Montreal’s missing bike paths
I, like many of you ride Montreal’s bike paths daily. I do so partly to commute to work, and partly to get to where I am going for a training ride.
As I have just moved, I am always out on the lookout for a better, safer way home without having to deal with motorists who seem Hell bent on cutting me off.
The overall winner in terms of bike paths in Montreal is the Brébeuf bike path. This is the bike path that runs you from Laurier park straight down to Lafontaine park and connects you to the Rachel bike path.
It is a very busy bike path. Stand on the corner of Brébeuf at 08:30 on a weekday morning and watch the number of cyclists whip by. Amazing stuff. These commuters are also excellent bike handlers who perform shoulder checks before switching lanes and who actually realize that they are not the only ones on the bike path.
Unfortunately, many of them then have to take the Rachel bike path. Without a doubt, the stretch that runs from St-Urbain all the way to Pie -IX is one sordid mess of a bike path in desperate need of repaving. I had to ride that path everyday for nearly an entire summer and if if it turns out I can’t have children, I know EXACTLY where to lay the blame.
Another area that needs work are the citizens of Lasalle. There is an excellent stretch of bike path that goes from Lachine, all along the water until St-Henri. This bike path however is chalk full of families taking walks. I recently came across 3 families, complete with strollers the size of my car taking up both lanes. When I passed them, causing them to have to yield a quarter of a lane to me, two of the women gave me the dirtiest of looks.
Whoa. It’s a bike path!
You would never see this in downtown or Le Plateau. Bike paths are for bikes, not strollers the size of golf carts.
Which brings me to my two final complaints. The first, is the path that runs along St-Urbain under the Rosemont train underpass. Why does this section, that protects the cyclists from motorists require that the cyclist ride up a side street, hop a sidewalk and then double back on itself in order to get behind the protecting divider ? Open up the path to give direct access from St-Urbain without having to do some BMX trick.
And finally, Montreal desperately needs a path that heads North. We have one that goes south from Laurier until Milton, we need the same going north.
Leave the car at home. Ride your bike. There’s only a month of summer left.
Good topic. I heard they were going to extend the NDG-downtown path from Green eastwards, and I can’t wait. The only other problems with my route are the bit where you have to dodge traffic between Decarie and Vendôme, and of course the strollers you mentioned – plus wheelchairs, etc. I guess the sidewalk needs repair so much that it is too bumpy over there, or something.
What you call the “de la Roche” bike path, but which runs on Rue de Brébeuf, goes all the way North, through Parc Laurier, Christophe-Coulomb underpass and Boyer, all the way to the 40 and even further.
It’s narrow, I have had an accident on it, but it does go and it even has new stoplights on many intersections in Villeray so there comes a time you can traverse those busy roads. A lot of cyclist prefer to ignore the stoplights and cross just in front of the cars.
The stretch I really miss is North from Prince-Arthur. In the southern direction there is the Clark/St. Urbain/Milford/McGill campus route, but going North you have to go against the traffic on Clark or use St. Laurent and hope you will not get doored or otherwise mangled. Just spraying some signs doesn’t have to cost a fortune, does it? Maybe we can hire Roadsworth to do it for us.
Mare, you are right it is the Brébeuf, bike path. I have edited the post to reflect this. Thanks.
One of the bike maps I saw showed the clark path that ends at beaubien as projected to extend all the way north along the railroad line to the rail bridge into laval. I’d love that, and I bet there’s plenty of potential bike commuters on that route…but I don’t see it happening any time soon.
Yeah, the bike path goes all the way north to Laval. I can’t complain at all about north-bound bike paths on the east side. I’m looking forward to the de Maisonneuve bike path to connect from Greene to Berri but I will only use it for going west as I love riding on Ste-Catherine (but I can understand how many people don’t so I’m sure it will be well used). The de Maisonneuve path is probably the biggest missing link in Montreal and I think we’ll see a lot more people commuting to work as a result.
I agree with elvi, that cutoff from the Westmount bikepath to where it connects again further west in NDG is crazy. Something seriously needs to be done about it.
A bike path of some sort is desperately needed north/south on the west side of the mountain through NDG, CDN, and up through VSL. Getting through there is horribly confusing and dangerous and a dedicated bike path would make it a lot easier. This bike path could also connect with the north/south path on the east side of the moutain making a full circle of paths around the moutain (after the de Maisonneuve path is finished).
The city promised to double bike paths throughout the city as part of its transportation plan released a couple months ago so lets hope we see some real action sometime soon!
I’ve been beginning to use some bike baths myself, and agree with everyone. It’s yet another promise and knowledge they can do anything they feel like and get away with it, but this time the plan seems real.
I live upwards of ndg- and try to find a way down past sherbrooke to de maisonneuve before decarie. That area is great as it is a real bike bath where self serving motorists cannot cheat even with the bicycle markers all around at least for the first, then final portion until green where there are polls. It is great! But it is- a mess. Where de maisonneuve crosses decarie on the way there you have to navigate on a slanted steep dirt driven path in the grass! Lol, then DOWN no opening side and forced slightly towards the right where there is a small area CROWDED for pedestrians and cyclists completely unsafe where for lanes of FAST moving traffic emerges. It’s tough enough being a younger, stronger person image a simple leisurely family- who most likely knowns to just avoid this area. That’s when your lucky headed downtown, on the way back you have to trust your luck and be thankful for those normal speed moving motorists who’ll yield to you up the small incline just past decare0 because at that point lets face it you and them both are in a hurry and there is no room for both of you at all. You feel the pressure to hurry it up and it is not a calm matter- but a pressing event you know you cannot avoid. The route along de maissoneuve is ok. Then, also heading downtown is Claremont, where cyclists life may end again as they are awkwardly forced to cross with no stop sign or traffic light, or diagonally where the street becomes a two way- the bicycle signs on the street begin again- however on the busy area such as that one don’t expect motorists to NOT, EVER drive beside those diagrams, at the next light is a major and busy one to the right and you feel the pressure and eyes on YOU, because of the flow of traffic- NOT exactly it’s your fault- you have no choice.
After this your forced down green should you be trying to go to the lachine canal via atwater which is what I do.
Want to know why- I go all the way in the ndg- cote des neiges hampstead area- the wrong way considering the lachine canal pretty much begins at atwater just until old mtl the following is the reason – and even worse designs in the bike paths- I learned the HARD WAY.
Ok so the lachine canal has many open nice acess points- right but the access is not exactly user friendly. Just thinking about it makes me worried.
I leave 5 minutes away from westminister where you could go down all the way down find your way at the highway 20 where there suddenly appears bike icons on the ground once you CROSS the major intersection. To get there I realize totally not friendly to cyclist might as well go on st Jacques on your bike is the one street they should add a proper bike path- i believe is avon road- a long streth not steep well paved- but I tried once and motorists don’t expect cyclists they go down the middle its just plain dangerous, once you pass that small area however you arrive in the small street down in mtl west near the 20 – at dollard avenue and rue des oblats where you cross and suddenly despite it being a major HIGHWAY access point every angle- suddenly its pedestrians and cyclist friendly with intersection crosswalks- lights just for us. you cross and your in!
Phew!
Does anyone else know what I mean?
Phew indeed! That’s quite a comment. ;-) Thanks for posting that.
I was trying to visualize where you are riding and have figured it out. The de Maisoneuve/Decarie intersection is definitely nasty. I know it quite well. I’m trying to think of an alternate route for you but at this point, I can’t. ;-(
The problem with your area is that it’s a often used route for highways and as such was built that way and motorists have that mentality..
The state of affairs in Montreal is that for many, they have to navigate some rather nasty sections before they can get to a cyclists haven.. if you will.
Don’t be afraid to take up space on the road. You have as much right to be riding the streets as cars have in driving them. Make them go around you if they have to. They may honk and bark at you, but remember, you have the right to be there and you aren’t polluting.
Thanks Justin,
I am scared to go in the road I don’t think I am fast enough and people drive so fast- it’s too ‘hectic’ and they pass too slow- I find the honking and asshole rudeness a little too unpleasant! Yeh the route I take pretty much seems like the best bet all the other ain road sherbrooke cote st catherine too busy NO other bikers there!
If they add more paths- it would be great. But the government can do whatever they want with our money, their promises and that’s exactly what they do. Frankly no one seems to care enough!
Two spots are ridiculous on the Plateau bike path.
1. The shortest way of getting from Cherrier at St-Denis and Prince-Arthur at St-Laurent is through the pedestrian stretch of Prince-Arthur… where cops are happy to slap a fine on you if you ride through. I hate having to detour by Sherbrooke while going west or des Pins while going east just to be a legal biker.
2. That small stretch of the path on de Bordeaux (which is a one-way southbound street there) between Rachel and Gauthier, is also a one-way southbound bike path? To add to the irony, Bordeaux becomes one-way northbound north of Rachel. Bad planning there my friends.
Fred
Regarding the person who has to detour around the Prince Arthur pedestrian street, you could try walking your bike there. it’s perfectly legal, and safe, and dare I say it, actually enjoyable?
The real missing bike path in Montreal is the link from Rachel Path to the Pont Jacques Cartier Bridge.
http://cyclingfunmontreal.blogspot.com/2007/05/linking-pont-jacques-cartier-bridge-to.html