Active transport runs into bumps
Le Devoir has a feature on the bumps in the road for active transport, saying that more than a thousand cyclists or walkers were killed or seriously injured here since 2012. With pictures, video and maps, very spiffy.
DeWolf 15:12 on 2021-12-02 Permalink
Somehow it still hasn’t sunk in that the problem is design. You can lower speed limits, put in stop signs and traffic lights and all the signage you want, but if an intersection is designed for cars to move quickly, it will be deadly for pedestrians and cyclists.
I’m finally reading Daniel Sanger’s book about Projet Montréal right now and there’s a lot of very interesting detail about the bureaucratic processes that had to be reformed just to make curb extensions a standard part of street design. And that was in a situation where there was a political will to make things safer and better designed. In many parts of Quebec, there’s zero interest in actually improving the situation. That’s true even when the lives of children are at stake – like when the very compassionate residents of Saint-Flavien voted not to install a sidewalk after a little girl was killed, because it would be inconvenient for their driving.
We need more curb extensions, more pedestrian safety islands and more physical obstacles that force cars to slow down when they pass through intersections and turn corners. Like in this toolkit:
https://nacto.org/publication/urban-street-design-guide/intersection-design-elements/
This is stuff most boroughs in Montreal are already doing, but it’s all happening too slowly, and without enough focus on major arteries.