Make Bixi A Free Program!

That’s right, free! How many usable bikes can you buy for 100 million? We are blowing it here, folks!
Turn it into a non profit essential services type of thing, have volunteers do repairs and other types of necessary work. Create an honour system that would make Bixi, and by extension, Montreal, the envy of the world. All we are doing once again is sending the world the message that we can’t seem to do anything right, and that is, like the Tremblay administration itself, very boring and predictable and totally inefficient, not to mention embarrassing and bad for urban morale!

The whole world is watching.

Council approves $108-million in loans to finance Bixi expansion

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Complete Streets: It’s About More Than Bike Lanes

From Streetfilms

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Incredible Downhill Bike Race

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Montreal Bicycle Map 1897

Thanks to Les over at Verdun Connections for posting this beauty. Lest anyone believes that bicycling is some kind of new trend in Montreal please keep in mind that Montreal was a bicycle city before cars were even invented!

And here is a link back to a post that shows good old Verdun’s “velodome” at Queen’s Park circa 1897.

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Should Cities Have “Bicycle Highways”?

Interesting article over at Treehugger. I’ve been saying for a few years now that the Turcot Interchange should not be demolished if a new interchange is built and that it should be kept as a part of the world’s greatest bike system, or be an integral part of a biking “Iron Man” competition that would attract athletes from across the globe. Lot’s of potential there and without automotive traffic the thing would last forever!


And a bonus quote from Spacing Montreal’s Jacob Larson
“I do believe the separate facility is the best,” says Jacob Larson, a researcher at McGill University who recently completed a study of Montreal’s bicycle infrastructure. “Not only in terms of actual safety performance but in terms of encouraging people who are less likely to ride their bikes. These people shouldn’t have to be some kind of breakneck radicals that are really diehards–it should be a clear and safe option, and I think separate facilities give the perception that it is, and often do provide a truly safer alternative.”

Should Cities Have “Bicycle Highways”?

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Traffic Congestion On Feet And Wheels

Pruned posted this article about clashing attitudes amongst runners, bikers, and dog walkers in New York’s Central Park. Here we have the Lachine Canal which can get pretty packed at times.

Who Owns Central Park?

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Kirkpatrick Park – Ville Saint Pierre

Guess it is actually Lachine now since the mergers, since the not so SuperCity was introduced.

On this side of the park complex is a football/soccer field. The other side has basketabll courts, hockey rinks in winter, jungle gyms, etc.

You may note that trains pass right through the back creating, in effect, a barrier between this neighborhood and the west section of the Falaise Saint Jacques and Montreal West.

On the south side of the field is the Arena Martin Lapointe which features some pretty nice murals that are surprisingly untagged over. It’s called respect.

It is a low income neighborhood, not unlike Saint Henri at the other end of the Falaise. This park seems like a good place to consider as an “anchor” for a potential bike path system that would go north to Meadowbrook Golf Course, east along the Falaise, (going south to Lasalle via the Angrignon area.), and south towards the Lachine waterfront where it would hook up with the current system.

As insignificant as it may appear there is a small pedestrian tunnel that connects the north/south sides of the tracks.

Interesting, aint it?

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.roma

 

You can view .roma’s Flickr pages here.

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