North America’s top cycling city of Montreal is about to get even better

Montreal has long been ranked as North America’s top city for the bicycle set, landing in the top 20 of both the Copenhagenize and the Global Bicycle Cities Index. Now, it’s getting even better following an announcement regarding a massive expansion of Quebec city’s cycling network.

The City of Montreal’s 2023-2027 Bicycle Vision includes “at least 200 km of new secure bikeways” that will be added to the city over the next five years. But what makes the plan unique and more progressive is the concentration on what has been dubbed “territorial equity.”

According to the plan, 17 of Montreal’s 19 boroughs will be entitled to new bikeways or upgrades to existing infrastructure.

“This planning responds directly to the recommendation of Public Health, which wanted to see the Montreal cycling network develop throughout the city, particularly in more outlying neighborhoods,” reads a press release.

This is how you create a cycling city, not just a neighborhood here and there. It’s an approach taken in other cities such as Paris, which has stated that it is intent on creating a 100 per cent cycling city.

“We cannot compromise on the safety of children and seniors, who are overrepresented in the deaths recorded on our roads. While cycling trips have increased by 20% in one year in Montreal, the vision we are presenting today will ensure efficient and safe trips, while allowing us to connect outlying neighborhoods that require it,” said Montreal Mayor Valerie Plante.

The new plan comprises 40 projects, including 10 new axes of the city’s Réseau Express Vélo (REV) — a 184-km network of high-capacity bike lanes similar to a highway for cyclists.

“This is the first time that the City of Montreal has unveiled such a comprehensive vision for cycling, based on the local needs expressed by each of the boroughs,” added Marianne Giguère, Associate Advisor for Active Transportation on the Executive Committee. “We are very proud of it. This Bike Vision will allow us to benefit from better predictability and give us a free hand to plan the cycling network with the communities concerned. We know that a good project is a project worked on upstream – with the boroughs, stakeholders and local residents, which takes into account the particularities of the environments and which meets the needs. This is what our Bike Vision provides.”

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