Consider cycling funds

Tragically, six Ottawa residents, our neighbours, were killed in the recent bus-train collision in Barrhaven. Not surprisingly, there has been considerable focus on the circumstances associated with the collision.

In what some may be characterized as a knee-jerk reaction, plans to construct an underpass at the site at the cost of somewhere in the $40-110 million range appear to be under consideration. Recent articles have suggested there are perhaps six similar crossings throughout the region that are potential candidates for underpasses, presumably with similar associated costs.

The Citizen reported that “Eleven cyclists have been killed on Ottawa streets since 2009.”

The Transportation Master Plan announced this week calls for the city to spend $70 million on all cycling-related projects between 2014 and 2031, an 18-year period.

It is important to learn from mistakes and oversights in the past and make prudent expenditures to mitigate risk.

But if the goal is to reduce the overall risk to our citizens and fatalities in our population, perhaps it’s appropriate to take a step back and consider additional expenditures on cycling-related initiatives rather than diverting a huge amount of funds to mitigate a recurrence of what may have (hopefully) been a tragic one-time event.

NEIL NEIL COLLIE, COLLIE, Ottawa Ottawa