Montreal City Weblog

Kate 00:03 on 2019-07-31 Permalink Reply  

• dwgs 07:03 on 2019-07-31 Permalink

  Yesterday morning on the de Maisonneuve bike path I was about to pull out to pass someone (I had checked behind me a few seconds earlier, no other riders close) when a woman on a Jump bike (no helmet) passed me at top speed, no sound, no warning. I called out to her and told her that she should let people know when she was overtaking and she flashed me a peace sign. A few blocks later she pulled out and passed someone in front of me but stayed in the oncoming lane. Another woman coming the other way had to lock up her brakes and go to the kerb to avoid a head on collision. Jump biker didn’t apologize, just made a lame excuse and carried on. I gave her hell for the next block and pointed out that if she had such poor basic biking skills she definitely shouldn’t be riding at top speed on a Jump bike. She again wished me peace and told me I was uptight and I should relax.

• Kate 09:24 on 2019-07-31 Permalink

  See, this is why I don’t think powered vehicles should be on bike paths at all. It disrupts the flow.

• meezly 09:52 on 2019-07-31 Permalink

  I’m ok with pedal-assist bikes as long as they stay under 25 kph – it’s just the type of riders that use Jump bikes. I’ve been seeing a big increase of electric mopeds riders using bike lanes to save time. I had thought there was a by-law about that in 2014 (https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=16&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjmqIS4pN_jAhXsm-AKHTRZDcgQFjAPegQIBBAB&url=https%3A%2F%2Fmontrealgazette.com%2Fnews%2Flocal-news%2Fmontreal-bike-paths-whos-allowed-on-whos-not&usg=AOvVaw0tTxXGrMOsmiUNzWtVkHfi). Whatever happened to that by-law? I see Velo Quebec is still pushing the city to ban electric motorized mopeds on bike paths as they can go up to 70 kph. Some dude in a suit on his moped was going at least 35 kph to pass cyclists on a bike lane. I would really like the SPVM to fine his ass.

• Blork 10:09 on 2019-07-31 Permalink

  This is why we can’t have nice things. There are too many stupid people who end up ruining it for everyone. Personally, I’m a big fan of pedal-assist ebikes. But they do have the potential to go fast; even if the pedal assist tops out at 25kph, some idiots on pedal assist bikes will go 25kph on hills where everyone else is struggling along at 15. Or they race along at 25 through congested bike lanes, just because they can.

  Personally, I think Jump bikes and similar “shared” electric vehicles should top out at about 17, because they are used by so many casual users who don’t really know how to control them. But that’s not going to happen, and the result will inevitably be some kind of crackdown that will affect everyone, including people who use these things safely.

• Blork 10:19 on 2019-07-31 Permalink

  Another thing: the Jump rider that dwgs describes is exactly the kind of reckless idiot who should be banned from using Bixis and Jumps and all of those vehicles. Nothing burns me more than when you call someone out for being reckless and dangerous and they tell you to “relax.” (I imagine this is what, proverbially, women feel like when men tell them they’re “overreacting.”)

  The worst part is that its just a matter of time before that woman blows through a stop sign at top speed and gets hit by a car going perpendicularly. She, and everyone else, will blame the car driver.

• Ian 10:25 on 2019-07-31 Permalink

  I can’t help but wonder if the speeding on these new rental electric bikes is an emergent property of the fact that you are charged by the minute.

• Blork 11:19 on 2019-07-31 Permalink

  Interesting point, but I think the stronger influence is simply the thrillz. (Seriously, if you’ve never ridden a pedal-assist bike, the first time you get on one it is loads of fun and a bit thrilliing.)

• js 12:12 on 2019-07-31 Permalink

  Pedal-assisted e-bike use should be restricted to the elderly and the disabled with mobility issues. All others should be shamed as the lazy weak-legged menaces that they are. Montreal isn’t San Francisco – it’s mostly flat, and legit Montrealers know how to avoid or mitigate hills by being intimately familiar with the city and choosing appropriate routes.

• meezly 13:07 on 2019-07-31 Permalink

  For over 15 years, I’ve been commuting to work on my human-powered bicycle, every year from March to December. I’m an able-bodied and competent enough cyclist, but not terribly athletic. The e-bike has been a game changer for me now that I’m older (not elderly yet), a parent and a non-motorized vehicle owner. A recent example: I was able to e-bike home (Plateau) from work (Griffintown) which involved two significant hills, pick up the kid from school, greet the babysitter at home, then e-bike back to Little Burgundy for a work function within a decent time, and without being in a hot, sweaty mess which would’ve required a clothing change had I used a regular bike. Do I feel ashamed? No. I have a green option of getting across the city in an efficient manner. I read that e-bikes are becoming a more popular choice for older women to get around – should they too be shamed into being lazy, weak-legged menaces? Electric assisted wheeling has really democratized transportation, so we should be open to any new modes that do not require fossil fuels. But the road & bike lane infrastructure and by-laws does need a big overhaul to meet these demands.

• John B 13:29 on 2019-07-31 Permalink

  This guy’s Twitter has brought me around to meezly’s point of view over the past year-ish. E-bikes are a green option for getting around that make it possible to live a full, but less sweaty, life in a city.

  Maybe in addition to a speed cap, we should cap the amount of boost power. For example, if e-bikes were capped at 100 watts of assistance, or 25km/h, (whichever happens first), it would prevent, (or at least reduce the potential for), abuse, while still letting people get around easily. It’s pretty complicated and I’m not sure how enforceable it would be, though.

• Ephraim 13:35 on 2019-07-31 Permalink

  Blork…. that’s how I feel when a bicycle whizzes by me on the sidewalk. Even more so, when I used to have to walk with a cane.

• Blork 13:58 on 2019-07-31 Permalink

  “Pedal-assisted e-bike use should be restricted to the elderly and the disabled with mobility issues. All others should be shamed as the lazy weak-legged menaces that they are.”

  That is literally the stupidest comment I’ve seen on this blog in months.

• dwgs 14:40 on 2019-07-31 Permalink

  To be clear, I have nothing against e-bikes, they are a great boon to some. My beef is with self centred idiots who believe that the sun shines out of their collective ass. Ride / walk / drive with an awareness of the other people around you.

• Blork 16:01 on 2019-07-31 Permalink

  Ditto.

• Chris 21:23 on 2019-07-31 Permalink

  js, I couldn’t disagree more. You shouldn’t be comparing Jump riders to cyclists, but to motorists. Motorists are way lazier, right? So if we can get motorists to switch to ebikes, so much the better. A Jump bike requires *way* less energy to both make and operate. They should be encouraged. For these same reasons, we should *not* limit their speed. If it’s ok for cars to go 50 kph, then it’s ok for Jump. There’s no requirement for Jumps to be on bikeways, they can use the road too, just like cyclists. We probably should have a max speed on bikeways though, regardless of bike type. We should change the highway code to allow (at least fast) bikes to “take the lane” and to ride side-by-side.

• Ant6n 22:07 on 2019-07-31 Permalink

  I feel like in Europe all E-bikes top out at 25kph. Everything above that is a motorbike. Those kind of E-bikes can be very effective, they double or triple most people’s effective radius for commuting, meaning many more car trips could be replaced.

  There should simply be regulation that says that an electric assist bicycle (up to 25kph) is a bicycle, everything above is a motorcycle.