Montreal is still the most bike friendly city in North America

[rumpleforeskiin]

http://copenhagenize.eu/index/

and number 11 in the world!!


#11 (2011 - #8)

The Copenhagenize Report

Once again, Montreal maintains its position as North America’s premiere bicycle city. With cycle tracks dating from the late 1980s, Montreal has long been ahead of the curve. The city's bike share system is successful and cycling is on the up - both commuting and use of the bicycle for errands and socially. Montreal is one city in North America where bicycles feature strongly in the nightlife of the city. Good advocacy is influential and the city's recent move to gather all the players around one table in order to consult more efficiently is a wise move. Politically, having someone bold like Luc Ferrandez, Mayor of the Plateau, helps move the city towards the next level. We see more cargo bikes in Montreal than most cities in North America, which is a healthy sign that all-round bicycle culture is embraced.

Montreal fell from #8 in 2011 but at #11 this time around, the city remains strong.

Copenhagenize Fixes

With such a fantastic foundation, built up over so many years, it's time for a big push forward in order to capitalise. A push that will set the standard for North American cities. The bi-directional cycle tracks are crowded in the rush hour and we would prefer to see more best practice infrastructure on more streets. It's time to move on, Montreal. The cycle tracks on Laurier East are a step in the right direction. A number of North American cities are hovering just outside the Top 20 and they're not going to wait for your lead. Maintain your impressive position by taking a great leap forward and take your leadership role seriously.

 

[wasisname]

Too bad about that whole winter thing.


If there is room for it, if you are building a city sandbox style [or sim city style] that is one thing. In a downtown core where space is limited, jamming up traffic for a mode of transport that won't be used during the winter or other crappy weather days [too hot, too wet] is just being stubborn. If you are going to displace a transport system for a different system it needs to be 365, and not just for those hardy souls who will bike through deep snow [and yes they do exist]



If you want to go that route in an already built up downtown it seems the only way to go is subways/metro and foot power.

 

[HornyForEver]

Cars should not even be allowed in the downtown core, all year long I mean.

 

[rumpleforeskiin]

You nailed it, Horny!!

 

[upthewest]

Wish New York City had studied Montreal's bike sharing program more closely. Equipment and software issues are so rampant as to make the program unusable. We had high hopes but, alas, we are back using our own bikes. Can't wait to use Montreal's system again next month.

 

[oldbutartful]

As good as the Montreal bike system is the people using it need to be trafic savy. Having lived in Holland where the cyclist have their own traffic lanes AND TRAFIC LIGHTS its safe and pleasant to be around, as a pedestrian or cyclist or motor vehicle driver. In Montreal some cyclist tend to think they have right of way and pedestrians and other road users have to give way.
Having nearly run down a cyclist who was coming the wrong way up a one way street at night with no lights and wearing dark clothing it appears that some cyclists need more policing.

 

[EagerBeaver]

New York City is a bit dicier, see this for example:

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/uptown/cab-hits-kill-cyclist-east-harlem-article-1.1365790

Ironically I recently walked from the 125th Street Subway Station to Broadway and 113th and I noticed bike traffic, probably a lot of Columbia students and staff, heading south across 125th Street as if 125th Street did not exist. This is a recipe to have your bike end up looking like the one in the Daily News photo, and your body a lot worse.

 

[smuler]

Hi Rumples

Montreal is doing well I see..congrats to them

I hope the momentum continues, and more bike paths are open

I told you before..I think Vancouver doesn't get it's due...

I saw the cities on the list, and suprise surprise..I see that the top 3 are all places that I usually go to

Amsterdam..of course
But the thing that I hate there is the infiltration of the segregated bike paths by scooters ..so it's not all perfection

Copenhagen.. for work, and a side trip to Cristiania
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Entrée_de_Christiania.jpg

Utrecht..for the RLD ( houseboats )
http://static.panoramio.com/photos/original/1840389.jpg

The top 10 are all European cities

I am surprised to not see Bogota, Colombia on the list

New York City will get there when they figure out a way to complete the circular walkway around the city

There's a 20 block span between E18th st and E47th that is not complete due to right of way issues....

Very disturbing though is the proposed removal of a great section in Brooklyn :

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/09/nyregion/09bike.html?_r=0

Best Regards

Smuler

 

[rumpleforeskiin]

New York City will get there when they figure out a way to complete the circular walkway around the city

New York City was on the 2011 list at number 20. That it's not on the list in 2013 doesn't mean, necessarily, that NY hasn't improved since then, just that it has been leapfrogged by other cities.

New York City is a bit dicier, see this for example.

I don't know how true this is, Beav. Anyone wearing headphones while riding is a moron. Anyone wearing dark clothes at night while riding is a dope. Anyone riding without a helmet is a fool.

This unfortunate woman, according to one of the cabbies, was listening to headphones while driving at night.

 

[upthewest]

New York also needs way more designated bike parking to be truly considered a bike-friendly city. Was just in Williamsburg Brooklyn, ground zero for bicycle culture in NYC, and there was literally no where to park (mine is a folder so I can carry it--but not real convenient to do so). In fairness, the new bike lanes leading to and around Williamsburg are a joy. But it sort of defeats the purpose if there is nowhere to put the bike when you get there.

 

[TheBlob]

I hate riding my bike in Montreal, but i do it because often it's much more convenient than other transport options. I don't go to gym and it helps me to stay in shape. I don't like metro during summer because it's all underground and i get depressed. But you will rarely see me out of reserved bike path, because i get really nervous in car traffic. I'm not the stupid guy who thinks that waving his hand gives him the right to cross at anytime on big boulevards, or even small streets.

I also think we need more bike paths, because they are often crowded and it's hard to keep the pace when you go faster than average. We need more south/north and east/west options. To add on this, you know how the roads are in good shapes....bike paths are not better, and it's much more dangerous on 2 wheels than 4. Big holes everywhere.

Something like Copenhague or Amsterdam, with reserved lane and lights would be awesome but hey....i know i'm dreaming.

 

[DeezNuts]

Sorry but not allowing vehicles downtown, year round, would really hurt a) the food delivery industry, imagine ordering a pizza and having to wait 3 hours to eat it, or getting groceries delivered 8 hours after placing the order, b) the taxi industry, no more "transport adapter" (if u dont know what that is, its transport for challenged citizens), no more SARCA (that's transport for sick individuals), c) the arteries necessary for fire trucks n ambulances due to congestion by less agile pedestrians and bikers , d) city budget by forcing the hire of thousands of workers to carry our garbage/recycling as well as snow removal + street cleaning, etc etc , so many etc's...... Mtl should be bike friendly, pedestrians friendly & vehicle friendly. Our transportation infrastructure is beyond ridiculous/pathetic..... I used to drive a taxi, trust me I actually really know. Mtl just has so many useless/unused bike paths that we seem bike friendly, but we're really not, anything on wheels is getting damaged

 

[rumpleforeskiin]

Sorry but not allowing vehicles downtown, year round, would really hurt...

What would really help Montreal is a system like London's where they have a congestion charge. It costs 13$ per day to drive a car into the congestion zone. When you then consider the cost of parking, there would be a lot more use of the public transit system. I don't know what sort of exclusions they have for taxis, delivery and commercial vehicles, but imagine a downtown Montreal where the streets were free of personal cars. Cabbies and bus drivers would love it.

http://www.tfl.gov.uk/roadusers/congestioncharging/

Mtl just has so many useless/unused bike paths that we seem bike friendly, but we're really not, anything on wheels is getting damaged

Oh really? Tell me about these and where they are? I put over 3000 km per year on my bike on this island and I have yet to see any unused bikepaths. There are lots and lots of bikepaths that need repair, but no more so than the streets used by cars, trucks, and busses.

 

[DeezNuts]

My point is the way the our system is built is incorrectly engineered. If u really want examples I can nitpick and point to the path on Dollard street, in LaSalle, by the green bridge connecting to Lafleur st, its dangerous and rarely used. There's many more but my point is about the whole structure, how flawed it is.

 

[rumpleforeskiin]

Tell me, Ms. Laflamme, given the dangers of cycling in our fair city, do you wear a helmet? Never mind. I needn't have bothered to ask. Of course you do.

 

[rumpleforeskiin]

I used to have a helmet.

Someday, you may get to say, "I used to have a head."

 

[EagerBeaver]

Not much discussion in this thread about strategies to reduce injuries, other than wearing a helmet, when a bike to car conflict becomes unavoidable. For example when the 86 year old lady with Alzheimer's suddenly pulls out of the driveway in front of you and you have no choice but to collide with her, or the 18 year old who is texting his girlfriend does the same thing and does not see you. I have heard motorcyclists in depositions describe strategies for putting the motorcycle down so that it slides horizontally into the vehicle. I remember one guy who did this walked away with a badly broken left ankle and severe road rash on his ass, but otherwise OK and alive. I am not too sure if most cyclists have any strategy for these situations. Sometimes avoiding contact that is inevitable will worsen the position of your body upon impact, leading to more severe injuries.

 

[rumpleforeskiin]

Not much discussion in this thread about strategies to reduce injuries, other than wearing a helmet, when a bike to car conflict becomes unavoidable.

Actually, Beav, it's really quite simple.

When approaching an intersection, always make eye contact with a driver approaching the same one. If you can't make eye contact, you assume that he/she doesn't see you.

Also, I never even go through a green light without pausing to make sure that there isn't some moron who thinks that red doesn't mean him. As a general rule of thumb, Montreal drivers are almost as bad and oblivious as Massachusetts drivers.

 

[Merlot]

When approaching an intersection, always make eye contact with a driver approaching the same one. If you can't make eye contact, you assume that he/she doesn't see you.

Also, I never even go through a green light without pausing to make sure that there isn't some moron who thinks that red doesn't mean him. As a general rule of thumb, Montreal drivers are almost as bad and oblivious as Massachusetts drivers.

Hello Rumps,

I have no issues with cyclists in general, but like car drivers there are plenty of jackasses on bikes. You are a smart rider but others...my car has been punched numerous times by cyclists as I tried to turn right or left. Actually, there were no bike lanes and no cyclists anywhere in view when I started to turn. Having to wait for traffic some bikers caught up, I guess, to where I was and as I started to move would hit my car. I had been signalling so the danger to them was very obvious. Yet, they launched themselves right into the spot where I was clearly trying to turn any second and focused on car traffic. Once I was about to turn right on a green light at the corner of Viger and Bleury. There was no bike path and no biker visible and I looked left just to make sure there were no late cars, then I looked right and hit the gas. Just as I did that a cyclist flew right in front of me. I don't know how he lived. He should be a blood spot at that corner. It freaked me out that he was too stupid to protect his own life. Maybe he had been in a blind spot for a car, a problem cyclists don't have. Even if the car driver is totally wrong...is that worth a cyclists life???

Whoever said downtown should belong to cyclists is dreaming of two-wheeled utopia. Personally, I'd like to see more car-free streets, but the whole downtown??? Closing the whole downtown to cars is irrational utopian dreaming. Maybe on weekends some streets could be more exclusively for cyclists at certain times of the day, or one side of the street could be designated for bikes only. But for many reasons the "utopia" view is impractical, if not just self-serving.

Montreal can be a terrible city to drive in, especially when trying to turn. As soon as the light is green it's banzai forward. There's no courtesy for signalling to change lanes, and except for some main through drives like Rene-Levesque there are very few safe left turn lanes anywhere. Unfortunately the cyclists attitude there is often the same as that of the drivers. Many act like they own the street no matter if there are designated bike paths or not. It's a bad mix when both parties have the attitude that they own the road. The danger is it's far more deadly for cyclists because no matter who has the right of way they WILL lose in any collision, and I am at a loss to understand why any cyclist would throw his/her life away just to prove to car drivers they have the right to be there.

Further, I'd say that about 50% of my co-riders on bike paths do not respect the red lights. That annoys me, and rather than get my blood boiling because these riders give riders like me, who respect traffic lights, a bad name, I prefer to ride solo.

Yeah really. It's bad enough many car drivers act like they are immortal. But how much more risk to life or paralysis is there on a bike...10 times...100 times. If cyclists obey the laws instead of being carried away with the thrill of biking, or just plain arrogant, there's no need for over-the-top ideas like closing downtown to cars. Drivers are required to obey traffic signals and street laws to keep driving, why do so many cyclists think they're immune. Drivers don't like being stuck in traffic any more than cyclists.

My point is the way the our system is built is incorrectly engineered.

Somehow there have to be ways to separate cyclists and car drivers more often through designated exclusive streets, lane exclusion, going over or under, something that does not become selfish and/or irrational and is much safer for both sides.

Some day, if our paths meet, you may say 'I used to be alive until I argued with Sidney' :lol:

Ouch!!! Run Forrest gRumps RUUUUUUN!!! :lol:

Good luck,

Merlot

 

[smuler]

Thanks Merlot for pointing out the facts as a driver.....

I am a defensive cyclist..I always expect the worst to happen, so I'm super aware

I do mostly ride Rails to Trails, and designated bike paths where I ride..both at home, and on vacations, as my days of riding the streets of Manhattan are behind me ( Thanks Rudy )


Best Regards

Smuler