Here in our North American home, Montreal has emerged as a recent hotspot in the COVID-19 crisis – the epicentre of the outbreak in Canada. Faced with these difficulties, compounded by a public lockdown for over two months, and the summer season beginning to peak its head out from around the corner, the local population is taking to the streets and parks to catch whatever rays of sunshine they can.
In response to these pressing constraints and an uncertain future for 2020 and beyond, the City of Montreal has announced today a bold plan to give citizens more safe space to walk, cycle and connect to public space and green space across the city.
The plan, being called a “Network of Safe Active Lanes” will implement, starting in early June, 112 kilometres of protected pedestrian and bicycle corridors throughout the city, connecting parks and outdoor destinations such as the Saint-Lawrence River. These lanes will be built with quick-build physical protection, such as a bollard or jersey barrier and feature on prominent connectors like Saint-Laurent Boulevard.
A total of 327 kilometres of new bicycle infrastructure (comprising segments of the REV or Réseau Express Vélo) and pedestrianized streets, including the 112 kilometres of new Safe Active Lanes will be built this summer season throughout the city of Montreal, continuing to add to its position ahead-of-the-curve in North America for prioritizing human-powered travel. A number of local boroughs are also announcing quick-build protected infrastructure this summer season, like the protected bike lanes announced this week in the borough of Rosemont–La-Petite-Patrie (seen in the rendering below).
A rendering of Saint-Zotique Street in the Montreal borough of Rosemont–La-Petite-Patrie to be implemented this summer and remove one parking lane and one driving lane (Ville de Montréal)
While we see immense value in acting quickly to allow citizens to enjoy the summer months in safety with respecting a necessary social distance, we strongly hope that this network of protected lanes can stand the test of time and contribute to the long-term transformation of Montreal’s streets.
The future is incredibly uncertain in our cities today, but it has never been clearer that we need to have protected, comfortable and connected networks to get from home to work, school and play independently on foot and by bike in our urban centres.