Andrew Cameron rides in traffic with a video camera on his helmet. (CBC)Andrew Cameron rides in traffic with a video camera on his helmet. (CBC)

The city of Ottawa wants to know the most dangerous spots in the city for riding a bicycle, so it's appealing to cyclists to let it know.

Starting Wednesday, cyclists could go online to the city's website, and submit what they think are the most dangerous stretches of road.

Already, cyclists are lining up to make their voices heard.

Cycling problem spots

CBC Ottawa readers sound off on Ottawa's trouble spots:

"The 'shared' bus lane/bike lane on Wellington leading to the Portage bridge has long been my most hated part of my cycle commute. Oh and the 'Ok we'll put a little bike lane sign here between the left turning lane and the rest of the traffic' near the Slater and Elgin Street intersection is equally as ridiculous." — Lana Stewart

"On my daily commute, I go through the intersection of Holly Acres Road and the 416 off ramp. This is a busy section for both cyclists and motorists. Already once this year I was struck by someone (I went up on the hood but did not drop to the ground) making a right turn on the red light. There are two right turn lanes at this location; I was struck by someone in the far right lane. People eager to make the right against the light rarely look to the left at cyclists or pedestrians till after they have started moving." — Robert Matz

"I am new to Ottawa and have found that while it does provide bike lanes they are not very helpful in most cases. It is very frustrating trying to get through the area of Rideau Street and Sussex Drive. [I] was biking down Rideau Street (east toward King Edward) and was curtly informed by a bus driver I could get a $150 fine for being in his lane. I didn't realize this diamond lane excluded cyclists … in most cities it includes them. I was slightly embarrassed and then realized the bike lane set aside for cyclists was in the center lane. Yeah right. I thought I would try it out and soon found myself between cars to my left and fast moving buses to my right … awesome." — Desiree Streit

View some of Ottawa's cycling trouble spots.

Andrew Cameron rides his bicycle through downtown to get to work everyday. Six months ago, he started wearing a camera on his helmet to document the rough ride cyclists go through every day.

"You can see how there are a lot of places that are very automobile-dominated. And if we're trying to get a healthier commuter atmosphere, you want to put more emphasis on human-powered transportation, be it on a bicycle or walking, or whatever.

"So new infrastructure is absolutely imperative," Cameron said.

"Cyclists have really indicated that there are a lot of problems," said Alex DeVries, of Citizens for Safe Cycling.

His organization recently did its own online survey, and say they were overwhelmed by the volume of responses, citing hundreds of different problem areas.

Trouble at Stewart and Waller

DeVries says one of the most commonly named spots was the intersection of Stewart and Waller streets, where a designated bike path meets four lanes of heavy bus and truck traffic.

Another he mentioned was the stretch of Sussex Drive where a cyclist was struck by a bus and killed less than a year ago.

"We're expecting in the survey that the city's going to hear very similar comments of the things cyclists have been voicing over the last few years," DeVries said.

City staff say the public feedback is crucial, because problem areas for cyclists are often difficult to track.

"There are an awful lot more close calls and unreported incidents than there are actual police reports," said Zlatko Krstulich, a city transportation planner.

City staff will collect the public feedback until the end of September, and plan to present their findings to city council before the end of the year.