T his might be news to you our dear reader, but the University of Ottawa is a bit of a powerhouse when it comes to sustainable transportation. It might not be apparent right away, but the more you peel back the layers of this onion, the more it becomes obvious. And why not? All the ingredients are right in front of you... an urban campus, right in the middle of a dense city centre, with multiple entry points, and a lot of surrounding communities, not to mention some great amenities too. The University's main campus is serviced by Ottawa's light rail transit system, it has several bike lanes flowing into it, and in the winter time, you can even skate to the campus. A lot of these are because of the great location of the campus, but don't be fooled, the University has worked hard to make a lot of these programs a thing for the community. A car share, rideshare, and carpooling program for drivers... a U-pass, shuttle bus, and the Para Transpo program for public transportation ...

I am an active cyclist. I love to ride my bike and I get really excited in the Spring when the weather warms up... because that means that I'll be back on my bike again soon. I am not a cycling expert, I don't bike in the winter anymore, and I don't go on 50km rides just for the fun of it; most of my cycling is utilitarian.  So for a person that is on their bike basically every day in the summer time, you can imagine that I worry from time to time about getting hit by a car. It has happened to me a few times in my life and so I don't blame people who don't want to ride their bikes in heavy traffic. And when I watch videos about bike infrastructure in cities, I definitely cringe when I see how unsafe it can be. (I suggest this video by Not Just Bikes if you are looking for a good watch) Now the reason I am focusing on bike safety is because I know that getting more people on bikes is better for the planet, but to get more people on bikes they have to feel safe cycli...

It shouldn't come as a surprise to many of you who like to cycle but bicycle parking sucks. They are the afterthought of urban design, something you add after all the important things have been considered. They are the parsley garnish on your plate, the very last thing you toss in there in the hopes it will make you look fancy. But it doesn't have to be this way. The Office of Campus Sustainability at uOttawa has just completed a full annual assessment of the bike parking spaces on campus and the results are... well they are pretty awesome. This year, an audit was conducted to determine the state of the bike racks on campus. The assessment included the number of spaces available, the proximity to a major building entrance, if they were covered, and the ease of access. These criteria were selected as measures of how attractive and effective the bike racks are to users. The report revealed that there are 58 distinct parking locations on campus, with approxima...