In February, I wondered whether the Laurier Avenue refurbishment around Metro Laurier would resemble the artist's conception.
Passing by on a sunny April afternoon, I was surprised just how much a portion of the image resembles the new reality.
Although the point of view is the opposite of the artist's conception, it is pretty remarkable that the city would construct such a uniform surface with hardly a visual difference between the sidewalk and the road portion of Rivard north of Laurier. Thoughtfully, though, the city added little metal knobs on the sidewalk on each side of the road to alert pedestrians that they are about to walk across a roadway. Perhaps they should have added something similar on the road to alert drivers?
It is also sad to read so many comments online in response to the various news reports that tend to lay the blame uniquely on the cyclist. If an accident occurs in a work environment, there is a responsibility to investigate the incident in a full and thorough manner. When this is done in a cursory and superficial manner, the result is invariably that the injured worker was 'careless' or 'negligent' or 'not following established procedures'. What is lacking is a determination of the root cause(s) of the accident with corresponding corrective actions to prevent a re-occurrence. It is not difficult to relate a similar, superficial attitude towards cyclists and accidents involving cyclists. In the incident last week, one news report mentioned witnesses seeing the cyclist weaving through cars stopped at a red light before the accident. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/story/2013/04/03/montreal-cyclist-fatal-collision.html
This subjective information can be a barrier to allowing a more expansive consideration of why the accident occurred, what are the inherent risks in the area and how to mitigate them. Some data that might be taken into account for this section of Rue Wellington is: 1) Who are the users and are they the same as when the road was originally constructed? Is the land use the same or is it in transition?
2) What is the impact on traffic during this transition phase? What temporary measures such as a reduction in speed or additional signage have been taken? 3) What infrastructure is in place to alert traffic to the possibility of encountering cyclists or pedestrians?
4) Why is there a section of the road that has no sidewalk on one side and why has a guardrail been installed here to prevent vehicles from going off the road when the speed limit is 50 km/h? 5) Does this guardrail protect vehicles or does it block a means of escape for a cyclist who might be crowded over by traffic? This is certainly one of many, many hazardous locations around the city for cyclists and pedestrians alike. Raising awareness of the hazards for all users is certainly a component of reducing accidents and injuries, but the first priority should be to endeavour to engineer more secure infrastructure solutions. And it should not need to take years of study to do so.
My first trip down to the Lachine Canal is also a chance to see what vessels are berthed in the Old Port of Montreal. I took a couple of pictures of the Federal Progress as Boatnerd had a report that it was sold to Canada Steamship Lines.
A couple of hours later on my way back home I was surprised to see just how fast a ship can change owners, names and flags of registry!
For some reason, Boatnerd has removed its report of the sale from its website. Perhaps they got their information wrong. But, then again, everything about this change seems to be happening quickly. Look again at the Panamanian flag on the stern; it's upside down!
Another cycling season in Montreal brings optimism that the city will rectify some of the glaring holes in its infrastructure. Walking around the Plateau this weekend, I was again reminded about the path to nowhere that exists at the corner of Esplanade and Mont Royal Avenues.
It is difficult to imagine that any 'design' has gone into this area. The bike lanes on Esplanade are clearly indicated running across Mont Royal Avenue and, yet, the sidewalk that runs along the east side of Jeanne Mance Park is not designated as multi-use. In addition, in the four block section of Mont Royal Avenue between St. Urbain and Avenue du Parc, there is a stop light at each intersection except at Esplanade where there is not even a stop sign for traffic moving along Mont Royal Avenue. The city does not provide a very clear indication on its cycling map as to what is expected of cyclists here.
Google Maps actually provides more information in its bike beta version though it is not accurate.
I would suggest the city acknowledge reality and make the east side path somewhat wider with a section for pedestrians and another for cyclists and then create a link across Duluth past the volleyball courts to connect to the bike path at Avenue du Parc just north of Avenue des Pins.
This would follow a line that has been trodden through the grass already by pedestrians and cyclists. It acknowledges the reality that people will take the path of least resistance rather than needlessly climbing the grade along the Rachel bike path through the park and then down again along Avenue du Parc. Here's hoping it will not be many more springs before hope springs into action.
I suppose there was a time 5 years ago or more in Montreal when this sign meant something:
But with the increasing number of cyclists throughout the island of Montreal, is there really a point to such signs? Is it supposed to tell cyclists to expect, oh really, automobile traffic up ahead? Provincial, municipal and police websites are unhelpful in determining the exact purpose of this specific sign as they do not even show it on their list of road signs. Perhaps it is simply to remind cyclists of the primacy of the automobile? How else to explain the choice of placing a car over top of a bicycle?
Montreal has been quick off the mark to start installing the Bixi stations around the Plateau even though the Bixi bikes themselves won't show up for a couple of weeks. Similarly, as the last piles of snow disappear and the temperatures steadily rise above zero, the number of cyclists on the streets is increasing exponentially. Unfortunately, the city is not as quick to adjust to changing patterns, be they transportation or weather, so citizens will have to wait another two weeks for the city to open the bike paths. It is difficult to comprehend why the start date for opening bike paths cannot fluctuate to better reflect the needs of the users. It would be interesting to see some statistics regarding accidents in this shoulder season when cyclists are faced with following their normal routes that often involve travelling the wrong way on one way streets where the bike lane exists for 8 months of the year (a choice I and most other cyclists make on Clark) or choosing other streets that might have elevated risks due to vehicle traffic such as St. Laurent or Avenue du Parc. It would seem simple enough for the city to notify citizens through the media a few days in advance of the opening of the bike paths. It certainly isn't a question of installing the occasional poles along some of the paths since the city is placing fewer and fewer of them. Perhaps the answer is to not close the bike paths at all during the winter? Mea Culpa Here I am bemoaning the fact that the bike lanes will not open for another couple of weeks when, in fact, they are open as of April 1st. Mind you, it is understandable that I might have missed this fact given the signs notifying residents were not installed until today and have gone generally ignored by car owners. April Fools! to all cyclists who thought the season has started.
