A ghost bike at the corner of Parc and Mont-Royal avenues honours the life of cyclist Andrea Rovere and serves as a constant reminder of how dangerous the busy intersection is.
Rovere was killed by a truck while he was riding his bike there nearly three years ago.
“It’s dangerous because people don’t stop always, the cyclists don’t stop,” Dereck Ceirnduff said.
Cyclist Elza Kephart believes more could be done.
“I think making a better thoroughfare down Parc would be safer for bikes,” said Kephart.
A new study by Transportation Research at McGill University (TRAM) confirms it.
The intersection at Parc and Mont-Royal avenues is in the top 10 of Montreal’s most dangerous intersections for cyclists.
Researchers surveyed 1500 cyclists and asked them which intersections in their opinion were the most dangerous.
Cyclists rated the intersections as follows, number one being the most dangerous:
1. Ontario & Berri
2. Parc & Mont-Royal
3. St-Joseph Est & D’Iberville
4. Papineau & Crémazie
5. De Maisonneuve & Décarie
6. De Maisonneuve & Berri
7. St-Urbain & Président-Kennedy
8. Ste-Croix & Côte-de-Liesse
9. Dickson & Notre-Dame
10. De la Vérendrye & De l’Église
Hisham Negm was one of the study’s researchers.
“It is very urgent to address these intersections,” Negm said. “Saying that we will work on it in three years does not prevent an accident or a crash that can happen today.”
Negm recommends the city analyzes the intersections and identifies why there are collisions and near misses. He also recommends the city collect and study which routes cyclists prefer to use.
“Once we have this data, this fine-grain data, we can start redesigning these intersections,” Negm said.
He says using paint to trace lines on the roads as a temporary measure can sometimes achieve a great deal.
Vélo Québec agrees.
Spokesperson Louis Lalonde says that the city shouldn’t wait to put measures in place.
“There’s this idea of transitory infrastructure that can help secure certain intersections earlier while we’re waiting for a more complex or more structuring infrastructure,” Lalonde said.
The city of Montreal says it welcomes the study and will take a close look at the results.
Officials insist they’re already working on securing several hot spots that are deemed dangerous, or will begin work soon.
“We will continue to accelerate initiatives across the city to guarantee the safety of all users, particularly the most vulnerable, with a view to Vision Zero,” wrote Béatrice Saulnier-Yelle, a spokesperson for the city of Montreal. “We must also intervene more at arterial intersections, where the majority of fatal and serious collisions occur.”
The city says work is underway on several of the intersections named in the study, including De Maisonneuve and Berri.
Work to secure Ontario and Berri will take place once work on the roof of the Berri metro station is completed.
Mont-Royal and Parc should soon benefit from the extension of the Cote Sainte-Catherine bike lane and a revision of traffic lights.
Works are also planned for the intersections of St Joseph and D’Iberville as well as Maisonneuve and Décarie.
For St-Urbain and President Kennedy, work is expected to begin in 2027.