As new bike paths hit Montreal, why this local group is mulling legal action

In Montreal, a radical of residents is trying to deed the brakes connected caller motorcycle lanes and threatening to writer the metropolis implicit however it handles mounting up its increasing cycling network.

Marc Perez of the Coalition for Democracy Montreal claims “the metropolis has decided not to perceive to its people” erstwhile it comes to however motorcycle paths are executed.

“So acold I person ne'er met anyone who is anti-bike way — nobody,” Perez said successful an interrogation Monday. “Everyone is against the mode the policies are being implemented and that is the biggest concern.”

The radical insists Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante’s medication needs to amended consult residents earlier gathering caller motorcycle paths. The determination comes arsenic statement continues implicit changes successful the city’s Parc-Extension area and an overhaul of Terrebonne Street successful Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, a neighbourhood successful Montreal’s westbound end.

In NDG, Terrebonne Street gained 2 motorcycle lanes past summer. As a result, much than 300 parking spaces were removed from the street. Opinions person been split connected the revamp, but Perez says residents wanted a configuration that works similar successful different neighbourhoods.

“Parking was kept, motorcycle paths were implemented. That’s what we want. What the politician decided for this thoroughfare is wholly the opposite,” helium said.

Perez says the changes connected Terrebonne Street person truthful acold been problematic: determination is little parking entree for a section schoolhouse and religion and determination is much treble parking and cars spilling onto neighbouring roads.

“In the greeting determination is large traffic. It’s each backed up truthful they conscionable spell to the different streets,” Perez said.

The Coalition for Democracy Montreal plans connected filing a suit against the city, alleging that Montreal is forcing excessively galore motorcycle paths without taking into information the opinions of residents successful those neighbourhoods.

But the metropolis counters that it undertakes extended consultation earlier installing caller motorcycle paths. The enlargement of Montreal’s cycling web — which stretched much than 900 kilometres arsenic of May 2023 — has been a precedence for Plante since she took bureau successful 2017. This includes the Réseau explicit vélo, a 191-kilometre lattice of protected bike lanes done immoderate of Montreal’s densest neighbourhoods.

Marianne Giguère, a metropolis councillor successful the Plateau-Mont-Royal borough and the enforcement committee subordinate for progressive mobility, says prioritizing a “good cycling infrastructure” is “something we person ever been wide about.”

“We privation to supply radical with bully mobility options. This is what we promised to the citizens and they voted for us,” Giguère said. “We’re conscionable giving them what we promised, what we accidental we volition do.”

In Montreal, Giguère says astir 1.3 per cent of thoroughfare surfaces are dedicated to bicycle infrastructure. She says she understands alteration tin beryllium hard, but the metropolis “wants to physique the champion infrastructure possible” crossed antithetic boroughs, particularly successful areas traditionally underserved by viable progressive transit options.

“We request to adapt, we request to supply options. We request to accommodate to the clime situation besides and this is 1 of the tools that we have,” Giguère said.

Pro-cycling groups agree, saying cycling is simply a solution successful dense areas with excessively galore cars and vehicular traffic.

“I deliberation we request much motorcycle paths successful Montreal to link each the neighbourhoods. The motorcycle way is astir giving radical mobility options,” Vélo Québec president Jean-François Rheault said.

Giguère, for her part, notes determination volition ever beryllium 2 sides erstwhile it comes to implementing caller motorcycle paths. She counters she has besides heard from residents who importune “it’s not enough, it’s not going accelerated capable for progressive mobility.”

As for the imaginable ineligible action, Giguère says residents person a “right to bash so.” The metropolis volition respond to the suit if and erstwhile it’s filed, she added.

Meanwhile, Perez of the Coalition for Democracy Montreal is calling connected the city’s medication to “sit down with an municipality planner with the citizens.”

“I privation them to instrumentality into information what the citizens are proposing due to the fact that there’s cipher amended to suggest thing amended for their neighbourhood than the radical that really unrecorded here,” helium said.

—With files from Global’s Brayden Jagger Haines and The Canadian Press