MONTREAL – Planning to take your car for a short trip on Sunday? You may want to reconsider.
An estimated 25,000 cyclists are expected to take part in the ever popular Tour de L’Île Sunday.
This year’s car-free route will take participants from Jeanne-Mance Park across the Jacques Cartier Bridge into Longueuil for the first time ever.
Cyclists will then ride along the St. Lawrence River before making their way back across the bridge into Hochelaga-Maisonneauve and the Olympic Park. From the Big O, it’s back to the starting line via Rosemont-La- Petite-Patrie.
To accommodate all those cyclists, numerous city streets will be completely closed to traffic and organizers are warning commuters to plan ahead.
The Jacques Cartier Bridge will be closed in both directions starting at 8:00 a.m. with a gradual reopening at 10:50 a.m. The bridge will be fully re-opened at 1:15 p.m.
Montreal police are warning motorists to respect parking restrictions and to read signs carefully to avoid having their vehicle towed. If you find yourself in this unfortunate situation, call 311 for help in locating your vehicle.
While organizers admit that access to certain health care institutions located near the route may be reduced during Sunday’s tour, alternative measures have been implemented to minimize any inconvenience.
Organizers are recommending people call the Info-Santé hotline 811 before going to the emergency room or to dial 911 if the situation is urgent.
For more information, or to find out about road closures in your area, visit the Vélo-Québec website.