Protesters set up strollers in Outremont intersection where two children were hit by vehicles in 2022

An organization that organizes events to promote non-car travel in Montreal set up strollers at the intersection where a baby in a stroller was struck while being pushed across the street.

Vélorution Montréal organized the event at the intersection of Bloomfield and Lajoie avenues in the Outremont borough and several participants held a brief sit-in and a continuous four-way pedestrian crossing in solidarity with the baby's family.

The one-year-old survived the hit-and-run on Nov. 16.

Montreal police (SPVM) said there have been no arrests and that the investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information on the car or driver is asked to contact the police.

A four-year-old boy was struck by a vehicle at the same intersection in Outremont in March. He also survived the collision.

In July, a two-year-old girl was not as fortunate when she was killed when the stroller she was in was struck crossing the street at the intersection of Des Recollets Avenue and Fleury Street in Montreal North.

Vélorution Montréal says that more than 1,000 pedestrians and cyclists were killed on seriously injured in collisions with vehicles between 2012 and 2020 and that more than two-thirds of those collisions occurred at intersections.

"This is far from the first time that a child – be they on foot or in a stroller – is hurt or killed because of dangerous motorist behaviour in the streets of Montréal," the organization said in a statement.

The group says road collisions are the leading cause of death among minors in Canada.

"Pedestrians are by far the most vulnerable people on our streets, and all other road users – truck drivers, motorists, or cyclists – have a responsibility to always look after their safety," said Vélorution Montréal member Sophie Lavoie. "Beyond that individual responsibility, we must pay greater attention to the way we build our neighbourhoods. It is no coincidence that two children were struck at the same location in less than a year. What are we waiting for to make our streets safer so that children and families may walk without fear of a collision?"