Gladstone-Gilmour Cycling Improvements

Background and context

Gladstone Avenue is a constrained inner urban street that has a multi-modal function, serving pedestrians, cyclists, transit, drivers, and trucks. At present, there are no dedicated cycling facilities and cyclists must ride in mixed traffic. There is also a history of major collisions involving cyclists on Gladstone Avenue including a major injury in June 2023 which led to a Council direction for staff to investigate the feasibility of adding cycling facilities to Gladstone Avenue.

The City’s approved Transportation Master Plan outlines a list of active transportation projects that will be implemented to address missing links or opportunities for expansion of the network. This list of projects was developed based on public consultation, Councillor input and a city-wide network review. The list includes cycling projects on Gladstone Avenue and Gilmour Street.

Gladstone Avenue is a major collector road, which means it connects communities, as well as the arterial and local road network. Gladstone Avenue is also a truck route between Bronson Avenue and Preston Street. Gladstone Avenue carries frequent transit route 14 and is a Transit Priority corridor. Gilmour Street is a one-way eastbound local road, which means it serves to access local destinations and should prioritize people walking and cycling.

Project details

The intent of this project is to create a continuous east-west cycling corridor through Centretown, improving safety for people cycling and walking.

The proposed plan includes the following:

Physically separated bike lanes on Gladstone Avenue between Preston Street and Arthur Street.

Protected intersections at Gladstone Avenue and Rochester Street and at Gladstone Avenue and Booth Street. Protected intersections are designed to make it safer and more comfortable for people cycling.

Westbound painted bike lane on Gladstone Avenue from Preston Street to Corso Italia Station. The roadway is not wide enough west to Preston Street to provide bike lanes in both directions.

Westbound contra-flow bike lane on Gilmour Street between Elgin Street and Bronson Avenue, with new traffic signal at Gilmour Street for westbound cyclists.

To connect between Gladstone Avenue and Gilmour Street, it is proposed that cyclists travel via Arthur Street and Christie Street, where they will share the road with other vehicles. There is not enough space in the road right of way to provide comfortable cycling facilities through the intersection of Gladstone Avenue and Bronson Avenue, so this project proposes an on-road routing through local streets.

Other changes and impacts

Left turns

Gladstone Avenue and Rochester Street: The westbound left turn is proposed to be fully protected (i.e., left turns would only be permitted when the left-turn arrow is displayed) to make it safer for people walking and cycling.

On-street parking

Approximately 28 spaces of on-street parking along Gladstone Avenue and one loading space are proposed for removal. This includes spaces on the north side of Gladstone Avenue, between Preston St and Arthur St and on the south side of Gladstone Avenue, between Booth Street and Lebreton Street. To minimize the impact of the removal of parking and loading, staff are exploring changes to parking restrictions on side streets with the goal of no net loss of parking in the area.

Bus stops

Improvements are proposed for four bus stops along Gladstone Avenue, and some stops are proposed to be consolidated to improve travel times.

Truck route

The truck route designation for Gladstone Avenue, between Bronson Avenue and Preston Street, and Rochester Street north of Raymond Street is proposed to be removed to provide more space for improved cycling facilities. Trucks will be diverted to other streets such as Carling Avenue and Preston Street, where safety improvements will be explored to minimize the impact.

Map of Ottawa Centretown with the study area outlined in red. The study area extends within 2 blocks of Gladstone Avenue from Corso Italia Station to Percy Street and within 2 blocks of Gilmour Street from Bronson Avenue to Cartier Street.

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