Thrown for a loop on de Maisonneuve

If you’ve ever biked east from NDG along the de Maisonneuve bike path, you might have found yourself feeling a little turned around at one point. It wouldn’t have been your fault, though, since the bike path actually effectively terminates in a perplexing loop as you approach Boulevard Decarie. Or, if you chose to interpret the only dirt path out of this miasma as a bike path, you’ll be led directly into de Maisonneuve’s steady one-way, oncoming traffic. I have no idea what the planners were thinking when they installed this part of the bike path along de Maisonneuve. I won’t even hazard to guess. But I assume this whimsical loop wasn’t actually meant to direct cyclists back to where they came from.

Like many cyclists, I rejoice that the long-awaited de Maisonneuve bike path is nearing its eventual completion. But we should also take this opportunity to critically assess the effectiveness of our existing bicycle routes, serving thousands of Montrealers.

And this is not to speak ill of all of Montreal’s existing bike paths. On a ride from the Village to the Mile End up through Park Lafontaine and the rue Boyer bike path, I recently had the opportunity to appreciate the safe, well-chosen route and the pedal-positive atmosphere. Largely protected by a row of parked cars, the Brébeuf/Boyer/ Christophe-Colomb path forms a indispensable north-south corridor for countless cyclists.

While extra signage would be useful (at the north end of Park Lafontaine, for example) this route should serve as a model for Montreal’s future, and existing, bike paths.