The intersection of Ontario and Berri streets is the most dangerous in the eyes of Montreal cyclists, reveals a new study conducted last spring by McGill University among 1,500 two-wheeled users, which draws up the top 10 worst sectors.
“Intersections are the most vulnerable areas for collisions involving cyclists, pedestrians and cars. Those highlighted in this survey need to be redesigned to improve safety and comfort for all,” says Hisham Negm, a doctoral student at the McGill School of Urban Planning, who is one of the main architects of the research.
Conducted by the Transportation Research group at McGill University (TRAM), the online survey of some 1,500 respondents immediately reveals that the Ontario-Berri intersection is the one considered the most dangerous by cyclists, followed by near the crossroads between avenues du Parc and du Mont-Royal.
In all of these sectors, the TRAM team recommends that the City of Montreal “analyze areas where bicycles come into conflict with vehicles and pedestrians to identify the reasons for collisions and near-accidents.” or even “collect and study cyclists’ preferred routes”.
The objective would ultimately be to “redesign dangerous intersections to prioritize safety and smooth travel, by proactively preventing collisions,” the researchers persist.
At Vélo Québec, president and general manager Jean-François Rheault recalls that all targeted intersections “have four or more car lanes.” “We also see that these are streets without cycling infrastructure, or which were built a long time ago, like Berri and Maisonneuve, which are bidirectional and not adapted to the flow of cyclists,” he notes.
“However, the good news is that on Berri, du Parc and Mont-Royal, there are cycling redevelopment projects planned in the coming years. The City has obviously identified several of these locations as priorities,” adds Mr. Rheault.
At Mayor Valérie Plante’s office, it is also argued that the results of this study “already seem to be in line with the City’s conclusions, since several intersections mentioned are currently the subject of security work or will do so soon.”
“We will continue to accelerate initiatives across the city to ensure the safety of all users. […] We must also intervene more at arterial intersections, where the majority of fatal and serious collisions occur,” says the mayor’s press attaché, Béatrice Saulnier-Yelle.
Mr. Rheault believes that the City’s investments in street security “mainly follow the pace of repair of underground infrastructure.” “It’s good to be opportunistic, but you also have to make transitional projects and develop new axes. The City has not yet found the perfect recipe for moving projects forward quickly,” he believes.
“Designing for cycling is about more than adding bike lanes. To ensure the safety of all road users and facilitate the movement of cyclists, these paths must be well designed and connected,” recalled Mr. Negm.
