Montreal was the first place I saw poles protecting cycle space in 2010. Brilliant. The then head of cycling in London (UK!) wasn’t interested though. Thankfully @bricycle.bsky.social did it in Camden and after he took over at TfL it became policy.
Unfortunately there are still many areas that have insufficient cycling access, especially downtown.
Another issue is poor connections between boroughs, which often build lanes independently, which makes navigating long distances sometimes complicated, something the REV network is trying to fix.
I haven't checked super recently, but since COVID they retired their baggage cars and haven't allowed bikes on the trains. But the new trains do have bike space, and I think they plan to resume allowing bikes once the new trains are in wider service. Folding bikes are currently allowed!
Personally I would definitely plan your bike vacation in Montreal (sounds so delightful!) and look into renting a bike there. We did this in 2022 for a trip based out of Toronto because we couldn't take our bikes on the VIA train.
I think e-bikes might never be allowed on VIA. Maybe one day, if we get some battery regulations that make them feel like they don't have to worry about batteries exploding
We have a couple of passenger ferries near us where e-bikes are disallowed (one disallows all bikes!). The e-bike prohibition seems dumb on a vessel where a battery fire could just be thrown overboard. Yeah, pollution and all that, but these things are so rare that the risk is arguably trivial.
Oh, I'll buy a Brompton if I have to. The Gordy bridge, with bike/ped lane, should be done next fall, so hopefully Via will be ready for my bike in 2026.
Randos on Reddit told me that Via is difficult for bikes. I just want to ride my bike from Detroit into Windsor (once the new bridge is done), and city-hop with bike and trains to Montreal.
You can also use BIXI (the bike share service). Stations are everywhere in the more bike-friendly parts of the city and you can get a monthly pass for $22 (giving unlimited 45-minute rides). Just cancel after you leave so you don't pay the second month.
I've seen cars actually get ticketed and even towed for parking in bike lanes in Montreal, including this route. Maybe as a result, parking in bike lanes isn't super common although some routes are worse.
I was amazed at the amount of cycling that I saw when I visited Montreal a month ago. Even people using the share bikes getting around so easily. Much faster than the car traffic…
A lot of it is low cost too. It's just small curbs being placed on the ground. No Jersey barriers, no massive redesign, just a path of small curbs to mark a delineation. It's just a willingness to have any political willpower to make drivers pay attention
That’s the advantage of having political parties at the municipal level : the team, and its platform, lives on to the next election and has the chance to get reelected for another mandate, with a new leader
It started in the early 1950's I believe. There might have been other parties before, but the Ligue d'action civique (Civic action league) was started to fight corruption. Other parties followed. Municipal parties are not associated to provincial or federal-level parties.
Pretty much every city in Quebec has local, municipal-level political parties. To my knowledge Quebec is the only province where they exist. Some parties are short-lived, some morph into new parties eventually, but many are stable and can last decades.
Huge shoutout to @jacouzi.bsky.social for all the insight on the network and community driven change that’s gone into the transformation of so many spaces in Montreal. If you don't follow him, you really should - a serious game changer.
Our mayor's been to Montreal lots and I'm sure he knows it well. Ottawa is still not a great place to bike and he's still building car centered sprawl.
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Another issue is poor connections between boroughs, which often build lanes independently, which makes navigating long distances sometimes complicated, something the REV network is trying to fix.
Active transport. winter like summer, it is necessary to encourage. For that. Safe cycling trips must be prioritized.
Sometimes municipal leaders just don't care. 😞