Montreal extends 17 million to create and upgrade some forty cycling projects for the summer season, including the start of the Réseau express vélo (REV) on the Henri-Bourassa axis, in the borough of Saint-Laurent. In total, the City intends to “upgrade” nearly 36 kilometers of tracks, a target deemed insufficient by the cycling community.
Posted at 12:16 p.m.
“We made enormous progress on the bike during our first mandate. We will continue to do so. And we are aware that there is still a lot to do, ”said the advisor associated with active transportation, Marianne Giguère, on Thursday.
The Plante administration will begin this year “the beginning of the deployment” of its Express Bike Network (REV) on Henri-Bourassa Boulevard, with a first section between Pitfield and Félix-Leclerc streets. This “significant gesture will significantly transform active mobility in the sector”, says Ms.me Giguere. The Viger/Saint-Antoine/Saint-Jacques du REV axis will also continue to develop, while De Champlain Street will be redeveloped between the Sherbrooke East and La Fontaine axes, with the addition of a bike path.
On rue Saint-Denis, the REV will also be the subject of a new continuous monitoring pilot project in order to remove as many “obstructs” as possible in the lanes reserved for cyclists. “This is a long-standing request from the cycling community. […] The Mobility Agency will step up its interventions around the cycle path and intervene when there are illegally parked vehicles. We will even be able to carry out towing,” promises transport and mobility manager Sophie Mauzerolle. “We’re starting with the REV St-Denis, but the desire is really to expand to the entire network. »
Montreal also plans to extend the Grenier bike path, in the Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue sector, to allow cyclists to reach the nature parks of Bois-de-Saraguay, Bois-de-Liesse, Anse- à-l’Orme, as well as the future Grand Parc de l’Ouest, which is still under development by the municipal authorities.
On rue Villeray, the bike path will be “extended” to 24and Avenue, between boulevard Saint-Laurent and rue Boyer. This track will therefore now be five kilometers long, from east to west. “It will really become the backbone of the borough’s cycling network,” said Villeray–Saint-Michel–Parc-Extension mayor Laurence Lavigne Lalonde.
“We have to go faster,” retorts Vélo-Québec
Welcoming “the will of the administration” to do more, the president of Vélo-Québec, Jean-François Rheault, warns however that it will be necessary to go “faster”. “With 20.5 km of new tracks and 15 km of upgrading, one cannot speak of a large quantity. At the current rate, it will take 40 years to complete the bike plan, ”warns the latter.
“We are unfortunately far from approaching our targets of the Climate Plan in Montreal and the modal share of 15% of bicycle trips that the City wishes to achieve. [d’ici 2027] “, added Mr. Rheault, calling on the authorities to develop “cycling education programs” in boroughs like Saint-Léonard or Montreal-North, where “there is also a lot of potential” for cycling. “We don’t build cycle paths for cyclists, but to give the option of cycling to people who don’t choose it”, he summarizes.
The medical head of the environmental health team of the Direction régionale de santé publique de Montréal, Dr.r David Kaiser, second. “We must be bold if we want to repair the deficient aspects of our urban planning. The future of the city depends on active transportation,” he recalls.
At the City, Councilor Mariane Giguère replies that 17 million for a cycling program, “it’s still quite ambitious”. “What we answer them is: watch us go and don’t lose confidence,” she says, before sending a thinly veiled attack to the former Coderre administration. “It is certain that there were other administrations which arrived with more kilometers, but it was a lot of paint on the road. We really do quality projects. »