'If you do nothing, we will continue to die': Cyclists call for better road safety

In a call for better road safety, cyclists took tocity streetsto shed light on some of the dangers they face on a daily basis.

"If we had a city that was better designed, we'd have a better cohabitation,"said GabrielleAnctil, the spokesperson forVlofantme.

A group of cyclists toured the city on Saturday and stopped at sites where white memorialbikes are installed.The ghost bikes are placed at the site of where fatal road accidents occurred tohonour the deceased.

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The cyclists also staged a "die-in" at various intersections,where they acted outtheir deaths as if they'd been struck while biking, to bring awareness to dangerous driving and road violence.

The demonstration comes a few weeks after 18-year-old Clment Ouimetwas killedin a collision with an SUV while riding on Camillien-Houde Way on Mount Royal. His death has sparked an outpouring of tributes and calls to make Montreal safer for cyclists.

With the municipal election looming, Anctilsaysshe hopes that elected candidates make road safetyand protection of cyclists a priority during their mandate.

"If you do nothing, we will continue to die," she said.

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'We'll always be there'

As a city, Anctil said Montreal is designed based on cars and vehicular traffic, but that it comes at the expense of others on the road.

"We can avoid these deaths if, as a society, we prioritize the most vulnerable," she said. "Urban landscape that leads to deaths, that's something we have control over."

After his brother was killed while biking on St-Denis Street two years ago,Denis Carignansaid it is important to teach all Montrealers about the vulnerability of cyclists and pedestrians.

"Today isalso for awareness andto tell people 'Hey, we're here and we'll always be here,''' Carignan said.

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Like Anctil, he hopes that more actionwill be taken up by elected officials.

"We're always so close to cars, it's very dangerous," he said. "There's not a lot that's been done."