MONTREAL – The prayers of Montreal’s cyclists are being answered this year with the city announcing 72 new bike projects.
Following responses from the public, the city will be investing $15 million during the 2016-2017 season to improve the ever-expanding bike path network.
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An important part of the city’s plan revolves around Mon RésoVélo, an app which gives cyclists a full map of the bike paths on their phones.
It also uses a phone’s GPS functionality to map how cyclists use various routes, along with their speeds, allowing the city to take appropriate measures to improve the bicycle network.
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Other major upgrades to the 733 km network include:
- An additional 57 km of bike paths
- Linking the Jacques-Cartier Bridge path with the de Maisonneuve Boulevard path downtown
- Multiple new traffic lights with bicycle priority lights
- Some bicycle paths will be widened to increase the buffer zone between cars, preventing cyclists from being doored
- More green “bike boxes” at intersections to place cyclists ahead of traffic
The new measures are to improve the safety of sharing the road and reduce conflicts.
As it stood in 2010, 52 per cent of the population used a bicycle regularly.
The City of Montreal is expecting an increase in that number when the 2015 results are released.
A full map of the projected projects can be accessed here.