The author is the former CEO of Vélo Québec
The end of summer 2020 was stormy in the metropolis. The development of a bike path in the Saint-Denis axis – from the north of the island to its connection to the Berri trail – has divided public opinion. This stretch of about nine kilometres, unidirectional, wide and separated from the road by a median strip and bollards, has heated the spirits. While cyclists were delighted with this project, several residents feared that it would lead to a reduction in parking spaces, an increase in traffic congestion and a drop in traffic in businesses. Eighteen months later, what about?
More than a bike lane project, the Saint-Denis express bike network (REV) is a good example of road narrowing (the English term road-diet summarizes the exercise well). We have reduced the space devoted to the car, increased the space devoted to cyclists and improved the pedestrian experience. All this without killing the vitality of the street. In fact, it was rather the opposite that happened: we revitalized the Saint-Denis artery, which really needed it!
The little story of the REV Saint-Denis
If, today, we can speak of the REV Saint-Denis as a success, its implementation has not been smooth.
The idea of the REV was raised by Projet Montréal during the 2017 election campaign. The party wanted to provide the metropolis with a bicycle network fully protected from automobile traffic. The goal: to make cycling safe for everyone.
The plan for the 184 km network was announced in May 2019, and we have to start developing it somewhere. The Montreal administration chooses rue Saint-Denis, an axis very popular with cyclists, but where it is unpleasant, even dangerous to ride. Two cyclists have also lost their lives there in recent years. As long as you start somewhere, you might as well do it where the positive effects will be the greatest.
Work begins at the end of summer 2020 and is progressing well. The pandemic has not slowed down the enthusiasm of the City, on the contrary, it has highlighted the usefulness of the bicycle. But it gets complicated when some merchants claim that the change will be bad for their business (even though studies show that they overestimate the share of their customers who travel by car).
The media relayed everything in abundance, public figures got involved, and I then had the impression of reliving the bitter battles of the 1980s and 1990s to obtain a safe stretch of road for cyclists. I’m afraid that the administration will shrink from so much hatred! The pressure is strong.
But the City is not backing down and is developing rue Saint-Denis as planned. The work will end in the fall of 2020. It is certain that the months that follow will not be the best to demonstrate the relevance of the REV, which is beginning its useful life under the snow. But, after all, it’s a bike path open all year round, so it’s cleared of snow…
When the street comes alive
Spring 2021 is coming, beautiful. Tens of thousands of cyclists begin to use the REV Saint-Denis, which crosses the bar of one million passages before the end of the year. New businesses are setting up: there have been 37 since 2020 that feel things are moving in Saint-Denis. The street becomes busy again. We see not only cyclists, but also pedestrians who rediscover the pleasure of strolling in a quieter street, which is no longer four lanes wide. We rediscover the taste for walking, going out and shopping on rue Saint-Denis.
What we forgot to say during the development of the REV is that we were redrawing the street. We reduced the number of traffic lanes from four to two (which we were afraid to say), we built a bike lane on each side of the street and we integrated protective islands halfway between intersections (very far from each other) to facilitate the passage of pedestrians.
The cars had to slow down, the terraces became more inviting, the number of parking spaces finally decreased slightly and the street came back to life.
This has also benefited businesses, because although pedestrians and cyclists buy in smaller quantities, they buy more often than motorists, who, in the end, only pass by and rarely stop.
We want more streets like the new Saint-Denis! Other sections of the REV are under construction and others in planning. We now have a Montreal experience to affirm that the road-diet of a street is beneficial for all!
A first version of this column was published on Onepointfive.ca May 10, 2022.