Ghost bike ceremony held to honour memory of Justine Charland St-Amour

Hundreds gathered at the corner of d’Iberville Street and Rosemont Boulevard Friday morning to remember  Justine Charland St-Amour.

The 24-year-old cyclist was tragically killed Aug. 22, when she was struck by a truck at the corner of d’Iberville Street and Rosemont Boulevard.

St-Amour was heading into the intersection when the truck attempting a right turn at the intersection.

READ MORE: Cyclist dead after being hit by truck in Rosemont–La-Petite-Patrie

A ghost bike, painted in white and decorated with flowers, bearing a photo and plaque with St-Amour’s name, was left at the exact spot where she was killed and will remain there as a permanent reminder of the tragedy.

“Her name was Justine, she travelled by bike through the streets of Montreal to visit her friends, to go to work, to go eat at her parents,” Arielle a fellow cyclist said, adding “She died needlessly.”

PHOTO GALLERY: Ghost Bike Ceremony honours memory of Justine Charland St-Amour

Organizers say the roadside memorial serves not only to honour cyclists who’ve died on the streets of Montreal but “to remind us of the dangers caused by motor vehicles and by deficient urban infrastructure.”

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Gabrielle Anctil, co-organizer of Montreal ghost bike ceremonies, said people need to shift how they think about cities.

“They [cities] need to be thought of in order of protecting the more vulnerable road users,” she said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "They [cities] need to be thought of in order of protecting the more vulnerable road users," she said.

Anctil lamented, what she views as, a lack of coordination when it comes to roadwork in the city and questioned why solutions aren’t being implemented.

“Every time someone dies on the road, if there was someone in charge…You know the coroner’s published reports, they’re excellent and they have extremely intelligent measures. Why aren’t those being put in place?”

Anctil suggested a more proactive approach could benefit the most vulnerable.

“Every time there is a shovel digging in the street, we need to install something for cyclists,” she said.

Francoise David, Quebec solidaire MNA for Gouin, was one of many politicians in attendance and she agreed with Anctil that the government needs to do more to encourage motorists and cyclists to share the road.