Montreal will add 200 kilometers of safe cycle paths to its network over the next five years. As part of its Vision vélo 2023-2027 plan presented on Tuesday, the City will proceed with the development of new sections of the Réseau express vélo (REV), in particular on rue Jean-Talon and on boulevard Henri-Bourassa and Lacordaire.
Last year, bicycle trips increased by 20% in Montreal to reach 12 million trips in 2022. According to Councilor Sophie Mauzerolle, responsible for transport and mobility on the executive committee, the realization of the REV Saint-Denis has demonstrated that safe cycle lanes not only benefit cyclists, but also pedestrians and shopkeepers.
Vision vélo, presented by the Plante administration on Tuesday, provides for the addition or extension of 10 sections of the REV. It will also make it possible to add cycle paths intended to connect neighborhoods to each other. These new cycling infrastructures will be developed in 17 of the 19 Montreal boroughs. Thus, only the boroughs of Anjou and L’Île-Bizard-Sainte-Geneviève are not included in the city center projects.
Marianne Giguère, responsible for active transportation on the executive committee, was unable to specify the deadlines for each of the projects or to indicate whether parking spaces would be cut off for the development of bike paths. “We do not yet know what form these arrangements will take. On Saint-Denis, we still kept the two parking lanes on the shore and parking lots were added in the cross streets, she recalled. And we added hundreds of parking spaces for bicycles. »
The elected official assured that the City will conduct consultations with citizens and merchants upstream for each of the projects. The City plans to invest $30 million a year in its new cycling facilities and $1 million for its operating budget.
The regional director of public health (DRSP) of Montreal, the DD Mylène Drouin, participated in the announcement made by the Plante administration on Tuesday. “It testifies to a new paradigm that has been in place for several years,” she said, emphasizing the importance of territorial equity and the establishment of cycling infrastructure in underserved neighborhoods. like Montreal North.
According to the DD Drouin, the plan presented by the City responds “in large part” to the recommendations made in April by the DRSP, which pleaded in favor of better investments for neighborhoods with little cycling infrastructure.
Several organizations, including Piétons Québec, Trajectoire Montréal, Vélo Québec, Vélophantom, the Regional Council for the Environment (CRE) of Montreal and the Montreal Active Mobility Coalition have applauded the proposals of the municipal administration. However, several groups urged the City to get the projects underway quickly.
Some projects of the 2023-2027 Bike Vision:
Opposition to City Hall also welcomed this plan, which proposes a cycle route project, along the axis of the REM de l’Ouest, which the boroughs of Pierrefonds-Roxboro and Saint-Laurent have been calling for for years. “We reiterate the need for clear communication with citizens during the design and construction of cycling development projects. We hope the administration has learned from the 2020 Summer Ombudsman’s report surrounding the coordination of Safe Active Lane (SA) and REV development and is listening to concerns” , commented by email Alba Zuniga Ramos, spokesperson for Ensemble Montreal in terms of active transportation.