Cyclists demand more public transit access

Cyclists on Montreal's West Island say more needs to be done to accommodate bicycles in the city's public transit system.

On Thursday, the city of Montreal announced it will invest $9.9 million to expand the city's network of bike paths by 50 kilometres.

But many West Island enthusiasts said the paths will be little use to cyclists on the western end of the island who have few options available to get their bicycles downtown.

While bicycles are welcome on some Metro cars outside of rush hour, commuter trains only allow a small number of bicycles — and only on weekends.

When cyclist Paul Gibbons moved to the West Island from the Maritimes, he could no longer take his bike on the bus.

"I used to live in Halifax, and while I was there, they introduced these racks on the front of the buses to be able to hand your bike on the bus and take it to town," said Gibbons. "Very convenient."

The complaint is often made by customers at Paul Cycle and Sports in Pointe-Claire.

"[People] complain that they can't travel to work on their bike because of that, because the means are not there," said store manager Raymond Schiltz.

Officials with cycling group Vélo Québec said they are also concerned about the situation.

The City of Montreal has announced it is contributing $50,000 toward a study being conducted by the group, which will look at the cycling habits of Montrealers.

Neither the Montreal Transit Corporation, nor the Metropolitan Transport Agency, which is responsible for commuter trains, returned calls for comment.

The additional kilometres of bike paths that will be built by the city this year include:

• 4.6 km along Senkus, Cordner and Laplante streets in LaSalle.
• 3.7 km along Pierre-Bernard Boulevard and Desmarteau Street in Hochelaga-Maisonneuve.
• 12.7 km linking Berri, Lajeunesse, De Castelnau, Saint-Dominique and de Bellechasse streets in the boroughs of Villeray-Saint- Michel-Parc-Extension and d'Ahuntsic-Cartierville.