Montreal City Weblog

Kate 10:48 on 2021-05-18 Permalink Reply  

• Blork 14:13 on 2021-05-18 Permalink

  You know that sense of repulsion you feel when you see the “Comments” link on a news story? I feel that same repulsion just looking at the main link to this story.

• walkerp 14:20 on 2021-05-18 Permalink

  I wouldn’t be surprised if the bike path complaints were coordinated. Probably some coalition with the Joe Beef guy and a bunch of West Island car addicts organizing a phone-a-thon to the ombudsman.

• qatzelok 20:50 on 2021-05-18 Permalink

  “Please hold while we transfer your call to Drivers’ Anonymous.”

• M 21:42 on 2021-05-18 Permalink

  Or maybe this is an echo chamber? I think a majority of people don’t like that bike paths are seemingly the main focus of this administration, a goal that benefits a minority of citizens. I’m all for bike paths, I like how quaint a narrower Saint-Denis looks now (even though it’s a bit of headache at rush hour to drive there when someone is trying to turn), but go to the East End and it’s a different story. Why were so many streets turned into one-ways when they could have accommodated both motorists going in two directions *and* cyclists? Instead, you’ve got four lanes’ worth of bike paths and one for cars. Add never ending construction and getting around in that area is ridiculous. I can see how many are annoyed.

• Kate 09:04 on 2021-05-19 Permalink

  four lanes’ worth of bike paths and one for cars

  Where is this?

• DeWolf 09:52 on 2021-05-19 Permalink

  St-Denis has right turn lanes at every intersection and left turns are prohibited. If someone making a turn is blocking traffic, it’s either because they’re making an illegal left turn or they’re a dope who tries to turn right from the centre lane. (I’ll admit, I’ve witnessed plenty of both, but you can’t blame bad driver behaviour on the street’s design.)

  As for the “East End” (which is a very big area) I assume you’re talking about Bellechasse in Rosemont? The reason the bike paths are so wide is because they’re designed for all ages and abilities. The old style of bike paths barely allow room for one person at a time. The new ones are meant to accommodate everyone from road cyclists to schoolchildren. I use it quite frequently and it can get very busy in the afternoon with kids going home from class. I can only imagine how much busier it will be when people eventually go back to offices and universities.

  Otherwise I can’t think of any streets have been made one-way in recent years. Maybe Laurier East? But that was in 2014 and it has been a huge success for businesses and of course the pedestrians and cyclists who benefit from more space.

• mare 21:32 on 2021-05-19 Permalink

  Another major reason to make bike paths wide is so they can be cleared of snow in the winter by standard snow clearing equipment . The Bellechasse bike path (around the corner from me) was often cleared earlier than the road, and definitely salted more and more often (too much actually, it was completely white and crusty in the spring, and my dogs hated it because it hurt their feet).

• dhomas 06:30 on 2021-05-20 Permalink

  @DeWolf: I will start by saying that I’m a cycling advocate (almost annoyingly so to friends and family), and the recent changes to roadways to accommodate cycling are a welcome change for me.

  That said, it’s not only Bellechasse in Rosemont. Further East (in my neck of the woods), a few examples come to mind:

  de Marseille street, in Mercier-Hochelaga-Maisonneuve. It runs parallel to Sherbrooke Street and was often used by motorists to avoid traffic on said street. It’s been made one-way and large bike paths have been added
  Gouin street in RDP. Large swaths of the street were made one-way to accommodate bike paths
  de Carignan, in HoMa. North-South axis, made one-way.

  -I’m sure there are others I’m forgetting

  In Ahuntsic, close to my parents’ house, there is also Christophe-Colomb, Sauriol, Prieur, others.

  I’m all for these changes, but I know not everyone is of the same opinion.