NDG to bring back controversial bike path project

Montreal's Côte-des-Neiges-Notre-Dame-de-Grâce borough is bringing back its controversial bike path project.

In a new redevelopment plan announced Monday, borough officials say Terrebonne Street will be converted to a one-way, eastbound thoroughfare between Cavendish Boulevard and Girouard Avenue.

Contrarily, it will be a one-way westbound passage between Cavendish Boulevard and Belmore Avenue.

The bike path will run along the sidewalk, protected by bollards on one side and a parking lane on the other.

"The area under study includes the territory between Somerled Avenue to the north, Monkland Avenue to the south, Saint-Ignatius Avenue to the west and Girouard Avenue to the east," the borough notes, adding it mandated firm EXP to see if it should create a bike path on Terrebonne Street or not.

"More than half of the 1,300 respondents said that they would use their bicycles more often if cycling infrastructures were made safer," said Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce Mayor Gracia Kasoki Katahwa. "I'm certain that the addition of a safe new bike path in the heart of our borough will encourage more people to choose active mobility."

The firm carried out counting operations for vehicles, bicycles and pedestrians at 17 intersections in the area and examined more than 1,100 parking spaces.

The study was executed from September 2022 to September 2023 and cost $150,000, including a $50,000 grant from Infrastructure Canada's Active Transportation fund.

"The installation of a safe bike path on Terrebonne Street is long overdue," said city councillor for the district of Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, Peter McQueen. "Cyclists already use the street often, and I'm among them."

The path is expected to connect existing cycling infrastructures on Walkley Avenue, Grand Boulevard, Girouard Avenue and West Broadway Street.

"This is excellent news for students at the Loyola campus. The redevelopment of Terrebonne Street will allow families in Loyola to get to Parc Benny more safely by bicycle or on foot," said Despina Sourias, city councillor for the district of Loyola. "This new cycling infrastructure will make transit safer for all people using Terrebonne Street."

Borough officials say they hope the redevelopment of Terrebonne Street will ease traffic in the area by 40 to 50 per cent.

"The study shows that the impacts on traffic would be minimal," it said. "Based on the occupancy rates for the parking spaces surveyed, residual parking capacity following the redevelopment should meet the needs assessed during the study."

Borough officials say they plan to meet with residents and businesses affected by the project to hear their perspectives and take note of their recommendations.

"We welcome this initiative, as Terrebonne Street desperately needed to be reconfigured, not only for people cycling to work or school, but also for pedestrians who don't feel safe crossing the street," said Jason Savard, president of the Association of Pedestrians and Cyclists of NDG. "A safe and permanent bike path on Terrebonne Street will improve safety for everyone."

Discussions with various institutional partners in the area are slated to occur during the week of Nov. 20.

A general public meeting with residents is scheduled for Nov. 30.