The song remains the same...

"Ottawa police are investigating after a male cyclist was struck by a truck and died in west Ottawa Thursday morning."

And in Montreal,

"A cyclist has died following a collision with a transport truck on Nazareth Street near the Bonaventure Expressway."


On a late November day, sad news with similar circumstances: trucks and proximity to major roads/highways.

Platitudes in the Plateau

Overheard at a four way stop in the Plateau between a cyclist and a motorist who were apparently both absolute in their certainty of having the right of way as they pushed ahead into the intersection:

"Hey, fuck you!"

"Fuck you!!"

"Go suck your mother's cock!!!"

While the cyclist won't get a passing grade for anatomy, he certainly wins the day for an imaginative riposte.

Unfortunately, both participants will carry their bile into future car/bicycle interactions and extend the divide between road users. 

Why can't we be friends?

Expanding Montreal Bike Network

With half the streets torn up in the city throughout the summer and into the fall, and with the recent mania by the city for painting circles around defects in the remaining streets rather than fixing them, it took me a while to realize that a new series of lines on some North/South running streets in the Plateau is supposed to be a cycle lane.

It looks like it is part of the city's plan for increased cycling infrastructure through the miracle of paint.

http://ville.montreal.qc.ca/pls/portal/docs/page/transports_fr/media/documents/programmation_cyclable_2014-2015.pdf

It is not absolutely clear, though, whether this lane is supposed to be two-way or North-bound or South-bound since there are no arrows to indicate direction. One thing, however, that is new is the double line bounding the parked cars, which gives a safety margin for cyclists to avoid getting doored.

The only question remains is whether this lane is supposed to be year-round or only when it is not covered by snow.