In the midst of COP26 in Glasgow, and while 30% of GHGs in Quebec come from transport and that they are on the rise, it seems surprising that several candidates for mayor of Montreal are proposing to withdraw or reduce cycle paths. We cannot forever blame China, the United States or Alberta for the climate crisis without doing our part.
It has become necessary to abandon the car whenever another solution is possible, and the bicycle is one of them. This is not a sporting feat: the median distance from home to work in Quebec is only eight kilometers.
Moreover, far from a simple leisure walk, the urban bike, in cargo version or equipped with a basket, saddlebags or a trailer, already provides the function of utility transport to the grocery store, daycare or work: peaks in bicycle lane use recorded by the various meters occur during the week during peak hours, and the winter retention rate is increasing. But if we were able to count a million passages on the REV Saint-Denis after only 10 months of use, it is because this protected track offers a fast and safe journey. The increase in the modal share of cycling in total urban journeys cannot be sustained without the multiplication of infrastructures securing this active mobility. The lack of security is indeed the main obstacle for bike owners to use it for getting around town.
The other important contribution of the urban bicycle is the relief it brings to the congestion of the streets and the saturation of the public transport. As the vehicle fleet grows in volume and number (by tens of thousands of vehicles annually) faster than the population – despite the fact that many households choose to live without a car – can we really think that congestion would be less? if cycle paths were removed and cyclists switched to cars, would they be electric? Or does each motorist believe he enjoys a particular privilege while other citizens should go cram into public transport to clear the street, as in automobile advertisements?
It is high time to consider the urban bicycle as a means of transport in its own right, which, just as much as the electric car, deserves to be fully supported, by making a clean sweep of the usual prejudices, commonplaces and other opinions disconnected from the facts. .
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