REV: the fears and the reality
Metro looked into the fears and the reality of the REV bicycle paths on St‑Denis and Bellechasse.
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Blork 21:32 on 2022-04-13 Permalink
I regret that I haven’t had the opportunity to ride my bike on the REV yet. (Life goals 2022!) I certainly would have loved having it there when I lived in that area years ago.
Regarding parking (which is the only thing most people talk about), I am not what you’d call a representative sample, but I have parked on St-Denis maybe 10 times since the REV came in and I have never found it to be any more difficult than before the REV. Mind you, most of the time it’s mid- to late-afternoon on a Saturday or Sunday when I’m doing this, but a few times it’s been mid-day mid-week. With maybe one exception, I’ve always been pretty happy with how quickly I found a spot.
My only concern is that in some cases it’s really not clear if that space you’re eyeing is legit or not. Especially when close to the mid-block crossings (which I LOVE as a pedestrian), the signage is classic “fog of Montreal” design, meaning the info is either totally absent or it can be interpreted four different ways.
mare 22:10 on 2022-04-13 Permalink
I might be in a minority but I don’t like the St-Denis REV. It’s absolutely not a réseau express vélo, it’s super slow. I hate that I have to stop every two blocks and wait a very long time for a red light. At many intersections the green light for cyclists is only 30 seconds and then there’s more than 2 minutes of red.
thomas 22:24 on 2022-04-13 Permalink
Last summer I was surprised to see so many families with kids biking along the REV. Isn’t this the type of clientele businesses would like to attract? At least, the ice cream shops must be happy.
John B 22:52 on 2022-04-13 Permalink
I’m with mare on there being nothing express about the REV. It seems like wherever the city puts in improvements for cycling they come with cycling traffic lights that give very little time to cyclists but oblige us to stop when it might otherwise be safe to go.
The REV should let cyclists get to their location quickly, not slow us down so our bikes become slow like cars, but more dangerous and with worse air conditioning.
Joey 08:41 on 2022-04-14 Permalink
Hard to imagine an actual reseau “express” in the city, tbh, especially on St-Denis. The appeal of the St-Denis bike path is its size (nice wide uniditectional lanes) and its safety (distinct cycle lights that don’t conflict with turning cars, etc.). Compare with the De Maisonneuve bike path, which is narrower, bidirectional and for decades didn’t have bike lights, meaning cyclists had to contend with pedestrians, cars turning left and bikes coming in the opposite direction.
The idea of a network of fast lanes for bikes has a lot of appeal, but I can’t imagine it being actually implemented. Seems PM’s objective is to make all forms of commuting safe for the commuter and pedestrians, as well as independent of cars. In practice that means slowing traffic down all kinds of vehicle traffic, including bikes.
As for parking around St-Denis, it was a challenge before and it’s a challenge now. BFD.
Meezly 09:40 on 2022-04-14 Permalink
Agree with Joey. “Express” is a bit of a misnomer, maybe it should’ve been called the “Reseau efficace velo” instead, but doesn’t sound as good.
We biked it with our 8 yo last summer. We started from Laurier and biked almost all the way to Ahuntsic, The REV made it so easy. And yes, we stopped for ice cream on Sauve!
DeWolf 11:10 on 2022-04-14 Permalink
The REV’s name is a misnomer only if you’re the kind of cyclist who rides 30km/h on an expensive lightweight bike. The express part has more to do with directness: long, straight routes along major streets. Even with all the traffic lights, going from the Latin Quartier to Villeray along the REV is still way faster than the old zig-zag bike routes that took you along Cherrier, past Lafontaine Park, up to and around Laurier Park, then the bumpy, narrow path on Boyer. For short trips within the Plateau, the REV is often slower than taking side streets, but as soon as you need to cross the CPR tracks, it saves a ton of time versus the old routes.
That said, the traffic lights are definitely problematic. Most times I’m on St-Denis, I seem to hit red lights at every intersection, which is annoying. But worse than that is the inconsistency between intersections. Some have solid green arrows to prevent drivers from turning right when cyclists have priority, which the drivers often ignore. Others have red arrows to prevent right turns, which work better, but isn’t idiot-proof because some drivers get confused (if they aren’t deliberately running the red). And smaller intersections like St-Denis/Gilford or St-Denis/St-Grégoire have no bike lights at all, and many drivers don’t check their mirrors before making a right turn, so you need to be extra cautious. I remember hearing that the lights are provisional and the city will gradually make adjustments, but you know how long these things take.
On the whole, having such a long, direct cycling route through the entire central part of the city makes such a huge difference in mobility. Although I enjoy zig-zagging through residential streets, sometimes I just want to go from A to B as efficiently as possible.
Joey 13:33 on 2022-04-14 Permalink
@DeWold, would you agree that the REV St-Denis is slower than just riding down St-Denis under its old configuration (safety be damned)?
CE 19:40 on 2022-04-14 Permalink
I use the REV almost daily and agree with the complaints about the lights but what I really appreciate is the pedestrian experience on St-Denis. It’s just so much more pleasant to walk there now that it isn’t a four lane street. Lots of shops and restaurants there have gotten business from my girlfriend and I over the last year because we’ve actually wanted to walk down the street.
dhomas 02:38 on 2022-04-15 Permalink
@Meezly there’s an ice cream shop around Sauvé metro now? That used to be “my” metro for a long time before I moved, but I haven’t been around there in a couple of years, since I started working from home in 2018. There was still a Super Club Videotron there the last time I passed by.
I haven’t yet tried the REV St-Denis. Hopefully this summer. I have taken the REV Souligny, which is quite “express” as you can ride it quite quickly without much interruption. Unfortunately, in its current state, it dumps you in the middle of nowhere at the end of the path going west. There are apparently plans to connect it to more of the REV network. Looking forward to it!
Meezly 09:46 on 2022-04-15 Permalink
@dhomas, sorry I was mistaken. We only made it up to De Castelnau, which had the ice cream and the funky Ruelle Vintage shop. Don’t know why I thought it was Sauvé as it’s way further north. But De Castelnau is one of the streets that’s made pedestrian-only during the summer and it’s a very pleasant stop if you’re trying to get to Sauvé!