Ottawa councillor posts social media video of close call with car while cycling

An Ottawa councillor has posted video on social media of what appears to be a close call with a car while biking in Ottawa.

The videos on Coun. Jeff Leiper's X account shows a car coming close to his bicycle while trying to pass as the councillor was cycling past several parked vehicles.

A car horn can be heard as the vehicle passes Leiper.

"I caught up with this driver at Parkdale - he gained no time and only endangered himself and others with his angry choice," Leiper said in the post.

The video was posted the evening of Oct 1, and appears to be along Wellington Street West near Parkdale Avenue.

"I don't know if he saw the oncoming car, but in his impatience to get around me, He did not give himself time to be able to get around me safely. So, he wound up cutting back into our lane, leaving probably a foot, if that, off my handlebars," said Leiper.

"That was the closest of the close passes I think I've experienced on Wellington Street. And close passes, unfortunately, are a common occurrence on that stretch of road."

Cyclists were quick to reply to Leiper's post.

“Some protected bike lanes on (Wellington Street West) would be nice,” says one reply to the video.

“And that is why I refuse to ride on Wellington,” says another post.

Another response says, “You weren’t in the bike lane?”  

"I wish I could say I wasn't used to it," Leiper said. "I was concerned that I was going to get clipped. A lot of times with these close passes, you know, you feel angry that somebody is being so impatient in this case, and certainly I was very angry that he endangered the oncoming car. Myself and the cyclist who was, just off to the side of me."

He said he caught up to the driver and had a discussion. 

"Voices never got raised. I caught up to the driver. He rolled down his window, told me that, I was, taking up the lane. And, and that gave him, I guess, justification for such a dangerous and idiotic move. I explained to him that, you know, there's, cyclists have the right that they need to be safe to take up their lane."

Here is what Leiper had to say on CFRA's Ottawa at Work with Patricia Boal today:

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-With files from CTV News Ottawa's Peter Szperling