While many cyclists looking at the snow and slush on ground might stow their rides for the winter, one group of bike enthusiasts protested against the annual closure of a roadway that they say is still perfectly fine throughout the season.

Jacques-Cartier Pedestrians and Cyclists Association spokesperson Mike Muchnik said his group is upset that, yet again, the multi-purpose path alongside the bridge is closed to them. The group said that as 4,000 pedestrians and cyclists use the bridge to get to work from spring through fall, they want to be able to do so the rest of the year as well.

“We’ve been asking for it to be open for 11 years now,” he said. “They always talk about it being a matter of public safety, but nothing unsafe can happen on that path during the winter.”

The Jacques-Cartier and Champlain Bridges corporation, the Crown corporation which oversees the operation of both roadways, has cited safety concerns such as black ice and falling icicles as the reason for the closure. Muchnik dismissed that explanation, saying he personally has used the path in all conditions, regardless of its closures, including over 100 trips last year alone.

“I’ve been out there when it’s been 30 below and 10 above, raining, ice, snow, any kind of big snow storm,” he said. “No black ice, ever… No icicles ever fall on the superstructure, especially since if they did fall, they’d fall on the cars mostly. I’ve never read anything about cars being hit by icicles.”

Mayor Valerie Plante campaigned on a pro-cycling platform and Muchnik said his group has received positive feedback from her administration and a promise to help make their case to the JCCBC.

“They’ve asked for a summary of everything we’ve done over the past year so they don’t double what they’ve done,” he said. “Things are going well and we speak every three or four days.”

Pasquale Staltere of Bicycles McW said there’s been a noticeable uptick in the amount of people interested in winter cycling, partially due to environmentalism but also due to some more practical reasons.

“I think it’s mostly due to traffic. People are becoming more ecological as well but the traffic is just crazy,” he said. “On a week night at five or six o’clock on Sherbrooke St., you’re crawling… People are saving money on gas, gas prices are just going higher and higher.”