Just in time for the warm weather ahead, Montreal has officially launched the 15th season of its Bixi bike-sharing service.
As workers deploy 10,000 bicycles across the city, some major developments were unveiled.
For one. the network is expanding to the West Island.
“We will go to Île-Bizard and Pierrefonds in 2023,” Bixi director general Christian Vermette said at a press conference on Wednesday.
It’s part of the agency’s plan to expand the service over all 19 boroughs.
Pierrefonds-Roxboro mayor Jim Beis, however, said the details still need to be ironed out.
“Nothing has been confirmed yet, so I’m surprised that it would be announced in this way,” Beis said.
While Bixi says six to eight stations will be coming to Pierrefonds and Ste-Geneviève, Beis said there’s no consensus on where they’ll be.
He’s hoping for a station at Pierrefonds-Roxboro borough hall, and others connecting it to the Cap-Saint-Jacques nature park.
“I have not gotten confirmation that Bixi will implement their system on the line that we proposed,” he said.
Beis said he’s opposed to the city putting any stations in Gouin Boulevard, because it’s narrow and doesn’t have a protected bike path.
“It would make absolutely no sense to put people on Gouin Boulevard, for example, that doesn’t have bike paths and have them wayfinding through the community simply because we want to say statistically that we’ve included Pierrefonds-Roxboro in the whole Bixi system,” said Beis.
Bixi says stations may only arrive in Pierrefonds in the fall, because installing the ones that can charge the electric bikes is a complicated job.
Beis said he’s waiting to hear back from the city on his borough’s latest proposal.
The city also announced plans to deploy Bixis them 365 days a year
“It’s a pilot project, so we want to test some things, but hopefully we’re going to extend the project,” said Montreal Executive Committee member Sophie Mauzerolle.
Of the 865 Bixi stations, 150 will be left standing all winter long as of this year, with 1,500 of the 10,000 bikes available for all the brave souls who don’t mind cycling in the cold and the snow.
The pilot project will start with seven boroughs near the city centre.
“There’s already many, many Montrealers using their bicycles year long in the winter months, so it works and it’s not dangerous,” said Marianne Giguère, Montreal Executive Committee member.
The bikes will get winter tires, and the stands will be near major bike paths like the REV. They will not be installed on the road so they don’t interfere with snow removal, and Bixi will clear snow around the stations.
“We want to make sure that the access will be simple,” said Bixi president Alexandre Taillefer.
Officials say they believe the stands and terminals will be able to stand up to the winter, but that improvements will be made after the pilot project.
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