Neighborhood had traffic safety concerns before fatal bike crash, councilor says

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The City of Ottawa has long heard concerns about safety, particularly high-speed traffic, in the neighborhood where a cyclist was killed in a crash with a grader this week, the councilor for the ward says.

“We have definitely identified the challenges on North River Road and we’ve been working on those challenges, since I’ve come to office, with residents,” said Rideau-Rockcliffe Councilor Rawlson King, who was elected in a byelection in 2019.

“I think the real sad part is that we’re just starting this work as we’ve had this tragic incident.”

The collision happened late Thursday afternoon by the corner of North River Road and Donald Street, which is a four-way stop. Police and paramedics said they were called to the scene at around 4:50 pm

A 43-year-old woman was pronounced dead after being taken to hospital.

Ottawa Police Service released few other details about the collision. Footage from the scene showed the bike lying under the City of Ottawa grader.

By late Friday afternoon, some flowers had been placed by the side of the intersection to mark the woman’s death. A steady stream of pedestrians, cyclists and vehicles passed by.

Flowers in memory of the dead woman lay by the intersection on Friday afternoon. (Guy Quenneville/CBC)

“You have to watch out when you’re crossing the street,” said nearby resident Cordelia Coville, adding that shrubbery can at times obscure drivers’ view of pedestrians. “You have to kind of poke your head around before you jump out.”

A controlled light intersection might be safer, she added.

Benjamin Marmer, who was out walking in the area Friday afternoon, said drivers turning onto Donald Street have to cut across that street’s unprotected bike lane.

“It’s very dangerous for cyclists,” he said.

‘A lot of work that needs to be done’

King said every death on a city street is “really unacceptable” and expressed his condolences to the family of the cyclist, who has not yet been publicly identified.

The city and King’s office have looked at bringing potential traffic calming measures to North River Road, including speed limit reductions, road paint, speed humps and permanent slow-down signage by the corner with Donald Street, he said.

“We were having that conversation even before this tragic incident,” King said.

Rideau-Rockcliffe Councilor Rawlson King says a number of traffic safety changes for Donald Street and North River Road, as well as other streets in the neighborhood, were under study before Thursday’s collision. (Radio-Canada)

A number of other potential changes elsewhere in the neighborhood are being evaluated, including:

Extending the curbs on Donald Street and Prince Albert Street. Resurfacing Donald Street between Vanier Parkway and St. Laurent Boulevard and adding a bike lane. Narrowing North River Road between King George Street and Columbus Avenue.

King said it would be his preference to make the corner of Vanier Parkway and Donald Street a protected intersection, citing a pedestrian friend who suffered a traumatic brain injury there.

“We know that there’s a lot of work that needs to be done to slow down traffic and to protect both cyclists and pedestrians.”

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