIERS (Use semi-colon as a delimiter.) cycling; active communting

13. ABSTRACT/RÉSUMÉ (When available in the document, the French version of the abstract must be included here.)

Several Defence Scientists who work at Star Top Road regularly commute by bike or other active transportation. As scientists are rotated through these positions—as are our military colleagues—they decided to document and share their experiences, to better enable people who are working in the building for the first time to understand their options. De nombreux scientifiques de la Défense travaillant sur le chemin Star Top se déplacent régulièrement en vélo ou en transport actif. Les scientifiques affectés à cet endroit, tout comme nos collègues militaires, ont décidé de consigner et de partager leurs expériences afin que les personnes qui y travaillent pour la première fois comprennent les options qui s’offrent à eux.