Projet bike path: “find out something bad”
I can hear the editor behind this story and headline in the Journal: “Go find out something bad about the new Réseau Express Vélo thing, OK?” So building the REV in Hochelaga-Maisonneuve meant removing three places where disabled people could get out of vehicles. I’m not trying to minimize the impact of that and I hope the city will find a way to mitigate it, but the Journal will never find a good thing to say about a Projet initiative or about cycling infrastructure.
Bill Binns 10:01 on 2019-08-07 Permalink
I find it very interesting to see who wins when protected classes go up against each other. In this case the undefeated bicyclist faction wins against the disabled. If only we could engineer a conflict between the bicyclists and one of the equally undefeated religious accommodation groups. It would be the fight of the century but my money would be on Team Hat.
DeWolf 10:02 on 2019-08-07 Permalink
Is that really the “first section” of the REV? To my understanding none of the REV has been implemented yet. It looks more like a regular old cycle track, like the kind Montreal has been building for 30 years.
walkerp 10:08 on 2019-08-07 Permalink
It’s hilarious. Montreal is the worst city for accessibility. Adding bike paths is an opportunity to improve that and even if they do sacrifice some accessibility that is not the prime area where it needs to be improved. Every fricking hotel, restaurant and most metro stations and many places of business need major accessibility overhauls and these assholes go after the bike lanes. Classic.
CE 10:27 on 2019-08-07 Permalink
I rode this lane (after taking the ferry from the old port) the other day and it was quite nice. Interestingly, they focus on a tiny piece of the path built next to the sidewalk so it can connect to an existing bike path next to the highway. The rest of the new path goes along the old railroad ROW and does a pretty good job of not disrupting car traffic at all.
Ephraim 10:35 on 2019-08-07 Permalink
Every extra step a handicapped person has to take might mean excruciating pain… we keep on removing more and more of the handicapped spots without thought of adding others back.