Cyclists in Copenhagen, Denmark enjoy wider and more widespread bike lanes than found in Canadian cities. (CBC)

Cycling advocates were encouraged by a government presentation Tuesday night on how to make Ottawa-Gatineau a more cycling-friendly region, but said safety remains the main stumbling block.

The National Capital Commission, the City of Ottawa and the City of Gatineau hosted a public presentation on Tuesday in Gatineau to share lessons learned from Europe on how to make Ottawa more cycling-friendly. Another public session is scheduled for Ottawa on Wednesday night.

NCC chief executive Marie Lemay attended the Velo-City Global 2010 conference in Copenhagen in June to find out why people took to their bikes on European city streets in greater numbers than in Canada.

"There were a number of things that we saw consistently," said Lemay, who hosted a presentation with the City of Gatineau on Tuesday night.

"If you ask people in Amsterdam or Copenhagen why they use their bike they say because it's easy, it's safe and it's cheap. And then they'll tell you about the environment and health reasons."

"So we have to provide that environment if we want people to be taking their bikes to work or to go shopping, to commute," she said.

Better bike lanes needed

Hans Moor with Citizens for Safe Cycling said making things easier and safer for cyclists starts with expanding the patchwork network of bike lanes.

"I'm hoping that we can see even more bicycle lanes especially in the downtown area in Ottawa is a difficult part to tackle," said Moor.

Cycling advocate Alex deVries said he was encouraged that the regional government was taking the issue seriously.

"This is a good first step and we're hoping to see some practical next steps," said deVries.

More practical advice for the region may come from Jan Gehl, an urban consultant specializing in cycling who will be making a presentation on Oct. 6 at the Canadian Museum of Nature.

A number of fatal incidents this summer have raised concerns about safe cycling in the city, most recently two weeks ago when a teenage boy cycling home from work was killed on Bank Street south of Mitch Owens Drive after his bike was struck by a vehicle that fled the scene. Police later charged a 40-year-old woman in that incident.

A month earlier a 53-year-old man was also killed after a collision with an SUV on Boyce Avenue left him pinned under the vehicle.

A 48-year-old man also died in August after an early morning incident at the corner of Somerset St. East and Sweetland Avenue in the Sandy Hill area, though in that case the cyclist appeared to have hit the sidewalk curb and been thrown to the ground.