Cyclists will be in the spotlight in Montreal this weekend. Thousands will take part in the Tour la Nuit on Friday and the Tour de l’Île on Sunday to officially launch the cycling season. Motorists will have to plan their journeys in the north of the city.
“The Festival Go Vélo is really a celebration where cycling is at the forefront,” immediately states Jean-François Rheault, President and CEO of Vélo Québec, which organizes the festival.
The Tour la Nuit is “really a party”, continues Mr. Rheault. The event will run from 8 p.m. Friday. Cyclists will be invited to pedal 24 kilometers in streets closed to traffic for the occasion, dressed in their most beautiful luminous accessories.
“There is a feeling of happiness to be able to ride in the city without interacting with cars. There is really a feeling of security, of freedom. There is a very peaceful side to the idea of just being able to discover the city,” says Mr. Rheault.
The Tour la Nuit route will begin at Parc Maisonneuve at the corner of Boulevard Rosemont. Cyclists will cross the boroughs of Rosemont-La-Petite-Patrie, Saint-Michel, Montréal-Nord and Saint-Léonard.
The routes of the Festival Go Vélo used to begin at Parc La Fontaine, in the borough of Plateau-Mont-Royal. The organization has chosen to move the event this year due to heavy automobile traffic near the Jacques-Cartier bridge, caused by work on the Louis-Hippolyte-La Fontaine tunnel.
Vélo Québec expects nearly 20,000 people to take part in the Tour la Nuit, and nearly 18,000 to take part in the Tour de l’Île.
A Tour of the Island that crosses seven boroughs
38e Tour de l’Île de Montréal will be held on Sunday, June 4. The emblematic event offers cyclists the opportunity to cover 47 kilometers in the streets of the metropolis, which will be inaccessible to motorists. The start of this activity will also take place at Maisonneuve Park, and will take place around 9:15 a.m.
Participants in the Tour de l’Île will cross seven boroughs of Montreal: Rosemont–La-Petite-Patrie, Villeray-Saint-Michel-Parc-Extension, Ahuntsic-Cartierville, Montreal-Nord, Rivières-des-Prairies-Pointe-aux- Trembles, Anjou and Saint-Léonard.
For the more athletic, alternative routes of 53, 75 or 99 kilometers will be offered. However, these routes will include streets open to automobile traffic. There will be no official start for these “discovery” routes, and cyclists will begin them at their own pace starting at 7 a.m.
“It’s a party yes, but it allows people to experience the city from a different point of view, and then sometimes to surpass themselves,” says the president of Vélo Québec.
Both activities will also end at Maisonneuve Park. DJs, inflatable games and other activities will entertain young and old.
“There will be the return of the Ferris wheel, which we had left aside during the pandemic. It’s really going to be a festive site,” promises Mr. Rheault.
Cyclists who wish to participate in these events can always register on the Vélo Québec website, or complete their registration on site the same day. Children 12 and under can participate in the event for free.
Obstructions for motorists
Motorists will have to plan their trips if they plan to drive in the north of the island of Montreal, Friday evening or Sunday. Vélo Québec invites citizens to consult the map of the cyclists’ route, or to use the Waze application, where the cyclists’ route will be indicated.
During both events, Autoroute 40 and Sherbrooke Street will be open to automobile traffic, as will Saint-Michel Boulevard, Autoroute 25 and Autoroute 15.
“There really are options to be able to move, you just have to be a little better prepared,” says Mr. Rheault.
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This dispatch was produced with the financial assistance of the Meta Exchange and The Canadian Press for the news.