Artists imagine commutes of the future in Ottawa

For our Nowhere Fast series, CBC Ottawa has taken a close look at the who, what, where, when, why and how of commuting in the capital.

From ever-longercommutes to certainspots that regularly snarl traffic, it's easy to get down in the dumps when considering the time we spend getting to work each day.

To combat those bumper-to-bumper blues, we asked three local artists to cast their mind beyond the everyday and imagine commutes of the future.

Allison MacAlister

In the futureartist Allison MacAlister imagines,a new superhighway belongs entirelyto activecommuters.

"As an avid cyclist, I always envision the future of commuting being cycle-friendly, fastand accessible for as many commuters as possible," she explained.

"The rest of my inspiration was purely whimsical; how fun would it be to see steam-powered jetpack and hoverbus commutes in future Ottawa?"

Sally Vandrish

What's the best kind ofcommute? For artistSally Vandrish, it might be no commute at all.

"With companies looking to reduce overhead, working remotely will become more and more popular and would also help with alleviating congestion and emission issues," Vandrishsaid of her creation.

"The 'anti-commute' or 'commute of the mind' illustrates the possibility of one day being able to conference into an augmented reality using avatars/holograms of ourselves, via a virtual reality headset."

Kasia Niton

Another artistwho took the driver out of the commute is Kasia Niton.

"When I think of the future of commuting, I envision a world where our cities are connected through high-speed, self-driven, eco-friendly trains, which would become our main source of transportation."

A potential bonus? It looks like you'll hardly have to spend any time outside during ourcold Ottawa winters.

What do you think Ottawa's commute will look like in the distant or not-so-distant future? Send us an emailwith how you imagine getting to work a waysdown the road.