Montreal cyclists claim their lane
by Sarah Pearson
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| Photos courtesy of Riley Starr |
On the last Friday of every month, in cities all over the world, urban cyclists gather in their downtown cores and hit the streets for a rush hour ride. Known as "Critical Mass," this grassroots movement delivers a message to motorists and city officials alike: the cyclists are not blocking traffic, they are traffic.
Montreal is no exception. Never a city to say no to a rally, the Montreal Masse Critique meets monthly; even in winter. Though no one officially organizes the ride - part of the movement's charm is its spontaneity - it's not hard to spot the regulars.
On April 27th at 18h, a crowd of about sixty gathers in Phillips Square. Some come with colourful anti-car banners planted triumphantly on their back rails. A few wear festive face paint. One gentleman hooks up a plywood trailer to his bike to create a portable sound system for the ride.
Gabrielle Anctil, a Montreal student who bikes twelve months a year, tells me that her anger with city hall is what drives her to come out to these rallies.
Critical Mass delivers a message to motorists and city officials alike: the cyclists are not blocking traffic, they are traffic.
"There are 80,000 bikers in Montreal [during the winter]," she says. "The city doesn't recognize that. They could clear the bike lanes in the winter but [they] don't." Anctil's statistics may be somewhat inflated - according to Vélo Québec, there are 50,000 winter cyclists in the province - but her concern for bicycle safety is very real.
As fate would have it, just three days after the ride I attended, the Tremblay administration announced that it will expand the de Maisonneuve bike path, connecting it to the Berri path. According to the plan, this path will be protected from traffic and regularly plowed in the winter. The city anticipates that it will be ready by the fall.
This is precisely the kind of change that the Critical Mass participants have been working for. In 2005, the city agreed to a three-year plan drafted by Vélo Québec, to expand bike lanes and make cycling accessible in the winter. But with only eight months left to go of those three years, the question is whether those targets will actually be met.
Those who think the cyclists are just a bunch of squeaky wheels, argue that Montreal is famous for being biker friendly; it was even rated the "Best Cycling City in North America" by Bicycling magazine in 1999.
The delightful Lachine Canal and Mont-Royal pistes make this city a hotspot for recreational cyclists keen on a summer picnic. The annual Tour de l'Île, a cross-city ride 30,000 bikers strong, is a staple in a long slew of summer festivals. Shutting down major Montreal streets for a day of safe cycling, the Tour delights the families and friends who make the annual pilgrimage almost as much as it irritates merchants whose businesses suffer from the traffic blockages.
But if it takes police cordons on the roads or a safety-in-numbers mentality of the Critical Mass protest in order to make cyclists feel safe, the city has a lot of work to do.
"Cyclists in this city are crazy," one NDG retiree bluntly states. "I love biking, I just don't trust the cars."
Sarah Pearson keeps busy with freelance writing assignments, ongoing theatre projects, and singing with the award-winning Concerto Della Donna.
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