Coderre accused of inaction on bike safety

The death of a cyclist, who was struck by a dump truck in Rosemont-La-Petite-Patrie on Monday, has renewed a familiar but increasingly intense call for better road safety in Montreal.  

The cyclist, 24-year-old Justine Charland St-Amour, was going north on Iberville Street when she collided with a right-turning truck that was driving alongside her.

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Her death coincided with the one-year anniversary of the death of 27-year-old Bernard Carignan, who was killed nearby when he swerved to avoid being doored and was struck by the vehicle behind him.

On Tuesday, Projet Montréal demanded Mayor Denis Coderre take urgent action to improve cyclists' safety.

"I cannot understand the reaction of the mayor," said Luc Ferrandez, Projet Montréal's interim leader.    

"I cannot understand that he sees his citizens dying and being hurt — badly hurt — everyday and he doesn't react."

Ferrandez was stupefied that the mauling death of an east-end woman earlier this summer could have prompted widespread reforms from city hall, while little had been done for cyclists. 

"Look what he's done with the dogs. One person dead. One. And he changed all the rules about dogs," he told CBC Montreal's Daybreak.  

"We have 650 cyclists per year, 1,200 pedestrians a year, that are carried in ambulances to hospitals." 

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'A bloody catastrophe'

Ferrandez recommended trucks not be allowed to go over 40 kilometres per hour in the city. But he also added that as long as large vehicles lack safety features, cyclists would still be in danger. 

"We have to change a whole lot of things because it's a bloody catastrophe," he said. 

Vélo Quebec's Magali Bebronne agrees with Ferrandez, saying that trucks are too often the cause of cyclist deaths and injuries.

"Of course we all need trucks for deliveries, but do they need to be so large? Do they need to be up in the streets in peak time? How can they be designed in ways that the drivers can actually see what's around them?" she said.

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Bebronne pointed to Europe where trucks often have detection devices that beep when someone is around them.

She added that the very notion of who has right-of-way needs to be changed. Cyclists, too, should be able to cross on pedestrian lights to give them a head start.

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Beware of blind spots

But before the necessary changes are made, Bebronne advised cyclists to be aware of a driver's blind spots.

"The rule of thumb is basically, if you're standing next to a truck and you can't see the driver's eyes, that means they can't see you either. So if you are around a large truck, stay behind or stay way [in] front where they can see you," Bebronne said.

Though incensed at the mayor, Ferrandez said he had sympathy for truck drivers who are stressed, stuck in traffic all day long and eager to pass.

"We have to give them the tools to help them be respectful of the lives of people around them," he said.

Aside from the victim's family, he added, "the saddest person on earth this morning is the guy who smashed this poor girl yesterday."