Montrealers in Outremont stood shoulder-to-shoulder along Lajoie Avenue Tuesday morning, forming what they called a “human bike lane. This was after the borough decided to strip away a protected section of the cycling path for the winter months, CityNews reported.
The protest was certainly not ad hoc–if you were on the pages of Canadian Cycling Magazine on Monday, you could see the move was planned against recent moves to kibosh or scrutinize present or future bike lanes in the city. A recent change of administration in the city has cycling advocates concerned about the strong infrastructure that exists in Montreal. Much of it occurred during former mayor Valérie Plante’s tenure. She even said she hoped that the work they had accomplished wouldn’t be undone.
Un p’tit rassemblement ce matin pour sauver la piste Lajoie…qui en fait ne sera pas retiré mais seulement, pas déneigé l’hiver, comme c’était le cas avant….avant le projet pilote qui n’a pas fonctionné.
Bref, ils étaient 38 personnes…🤦♂️
dont des organismes pro-vélo et des… pic.twitter.com/CnxjsEFCEM— L’automobiliste de Montréal (@automtl514) December 2, 2025
Children ride to school on the path
The action unfolded at the corner of Outremont and Lajoie avenues. This is an area residents say sees a steady stream of children biking to nearby schools each morning. The event was coordinated by Transport Actif Outremont and Vélorution Montréal, who argue that turning the protected lane into a shared street leaves young riders exposed at the most hectic time of day.
“This is one of the only east–west corridors connecting several schools,” Emanuel Licha of Transport Actif Outremont said. She said that various schools–École Lajoie, École Guy-Drummond, and Collège and École Stanislas all sit within a few blocks. Vélorution organizer Julien Gagnon-Ouellette added that the demonstration was meant both to protect kids and “send a signal” that winter closures shouldn’t be the norm.
The change came during the first council meeting led by newly elected borough mayor Caroline Braun of Ensemble Montréal. In a statement to CityNews, Braun emphasized the infrastructure isn’t being removed but converted into a shared street for “approximately 200 metres” with a 20 km/h limit—something she said mirrored past practice and followed “a high number of complaints from…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Canadian Cycling Magazine…