University student Stephanie Long had just discovered Mount Royal Cemetery at the end of July as a cycling mecca, blessed with paved, winding paths over rolling green hills.
Shortly afterwards, she found out the cemetery was closed to her.
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As of Aug. 1, cyclists are no longer allowed to ride on the cemetery grounds.
“I was like, oh my God, I just found out and now it’s closed,” said Long.
Cyclists wondered aloud if the decision was somehow related to the recent decision by the City of Montreal to close off Camillien-Houde to through traffic.
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Cemetery management said it had to do with a glut of bike traffic over the cemetery’s paths.
“It’s not like we did nothing and then just took a decision,” said David Scott, the cemetery’s executive director.
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For the past two years, the cemetery put up speed limits and tried to put a cap on group sizes cycling through the cemetery.
But the cycling community argued whether this is the case.
“I’m a little perplexed as to why and how people could be going as quickly as the owners of the cemetery say they are,” said Danny Minogue, a cyclist who regularly uses the graveyard.
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Cyclists are hoping for something that would change Mount Royal’s mind on the decision.
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