Annual bikedays season kicks off in Ottawa this weekend
Posted May 14, 2022 01:25:00 AM.
Dust off your bikes, roller blades, skateboards and running shoes, because the time has come for Ottawa to launch its annual weekend bikesdays for the 2022 season.
Starting on Saturday, May 14, the Sir John A. Macdonald Parkway, the Sir George-Étienne Cartier Parkways and the Queen Elizabeth Driveway as well as Gatineau Park will be car-free every weekend from May to October.
The parkways will be exclusively for active use, morning and afternoon.
“People are biking, they’re walking, jogging, walking with their strollers, teaching their children how to ride a bike,” Bruce Devine, senior manager of facilities and programs with the National Capital Commission (NCC), told The Sam Laprade Show on Friday, May 13.
Rest areas and places to fix equipment like bikes will also be available throughout each site.
“It [gives people the opportunity] for fresh air and exercising and discovery those beautiful sceneries along the rivers,” Devine said.
Each location involves the following details:
Sir John A. Macdonald Parkway
Location: Both westbound lanes, located on the south side of the Ottawa River just went of the downtown core, from Vimy Place to Carling Avenue.
Length of available road: 9 km
Hours: Saturdays and Sundays, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Sir George-Étienne Cartier Parkway
Location: Both lanes of the parkways, running along the south side of the Ottawa River, just east of the downtown core, between the Aviation Parkways and St. Joseph Boulevard in Orleans.
Length of available road: 8 km
Hours: Saturdays and Sundays form 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Queen Elizabeth Driveway
Both lanes of the driveway, located on the west side of the Rideau Canal, will be open for active use only, between Fifth Avenue and Somerset Street.
Length of available road: 2.4 km
Hours: May 14 to June 25 on weekends from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.; July 1 to September 5 at 8 p.m. 24 hours a day, seven days a week; September 10 to October on weekends from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Gatineau Park
The park has its own pilot project. The NCC says the park’s parkways are reserved for active use most of the time, except on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays after 1 p.m.
