Bike lane backlash greets Montreal’s new administration

Montreal’s new city council didn’t have to wait long before the bike-lane debate rolled onto the floor. During Ensemble Montréal’s inaugural question period Monday, a steady stream of residents challenged recently added cycling infrastructure in Ville-Marie, Ahuntsic–Cartierville, and Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce. The election took place earlier this month with the party taking several seats and positions in the city, including Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada.

Undoing work done by previous administration?

The flashpoint was a temporary bike lane on Atateken St., installed late in the previous administration. Several residents demanded it be scrapped altogether. Claude Pinard, the newly elected Ville-Marie councillor and chair of the executive committee, signaled he was ready to revisit the project. As reported by the Montreal Gazette, Pinard said the administration would find “a solution that I think will satisfy everyone in the coming days,” adding that he has already spoken with city staff and local businesses about alternatives.

Pinard reminded residents that the new government had “inherited” a patchwork of bike-lane controversies and promised to meet with district residents directly: “I am committed to meeting with the people in my district to ensure that you will be happy with the response,” he told one speaker calling for removal, according to the Gazette.

Tensions amid bike lane creations

The exchange underscored the broader tension surrounding Montreal’s rapidly expanded cycling network, a hallmark of Valérie Plante’s Projet Montréal tenure and a defining issue in the recent election. New mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada insists she is not anti-bike, but her pledge to audit the network — initially framed as a first-100-days priority — drew attacks from opponents who accused her of wavering. Since taking office, she has noted that two existing city studies may effectively serve as that audit.

Bill 60 passes—and buried inside is a direct strike at Ontario’s bike lanes

Another sticking point: the protected bike lane on Henri-Bourassa Blvd. in Ahuntsic-Cartierville. New borough Mayor Maude Théroux-Séguin fielded a volley of questions from both supporters and critics. For now, she said, dismantling the lane “is not on the agenda for the immediate future,” emphasizing that the borough wants traffic-flow mitigation measures in place first to “ensure mobility for everyone.”

Meanwhile in…