City of Montreal unveils bike safety plan for 57 underpasses

The City of Montreal has unveiled its new plan to make cycling on city streets saferby 2017.

It's identified 57 dangerous underpasses and outlined measures to make them more secure.

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The plan comes two years after Mathilde Blais was killed while biking through the underpassonSt-Denis Street.

Aref Salem, the city's executive committee member responsible for transportation, said the measures would include taking outa motorized-trafficlane and replacing it with a bike lane where possible.

Salem added that the city's cyclingcommittee, including representatives from Vlo Qubec,agreed with the new measures.

The measures will also include:

• Making both traffic lanes narrower to add a bike path, where possible.
• Allowing cyclists to continue to usesidewalks in underpasses.
• Moving manholes from the right side to the left side of the street, so cyclists don't have to swerve to avoid them.
• Adding lights in underpasses.
• Prohibiting bike access in the St-Remi Street and Atwater Avenue tunnels.

'Wish it was good news'

Projet Montralexpressed disappointment over the plan.

"We feel that they're just trying to patch things here and there," said the opposition party'scycling critic, Councillor Marianne Gigure.

Although it was the opposition's idea to allow cyclists to bike onsidewalks through underpasses in the wake of Blais's death, Gigure said it was an emergency measure,meant to be temporary.

"It still puts users of active transport on the side,sending the message that we will not remove any road capacity to make their way safer and more comfortable," Gigure said.

She said only two of the identified underpasses would be rebuilt to replace a motorized-traffic lane with a bike lane "a very, very small number."

But Salem refuted Gigure'sstatement, saying two underpasses havealready been rebuilt andmore are on the way.