Montreal confirmed Wednesday that starting in the fall, one-way bike lanes will be built on either side of Christophe-Colomb Avenue, between Gouin Boulevard and Laurier Park. This project will remove two lanes of traffic, but most parking spaces will be maintained.
Between 2018 and 2022, avenue Christophe-Colomb was the scene of 95 collisions involving cyclists and pedestrians. Cyclist Louis Morency lost his life in 2012 while cycling on this artery in the Villeray district, at the corner of rue Mistral, hit by a truck. Nine years after the death of this 33-year-old father, a ghost bike had also been installed at this intersection in 2021.
In the wake of the unveiling of the 2023-2027 Bike Vision last November, Montreal will develop a bike path over a distance of seven kilometers.
During the weekly meeting of the executive committee on Wednesday, Mayor Valérie Plante recalled that Christophe-Colomb Avenue had four primary schools, two secondary schools as well as several sports and community facilities such as the Patro Le Prévost and the Claude-Robillard center, as well as two residences for seniors. “We have of course the population who asks us, everywhere in Quebec, to all the elected officials, to show courage and to accelerate the security in our residential sectors”, she said.
These new bike lanes, approximately 2.5 meters wide, will replace the two-way path between rue Jarry and boulevard Gouin. The City will take advantage of the work to secure intersections, modify pedestrian crossing times and mark the ground to make pedestrians and cyclists travel safer.
Approximately 85% of the parking spaces will be maintained, but one lane of automobile traffic will be cut off in each direction.
The City says it has taken into account the recommendations of Ombudsman Nadine Mailloux who, in 2020, had criticized the City for the development of safe active lanes (VAS) and the establishment of the Réseau express vélo (REV), asking it to better consult citizens and merchants affected by this type of development.
An outside firm was mandated by the City to meet with the groups and representatives of the institutions concerned. An online survey was also launched on Wednesday.
The work will be carried out in two phases. Starting in the fall of 2023, the City will develop the section between boulevards Gouin and Rosemont and, in 2024, work will continue as far as rue Saint-Grégoire, in Laurier Park.
The contract for the development of these cycle paths should be awarded at the end of April and work should begin in May.