Posted by Les Faber in Helen & I spent the weekend on Montreal with friends. So Saturday & Sunday had no cycling in store for us.
The good part is that the trip served as a reminder to us as to what a great city Montreal is for cycling. The city has done an excellent job of promoting cycling to the masses, and more importantly, they have made a solid commitment to providing cyclists with an adequate network of bike routes throughout the city.
During our 2 day stay, I got a good feel for what my home town has to offer in the way of support for cyclists (Montreal 1 – Ottawa 0).
There is an elaborate network of paths and shared access throughout the city. The big difference between Montreal & Ottawa is that Montreal has created some bike paths where commuters are versus recreational trails that are used by Commuters (there are some of those in Montreal also.).
For example, last year the City of Montreal eliminated 100′s of parking spots on de Maisoneuve Street in favor of a 2 way bike path that runs East – West right through the downtown core. This provides safe and easy access to downtown for cyclists.
And there are many other paths like this throughout the city!
The entire map can be downloaded here (PDF). It’s in French. But it doesn’t really matter. Red Lines are Bike Paths (no motorized vehicles!).
Cycle on!
Montreal has done a good job but I wish they would close some road to vehicles like they do with the parkways on Sunday mornings in Ottawa. I would love to see Camillien Houde closed to cars Sunday mornings.
@ Montreal Cyclist: I agree with you. I always wondered why the city didn’t do the same as we do here in Ottawa. There seems to be a better commitment to cycling in Montreal versus Ottawa.
A good job… At marginalizing the cyclist, it is ok if they ride on the path, but not so when they are on open roads! They vision of sharing the road is the cars on it and the cyclists in the ditch…with no right and lots of obligations.
For a more interactive map of the bike path network in the greater Montreal area check out http://www.pedalmontreal.ca
I agree that the city has done a good job in developing their system and one can cover a good part of the island without ever having to leave the path.