Part of Cherrier Street will be off-limits to cars to reduce bike accidents

Drivers in the Plateau-Mont-Royalborough will soon be forbidden from driving westbound on a short stretch ofCherrierStreet,near LaFontainePark.

The new measure,announced on Tuesday as a way to help reduce the number of bike accidents,is expected to be come into effectby the end of August.

The165-metre stretch of CherrierSt.,between Sherbrooke St. E. and Parc La Fontaine Ave. is a hot spotfor traffic accidents, according to Montreal's public health agency. Between 2004 and 2015, 94 people were injured there in collisions with cars.

From now on, only bikes and buses will be allowed to travel westbound on that part of the road.

• Montreal spending $15M on new, existing bike paths
• Better city infrastructure could mean fewer cyclist injuries

"Hundreds of cyclists, pedestrians, and drivers compete for the same green light in an often tense context,"Marianne Gigure, a Plateau borough councillor, said in a statement.

The changes to the street were praised by two cycling advocacy groups, Vlo Qubec andCoalition vlo de Montral.