A sixteenth white bike, in tribute to a cyclist who died by collision, was installed this Sunday in Montreal. Cyclist advocacy groups already fear a new tragedy if nothing changes.
Normand Chantelois was going to “do his errands, quite simply” on his bike when a heavyweight grabbed him on November 9, said Séverine Le Page, spokesperson for Vélo Fantôme. The former competitive cyclist was then treated for several meters before the truck came to a stop.
While erecting a memorial in his honor, the cyclists and parents present observed a minute of silence. The relatives of the victim remained silent during this sober ceremony.
The cycling associations have raised their voices, because they already fear the next accident if nothing is done by the City or Ottawa.
These memorials have appeared since 2013 in Montreal and since then, half of them have been erected following a collision involving a heavy truck. However, these trucks only represent 4% of vehicles circulating in the metropolis, according to Ms. Le Page.
To curb this murderous series, “radical” rules must be put in place, she said.
The installation of side skirts and the reduction of blind spots for drivers are among the priorities of Ms. Le Page’s team. “Truck drivers shouldn’t have to work with vehicles that make them almost blind,” she pleaded. “We must also stop having rounded intersections. We must stop facilitating fast turns. It’s very tight. It’s just to facilitate the fluidity of the automobile. “
Opposite this memorial, corner of Saint-Laurent and Liège, stands a sign prohibiting heavy goods vehicles from driving in the street, except for local delivery. A sign, according to Séverine Le Page, that the safety of cyclists is not assured, even with the measures already in place.
This is the fourth ghost bike installed this year in Montreal. “It’s one of the biggest years in recent years,” notes the spokesperson for Vélo Fantôme.
The newly elected mayor of Villeray-Saint-Michel-Parc-Extension, Laurence Lavigne Lalonde, recognizes that there are significant delays in investing in her neighborhood in terms of safety for pedestrians and cyclists. “As borough mayor, I know that there will never be enough cycle paths. In 4 years, we will not revolutionize the entire city, we will not be able to put it everywhere. So how do we make sure all streets are safe? […] We will have to answer it and I have already started working on it. “