Bike paths removed much needed parking: St-Michel residents

A group of Saint-Michel residents claim the city removed crucial parking spaces for new bike paths. They argue that this decision is negatively impacting residents, businesses and commuters in the area. 

“Having them go through small neighbourhoods where there’s very scarce parking, that would be number one. In certain areas, they’ve completely removed parking on one side of the street,” said Marc Perez, Coalition for Democracy Montreal.

Perez says he’s spoke with residents and businesses in the area saying many are upset about the limited parking spaces.

He says he’s not opposed to bike paths, but instead wants to find a solution that accommodates both bike paths and sufficient parking spaces.

“Our organization and all of us are not against bike paths. We understand that bike paths are part of a new method of transportation,” said Perez.

“Bike paths and cars can coexist, they have coexisted, and we want the mayors of all the boroughs and the mayor of Montreal to come and listen to everybody and to come up with an equitable solution.”

According to the City of Montreal, nearly 17 kilometers of bike lanes will be added to the network this year and about 17 kilometers will be improved during maintenance work.

“We made petitions, but they didn’t take them into account. I don’t know how they did that, they didn’t even conduct surveys. Now I see that there aren’t many bikes passing by, but almost half of the parking spaces are gone. We are already affected. I don’t know how with the changes, we’re really suffering,” said one who’s home is right in front of a bike bath.

One man that works at a depanneur nearby says the bike paths have impacted his business traffic.

“Because I have less money than before because the street is one way instead of two way. For parking for people there, there’s not parking for people. My first problem is my customer and my business.”

Adding that he liked it better when there were no bike paths on the street.

That said, not everyone opposes the bike lanes.

“In my opinion, I like [the bike paths]. It helps me a lot.”

The group will be holding a rally Thursday evening and Perez says they’ve started the process of launching a lawsuit against the city.

In a statement to CityNews, borough mayor of Villeray–Saint-Michel–Parc-Extension, Laurence Lavigne Lalonde, writes, “We understand that the creation of bike paths may disrupt habits. We had already met with this group and other groups of citizens in the past to listen to them and discuss with them: we are sensitive to their concerns. After these discussions we also made adjustments. Our responsibility is also to offer safe mobility options to all citizens, regardless of the district.”

Adding, “As the mayor, I have an additional duty towards the most vulnerable users which are pedestrians and cyclists. We are looking for a balance: if the width of the streets allowed us to install protected bike paths while maintaining parking in its integrality, we would do so.” 

“We’re trying to find a solution that’s equitable for everyone and that’s what we really want the message to be out there,” said Perez.