Montreal cyclists briefly took over Parc Avenue on Saturday afternoon to stage a die-in.
They were sprawled on the road, lying beside their bikes, a stark reminder of cyclist deaths on city streets.
In a news release, organizers said the goal of the die-in was to “show the true consequences of road violence between drivers of motorized vehicles and the most vulnerable users of the road.”
The event was held at the intersection of Parc and St-Viateur avenues, where Montreal’s first ghost bike was placed four years ago.
READ MORE: Ghost bike ceremony held in honour of dead Montreal cyclist
Ghost bikes are installed in commemoration of cyclists who are killed on city streets. The bikes, painted white, mark the location of the cyclists’ deaths.
The die-in was preceded by a bike ride with stops at several ghost bikes across the city.
Organizers of Saturday’s event are calling on city officials to do more.
“At nearly all the ghost bikes we’ve installed, the same collision, the same incident could happen and someone else could die in exactly the same manner,” Ghost Bike Montreal’s Gabrielle Anctil told The Canadian Press in an interview.
READ MORE: Mother of dead cyclist Justine Charland St-Amour still seeks answers months after the accident
Anctil argued that better urban design could help improve safety on city streets.
The recent death of 18-year-old Clément Ouimet, a competitive cyclist who died after crashing into a vehicle making an illegal U-turn on Voie Camillien-Houde, reignited the debate on road safety in Montreal.
READ MORE: Montreal unveils new measures to help protect cyclists on Mount Royal
Following his death, interim measures were put in place to avoid a similar tragedy, while a working group comes up with more permanent solutions.
— With files from The Canadian Press
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