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The City of Ottawa could allow a handful of commuters to park their vehicles and bike from Andrew Haydon Park for at least three years, but that would be the extent of any municipal park-and-cycle initiatives for now.

Under the zoning rules, it’s illegal for motorists to use City of Ottawa parking lots as park-and-cycle lots. The lots are meant for the people using the amenity, like a park.

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That has put a stick in the spokes of motorists/cyclists who want to split their trip between driving and biking.

Former Kanata North councillor Marianne Wilkinson first brought the issue to city hall, looking for ways to legalize a park-and-cycle program at Andrew Haydon Park or somewhere else in west Ottawa. In spring 2018, vehicles in the park were being ticketed as motorists/cyclists drove their cars to the park and continued their trips downtown by bike.

City transportation staff researched how they could provide a park-and-cycle program by looking at various parking lots, both publicly and privately owned, between five kilometres and 15 kilometres from downtown.