The city of Montreal has announced that it will invest about $17 million in 2022 to expand, consolidate, and safeguard its cycling network. In total, 41 new projects will allow the City to build or upgrade 35.8 kilometres of bike lanes in 17 boroughs and related communities, according to a statement released by the mayor's office and the executive committee.
The City of Montreal's goal is to make it easier for more Montrealers to move around by bicycle by consolidating and safeguarding its network of bike routes, regardless of which borough they are in.
The City's chosen theme is territorial equity, which should allow for the creation of cycle routes in distant boroughs. Interventions will also take place around the Montreal agglomeration, not simply in the downtown areas.
In 2022, a number of projects will begin and/or come to a close. There will be a Réseau Express Vélo (REV) on Henri-Bourassa, the first segment of which will be built between Pitfield and Félix-Leclerc streets in the borough of Saint-Laurent.
On the Viger–Saint-Antoine–Saint-Jacques axis, the REV will also be developed. Between Sherbrooke East and La Fontaine streets, De Champlain Street will be rebuilt and a protected bikeway will be installed.
These new projects, which aim to ensure the territorial equity of the bicycle network, will inspire even more Montrealers to choose active mobility, according to Marianne Giguère, an advisor linked with active transportation on the City of Montreal's executive committee.
“ In addition to adding kilometers to the cycling network, we are allowing more users located in outlying areas to travel safely through the city."
— A quote from Sophie Mauzerolle, responsible for transport and mobility on the executive committee of the City of Montreal
The Villeray Street bike path will be extended to 24th Avenue. Thus, cyclists will be able to cross the borough from east to west on a protected route of more than 5 kilometers.
Finally, in Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, the Grenier trail should make it possible to connect four large parks: the nature parks of Bois-de-Paraguay, Bois-de-Liesse, L'Anse-à-l'Orme, and the Great West Park.
As part of Vision Zero, we have set ourselves the goal of having zero fatalities and serious injuries on our network by 2040. These projects are therefore another step in the right direction and allow us to improve the mobility on our roads, affirmed Mrs. Mauzerolle.
The city of Montreal has also announced the formation of a cycling committee to assist in the long-term planning of the bicycle network in order to accomplish its modal transfer goals as well as the need for territorial justice. The Regional Public Health Department, Vélo Québec, and Cyclo Nord-Sud will all be represented on this committee.
For his part, Jean-François Rheault, president, and CEO of Vélo Québec believes that the election of 2021 demonstrated the citizens' will and that the return of the bicycle committee is an outstretched hand [...] to promote an inclusive vision in the development of accessible cycling infrastructure.
Dr. David Kaiser of the Regional Public Health Department emphasized the significance of physically separating axes from traffic to promote citizen safety on key highways in the news release. As a result, the City's announcement of investments in protected cycle pathways is welcome.
The city also aims to work with the Sustainable Mobility Agency in this area. A pilot project will track difficulties on the REVSaint-bike Denis's lanes to see if they should be expanded to other routes.
