Cycling the rural route

The Rural East Ottawa Multi-use Pathway – passed by council on July 9 – is an approximately 24-km route that would connect to the United Counties of Prescott and Russell’s cycling trail, which opened in 2004 and runs 72 km from Ottawa’s city limits to the Quebec border. The city’s section would follow the VIA Rail right-of-way through former Gloucester and Cumberland, linking with other rural eastern regions including Navan, Notre-Dame-des-Champs, Orléans south and the Greenbelt, where the NCC is currently developing its own pathway system.

The route was approved in conjunction with the passing of the $26-million, five-year Ottawa Cycling Plan, as a motion put forward by Innes Coun. Rainer Bloess asking staff include it as part of the plan’s first phase, and to identify potential community partners for financial assistance with the trail’s stretch from Cyrville Road onwards.

The initiative is “a bit of a legacy left over from the former municipalities,” recounts Bloess, highlighting work done by the former Gloucester township on the project. “With amalgamation it fell through the cracks.”

As the citywide cycling plan came to the forefront, the timing seemed appropriate to resurrect the idea, he explains. The goal for the near future is to “show more concrete advancements,” Bloess continues, adding he hopes to see much of the initiative completed in the next two years. “In a lot of places, the pathways are out there already. We want to take care of all these remaining links.”

While Bloess says he expects the pathway to be more frequently used as a recreational route rather than a commuter one, he indicates the link will still be helpful to some cycling commuters, especially those coming down Navan Road from more outlying areas.

Anyone completing a cycling trip from Montreal or other regions would also be greatly aided, he continues, since the route currently hits the Prescott-Russell border and cyclists “have to take the roads.”

The price tag presently being projected for the pathway’s development is close to $1 million, Bloess explains, with money coming from the city and hopefully community groups who can apply for outside aid and grants to fuel the project. “It’s something (the groups) can get their teeth into, that’s very obvious,” he adds. “Something they can really touch and see.”

Jim Petrie, co-chair of Friends of the Mer Bleue – a community group representing the residents of Notre-Dame-des-Champs and surrounding areas – says though he’s not familiar with the project, in general “it would be great to have a cycling path … conceptually, it sounds good.”

While Petrie questions whether the route would have much impact on east-end commuting, he does point to other cycling paths across Ottawa “appearing to be well-used” and that the east-end link would likely “be popular in the community.”

As for supporting the initiative – through helping to find outside funding or other functions – Petrie says it’s too early to comment either way. “I wouldn’t say no, and I wouldn’t say yes,” he explains. “It’s a possibility.”