The administration of Soraya Martinez Ferrada believes that the documents provided to it by the public service concerning Montreal’s bicycle lanes do not correspond to the audit desired by the mayor during the electoral campaign in order to determine whether the bicycle facilities must be dismantled or modified.
“The documents do not constitute an audit on the safety of cycle paths in Montreal. We will look into the safety of the network and cyclists, as promised,” the mayor’s office said on Wednesday without giving further details on the next steps of its plan.
The future of cycle paths was at the heart of the electoral campaign of the head of Ensemble Montréal last fall. Soraya Martinez Ferrada had promised, if she was brought to power, to conduct an audit of cycle lanes in the first 100 days of her mandate to ensure that they are safe. This commitment had sowed concern among cyclists, but aroused enthusiasm among voters frustrated by these developments and the loss of parking spaces.
The day after her victory, however, the mayor put this promise on hold after learning that such an evaluation already existed in the City.
However, the documents that were provided to the mayor do not give an overall picture of the situation on the ground and only a few cycle paths are mentioned, according to information obtained by a citizen and cyclist, Rick Hoge, who made a request for access to information.
These documents include in particular a monitoring report carried out in 2021 of the Express Bike Network set up the previous year along the rue de Bellechasse axis. The 50-page report mentions, among other things, the traffic on the track as well as the conflicts with delivery vehicles which stop on the cycle lanes for lack of a place to park. Observations carried out using cameras over three days notably demonstrated that on the segment located between the 38e Avenue and 40e Avenue, motorized vehicles had obstructed the cycle lanes 25 times per day — mainly for deliveries — for a stop of 4 minutes on average.
Another document concerns a report written on behalf of the Ministry of Transport of Quebec by Vélo Québec concerning the Notre-Dame Street East cycle path built around thirty years ago. The organization notes the numerous shortcomings of this cycling corridor, which is part of the Route verte, and makes recommendations to improve safety, both for cyclists and pedestrians.
The City also provided a list of observations and comments noted by municipal employees in July 2020 regarding the active and safe lanes (VAS) developed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
A note sent to Director General Benoit Dagenais by Claude Carette, Deputy Director General responsible for urban planning, mobility and infrastructure for the City, on November 10, lists the evaluation work carried out by the City over the years. “No security audit per se has been carried out for the entire network. However, various investigative, corrective and preventive measures have been implemented,” he emphasizes.
The note mentions the possibility of consulting the interactive Vision Zero maps where fatal collisions or collisions with serious injuries are recorded, whether involving cyclists, motorists or pedestrians.
In addition, the City has provided three guides presenting the standards governing digital countdown pedestrian lights, audible lights and lights intended for bicycle facilities.
Jean-François Rheault, CEO of Vélo Québec, believes that these documents have the advantage of demonstrating the expertise held by the public service in terms of cycling developments and prove that these are not “planned on the back of a table”. “It really shows the depth of the work of professionals at the City. It’s very easy to say, especially for social media, that [pistes] are not thought out, not planned, not thought out. But when you look at it, it’s quite the opposite. »
The intentions of the new administration are not yet clear, but Mr. Rheault believes that the budget and the ten-year capital plan which will be tabled next Monday will be a good indicator of the City’s plans for the development of the cycling network. In 2025, Montreal will invest 30 million in its network. “To see this amount be reduced would be a step backwards,” he warns.
