It's always said that enjoying winter is the best way to live it. And there's no doubt that this year's hard winter makes perfect sense! For many, cycling has become an essential part of the white season, and I'm one of them. More hurluberlus even share their eagerness to see the first snowflakes fall every autumn.
In Montreal, thanks to the Éco Compteur network of automatic counters, we're talking about an increase of 159 % in the number of cyclists during the months of January and February between 2015 and 2017. And the cold doesn't stop us! In 2017, 65 % of winter cyclists pedaled on the coldest day, at -24 oC. But we can still be better! While 13 % of cyclists cycle summer and winter in Montreal, the proportion climbs to 20 % in Ottawa.
The more people do it, the more people talk about it, and there's no doubt that this is strongly encouraged by better maintenance of the bicycle network. After some hesitation, snow removal on the 45 kilometers of lanes separated from motorized traffic has been integrated into the operations of snow removal crews in Montreal. With the anticipated deployment of new maintenance machines equipped with rotary brooms and brine sprayers in Montreal's central boroughs, the growth in winter cycling is set to continue.
The challenge over the next few years will also be to further increase the famous white network. Even if they are in theory part of this four-season network, bike lanes without physical separation from car lanes often become areas where snow is simply piled up before cleaning and loading operations. This idea of increasing the mileage of bike lanes that can be maintained year-round is one of the central elements of the future Bicycle express network to be unveiled shortly. We can't wait! The idea of planning winter maintenance is gaining ground in Montreal, but it's also spreading just about everywhere. The City of Laval has already taken this approach, with its recently implemented facilities. It's also the case in Quebec City, which has incorporated the principle into its Vision of bicycle travel. In Gatineau, the municipal administration has just publicly presented different scenarios for winter maintenance of the bicycle network. A definitive plan will be put in place in 2019-2020.
Not so long ago, talking about winter maintenance of bike lanes was science fiction. While there's always a cost to something, we've come to realize that it's very much a question of changing the culture of how things are done. More and more cities are realizing this, and they're seeing that citizens are on board!
Suzanne Lareau
President and General Manager
P.-S. To make the most of winter, I was delighted to accept the challenge of taking part Cycling across Lac Saint-Jean, which David Lecointre has kindly offered me, and which will take place from February 14 to 16.
