An estimated 120 people gathered in front of Ottawa city hall Wednesday morning to hold a vigil and rally in honour of a 13-year-old boy struck and killed while riding his bike a week earlier in the city's east end.

Simon Khouri died on July 23 of injuries he suffered after he was struck by a vehicle while he was riding his bike along Jeanne d'Arc Boulevard in Orléans.

Deepee Khosla and his 10-year-old son Samuel were among the people in attendance who observed two minutes of silence in honour of Khouri.

"When I heard the news I was shocked. I imagined me and my son at that exact on-ramp," said Khosla. "I felt it was really important to show up and tell the city to change the way cars and bikes get along."

Deepee Khosla says he knows the intersection well where 13-year-old Simon Khouri was killed. He decided to attend the vigil with his son Samuel, 10, to tell the city to change the way cars and bikes interact. (Giacomo Panico/CBC)

'Urgent action' needed

Following the moment of silence, several speakers addressed the crowd, including Heather Shearer, president of the advocacy group Bike Ottawa.

"This is an emotional time. We can foresee that these kinds of collisions are inevitable the way our streets are designed," said Shearer. "We need urgent action from our city councillors to prioritize building safer streets."

Cyclists gathered in front of City Hall to hold a vigil and rally in honour of 13-year-old Simon Khouri, who died after being struck by a vehicle while riding his bike. Trevor Haché of the Healthy Transportation Coalition said he hopes the rally will spur the mayor to take action. 1:06

In the days following Khouri's death, the chair of the city's transportation committee, Coun. Stephen Blais, said staff have already been reviewing the city's road safety action plan and are expected to report back to committee this fall.

While Shearer acknowledged the work by staff, she said the real issue is when their recommendations will be implemented.

"We know how to do it, it's just a matter of finding the will and the budget to get it done," she said. "What we don't have is enough funding to get it done sooner than later. That is what we're really seeking today."

Lotte Kallio says her handwritten letter to Mayor Jim Watson reminds him that Ottawa has potential to become a great cycling city, but it needs safer infrastructure right away. (Giacomo Panico/CBC)

Letters to mayor

As part of their effort to pressure council, organizers of Wednesday's vigil and rally invited attendees to grab a marker and coloured card to pen a handwritten letter addressed directly to Mayor Jim Watson, with a message of what they're asking for.

Lotte Kallio, who said she's never attended a rally like this one to demand action, wrote one of the letters that were hand-delivered to the mayor's office following the event.

"I wrote that Ottawa has great potential to be a very happy bike town," said Kallio. "If we can just work together and make sure that we don't have to depend on the dangerous cars and that we don't have to be scared when we cross streets for merging vehicles, then it'll be a lot safer."

Erin Cunningham, a board member of Bike Ottawa, said he was encouraged by the number of messages that didn't focus exclusively on cycling.

"This isn't just a cycling issue," said Cunningham. "This is for people who walk, this is for people who take transit, and we have lots of roads that aren't even safe for drivers. This is a broad issue that affects us all."

In the days following Khouri's death and following warnings from nearby residents that the intersection is dangerous, the city dispatched crews to repaint the line marking at Jeanne d'Arc Boulevard and several other intersections in Orléans.