Female cyclist killed after being hit by truck in Rosemont—La-Petite-Patrie
'Stay back. Stay safe,' Vélo Quebec warns cyclists, renewing call for restricted truck access in Montreal
Montreal police say a cyclist was killed this morning after being run over by a truck in Montreal's Rosemont—La-Petite-Patrie borough.
Police say the truck was travelling along Bélanger Street and turned right onto 6th Avenue around 9:25 a.m. when it struck a woman who was cycling on the same side of the street — possibly in the driver's blindspot.
Montreal police Const. Jean-Pierre Brabant said the cyclist was pronounced dead at the scene.
Police said the truck driver, a man in his 50s, was sent to the hospital to be treated for shock.
"At this stage, we're still trying to see what happened," said Benoit Lampron, the owner of Les Excavations Lampron, the company for which the truck driver worked.
Traffic in the area is being rerouted, as Bélanger Street remains closed between 2nd and 7th avenues while police investigate.
Police have determined that the fatal accident occurred in a 30 km/h zone.
Cycling group wants truck access strictly limited
According to Montreal police statistics, the woman is the second cyclist to be killed on the island this year. There were two cyclist fatalities in 2016 and three in 2015.
The cycling advocacy group Vélo Québec said that as part of Montreal's Vision Zéro plan to make streets safer for cyclists, trucks should be restricted in certain areas.
"It makes no sense that you have these big blind elephants riding through the city that can be described as a porcelain shop full of vulnerable road users everywhere, and they can't see half of what's happening," said spokesperson Magali Bebronne.
Bebronne said in London, England, trucks now have restricted access to the city, depending on the size of their blind spots. She would like to see Montreal adopt a similar strategy.
Still, Bebronne said such strategies need to be adopted and enforced.
"Every time we come up with a solution, the industry comes up with excuses as to why it's not feasible," she said.
Bebronne issued this warning to cyclists: if you can't see a driver's eyes, then the driver can't see you.
"So stay back, stay safe," she said.
With files from Patrick Butler, Ryan Hicks and Radio-Canada