Marie Lemay told the Citizen's editorial board that the national capital needs to plan for cycling as a means of sustainable transportation.

"We have been in the recreational-pathway business for 40 years and that has been great but we need to consider whether we need to take it one step farther and encourage people to commute on their bikes," Lemay
said. "If we want to move to that level it would not mean just changing a few lanes here and there.

"Now we develop roads for cars first and put the bicycles in if there is room. If you don't have room it is not a car lane that will (come out of the plans) but a bicycle lane."

Lemay said some people will oppose the changes that will be necessary if the city decides to make bicycle commuting a priority.

"It may mean in some cases, if we are serious about it, that we will have to close some car lanes," Lemay said. "Some roads may have to be used for bicycles instead of cars and that is going to complicate life for
people who are driving.

"Some people will not readily buy into it. We need to decide about it collectively because we will need the strength to carry it out. If we can see how this is working in other places we will be able to make an informed
decision about how it could work here."

Lemay, some City of Ottawa officials and Gatineau Mayor Marc Bureau will travel to a major bicycling conference in Copenhagen in late June to pick up tips on how to turn the capital into a cycling role model for Canada.

She said some cities in Europe have bicycle streets or streets where car drivers travel at their own risk because there are so many bicycles.

Lemay said the national capital would inspire the rest of Canada and the world if it became a city of bicycle commuters.

"The discussion really has to be about commuting because if we do it piecemeal we will be doing little bits and never really addressing the real issue," Lemay said.

"We have a community of avid cyclists that will fight the traffic any day to go to work. But there are others like me who would do it if it was safe. That is the group you need to move to the next step but to do that you
need to provide them with a safe environment."