![\"Moore.Photo.Nov](\"http:\/\/cusjc.ca\/gridlock\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/Moore.Photo_.Nov-24-1024x707.jpg\")
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John Woodhouse can feel every crack and bump in the sidewalk on Bronson.<\/p>\n
Unlike pedestrians whose feet absorb the changes, he said, his electric wheelchair struggles to move over them, making it uncomfortable and dangerous for him to travel along the street.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m very concerned about curbs and the state of the sidewalk, because I\u2019m a four-season driver,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Woodhouse is one of a dozen individuals who gathered on Saturday to discuss changes to improve safety for pedestrians and cyclists along Bronson Avenue in the Glebe.<\/p>\n
\u201cBronson is such a highway in the middle of the city. It\u2019s very noisy and people like to speed up,\u201d Woodhouse said. \u201cThere\u2019s absolutely no concern for pedestrians.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The meeting was organized by the Glebe Community Association and Ecology Ottawa, a non-profit organization that often collects advice from residents on safety issues, to pass onto City Hall. Ecology Ottawa conducted an audit because the section of Bronson from Highway 417 to Colonel By Drive is scheduled for reconstruction when water mains and sewers are replaced between 2015 and 2018.<\/p>\n \u201cI think that doing an audit is terrific because you can look at the things that are really problem areas and have them addressed before the construction starts,\u201d said Dianne Breton, chair of the volunteer group Ottawa Seniors\u2019 Transportation Committee.<\/p>\n Karen Hawley, the Community Network Coordinator of Ecology Ottawa, echoed this statement.<\/p>\n \u201cThe whole street will be upended, so we figured that it\u2019s a great opportunity to get suggestions from the community,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Resident Steve Harris said he wants safe crossings on Bronson so that people on both sides of the street feel part of the same neighbourhood.<\/p>\n \u201cOne of the reasons I got involved,\u201d he said, \u201cis that this road separates this neighbourhood from the rest of the Glebe. It\u2019s a real barrier, because you feel you can\u2019t actually walk across it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a beautiful area and it\u2019s just cut off by this street. It doesn\u2019t have to be,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Volunteer and cyclist Les Whitney agreed with Harris.<\/p>\n \u201cThere has to be connectivity. You really can\u2019t avoid Bronson,\u201d Whitney said.<\/p>\n The audit consisted of 31 questions pertaining to sidewalks, bike lanes, curbs, traffic lights, speed limits, bus shelters and more.<\/p>\n Resident Jason Vallis lives on Bronson and is mostly concerned about the speed of cars driving by. He has a newborn baby and said he fears for the safety of his family.<\/p>\n \u201cI appreciate that it\u2019s a regional road and that it\u2019s an arterial route, but for me it\u2019s the speed and the lack of enforcement,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is a dangerous road, and we have an opportunity to get drivers to slow down and realize that people live here.\u201d<\/p>\n The speed limit in the area is 50 kilometres per hour, but residents feel that drivers frequently travel at least 15 to 20 kilometres per hour faster.<\/p>\n In October 2012, 27-year-old Carleton University student Krista Johnson was killed while cycling on Bronson at Holmwood Avenue.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n RT @carletonsafety<\/a>: We’re saddened by the death of CU student Krista Johnson. Deepest sympathies go to friends & family http:\/\/t.co\/b2b0yMJW<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Carleton University (@Carleton_U) October 19, 2012<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n![\"Bronson](\"http:\/\/cusjc.ca\/gridlock\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/john.jpg\")
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