The battle over the Terrebonne bike path in NDG continues. In the last few years it was built, then removed, and then rebuilt. Now, the borough is thinking of partially removing it again but just for the winter. “Obviously, NDG is divided,” said Coun. Peter McQueen. The Terrebonne bike path was back on the agenda at the CDN-NDG borough council meeting on Monday. The borough is asking City Hall about removing one side of the bike path during the winter months. “The four councillors of Ensemble Montréal with Mayor Stephanie Valenzuela and councillor Alex Teodoresco. They won the vote. So presumably they’re going to go ahead. There’ll be another vote at the December meeting where they’ll have to show us the exact specifics of what they’re taking down and how they’re putting it back up next spring,” McQueen said. Jason Tsadilas likes the idea. He says since the bike path was installed, dropping off and picking up his 10-year-old son at the MacKay Centre has been difficult. “These are children, right, [some of whom] are in wheelchairs. Certainly, most of them can’t bike. So it seems a little unfair to put a bike lane that impedes dropping off and picking up disabled kids,” he said. Mayor Valenzuela says she’s trying to strike a compromise. “We’re trying to find a middle ground that allows for the infrastructure to stay in place and to eventually add more infrastructure that is clearly needed in the borough of coordination. Again, the proposition is to only remove one side of the bike path for the four months and then after that it comes back.” Rick Hoge is a member of the citizens group Association of Pedestrians and Cyclists NDG. He scoffs at the Mayor’s idea. “It’s like sharing a winter jacket by cutting it in half down the middle. So, yeah, you’re kind of sharing it, and that’s a compromise. But you’ve kind of made the jacket useless,” Hoge said. Hoge adds that his association has posted a video on social media that seems to show that ridership on the Terrebonne bike path is not greatly reduced in the winter, so the argument that closing a lane because of low numbers isn’t valid. “It’s an especially bad idea to close it in the winter because that’s precisely when winter cycling conditions are the most dangerous,” he said. The December city council meeting will have more info about which side of Terrebonne street could have the bike lane removed for the winter.
