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Downtown Montreal construction creates “potentially dangerous” cycling situation: reports

As renovations continue at Place du Canada in Montreal, Que., Global News has shed an uneasy light on the effect such work is having on nearby cycling.

July 6, 2015
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Ongoing construction has reduced the size of Peel Street in Montreal, making cycling dangerous, reports say. (Image: Google Maps)
Ongoing construction has reduced the size of Peel Street in Montreal, making cycling dangerous, reports say. (Image: Google Maps)

As renovations continue at Place du Canada in Montreal, Que., Global News has shed an uneasy light on the effect such work is having on nearby cycling. Peel Street, specifically, has been highlighted as a “potentially dangerous” place for cyclists in particular, reports say.

The entire area where Peel Street meets the downtown core has become a dense, near-innavigable morass of construction, Global said. In connection with the road work, a stretch of Peel Street, not far from the Bonaventure metro station, has been noticeably reduced in size down to just three lanes. Another stretch between Sainte-Gatherine street Ouest and Maisonneuve street has been completely shut down as construction continues.

That, Montreal cyclists say, could present the most dire kind of problem for cyclists — one that could prove deadly, in a worst case scenario.

“The problem is, what happens if a car wants to overtake you?” Global News reported one cyclist, Marek Dziong, as saying. “That could be a problem.” Another cyclist, Ludovic Praingere — visiting Montreal from France, and currently cycling between the city and Saguenay, Que. — told Global, “The road’s too narrow for bikes. There aren’t any signs.”

“Cyclists tell us the problem lies in how the lanes are set up,” Tweeted Global News reporter Billy Shields. “The two northbound lanes are divided.”

The ongoing construction has ruffled feathers outside the cycling community, too, with Peel Street restaurants in particular up in arms over the continuing work. In response to the Global News report, municipal officials said that the work at Place du Canada has been a matter of public record for a while. The safety issue, however, with bikes forced to traverse narrow spaces alongside trucks and other vehicles, is reportedly meriting a second look.