Questions are being asked about the safety of the Camillien-Houde Way after an 18-year-old cyclist was fatally struck by a car there this week.
Clement Ouimet was hit by an SUV making a U-turn on coming down from Mount Royal.
By all accounts, Ouimet was an excellent competitive cyclist, but was unable to avoid the car in time.
Due to the incident, Mayor Denis Coderre said he has set up a working group to analyze the situation.
The group will examine the usage of both Camillien-Houde Dr. and Remembrance Rd. around the mountain.
On the campaign trail, Projet Montreal mayoral candidate said as mayor, she would create a cycling expressway to separate bike from car traffic to make cycling safer.
Velo-Quebec is pushing to close those streets to all but local traffic, saying people now use them as highways to get from east to west instead of just to go up to the mountain.
Velo-Quebec said hundreds of cyclists use Camillien-Houde every day because it's a sloping, curving street to train on and it offers great views of the city.
The amount of cars on the road, however, has grown in recent years.
Velo-Quebec said 12,000 cars a day drive over it, and they would like the city to limit that.
Montreal police are investigating the fatal collision.
They would not say if the 59-year-old SUV driver will be charged in the crash. He could possibly face a charge of dangerous driving or criminal negligence depending on the outcome of the investigation.
Ouimet is the fourth cyclist to die on Montreal streets this year.
Hundreds of cyclists gathered on Mount Royal Friday to make a silent journry-- riding in Ouimet's honour.
The 18-year-old was just beginning his cycling career, and family and friends wrestle with why this happened to him.
Other cyclists say it was a tragedy waiting to happen.
"It could have literally been any one of us in that situation and there was nothing he could have done to prevent it," said Guillaume Drolet, one of the cyclists. "And it's not intent on the driver-- it's stupid negligence."
Many people have petitioned the city to do something about the dangers on Camillien-Houde, including shutting down the road to cars on Sundays.
The road was shut down on Friday so cyclists could gather and ride in Clement's honour. After a moment of silence, they made the difficult journey up.
Maxim Martin's daughter was Ouimet's girlfriend of two years.
"There's nothing you can do as a parent. I mean here, no one can-- we can ease the pain, but we can't make it go away. That's the frustrating part," Martin said.
All mayoral candidates were present at the silent ride, and they made promises to act. However, it's something Martin believes has to happen now.
"They've had plans on the table the last 9 years. It's a known fact. And now we're talking about 'we'll do a study'-- no, just shut up and do something," Martin said.
