Police cars are detrimental to the safety of cyclists

Ragi Ullrssman
Educational work must be done with the SPVM employees so that they cease to immobilize their vehicle in the bike lane, ” says the spokesperson for projet Montréal in the area of active transportation, Marianne Giguère.

Zechariah Goudreault

Sunday, 15 October 2017 20:16

UPDATE
Sunday, 15 October 2017 20:21

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MONTREAL | many cyclists are asking the police to cease stopping their vehicle in the bike lane.

Under the highway safety Code, parking is prohibited at all times on a bike path. Drivers who violate this regulation to the Montreal exhibit, moreover, a fine of $ 169 with the costs.

In 2016, the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) has handed over 380 citations for parking in a bicycle lane, a number that could be even higher this year, said the “24 Hours” in July.

However, many images passed in the group Facebook #dansmapiste, which has more than 1300 members, show vehicles at the SPVM are immobilized on the bike lane. A situation that regrets one of the founders of the group.

“People have started to publish photos of police cars in the bike lanes. It is certain that they [the police] didn’t like that,” says Nathalie Hurtubise.

“It takes a fraction of a second for you to kinds of the track. And it takes a second for you to go in […] All I want is to be able to leave the [bike] in the morning and return in safety in the evening,” says the activist.

The spokesperson for projet Montréal in the area of active transportation, Marianne Giguère, argues that one sees “on a fairly regular basis vehicles of the POLICE locked in the bike lanes”. “We expect them to ensure that they make the effort to find a better place to park”, she adds.

The responsible cycling within the city administration today, Marc-André Gadoury, however, specified that the police could take the bike lane in some “particular cases of an emergency.”

The spokesperson of the Coalition vélo de Montréal, Daniel Lambert, believes a greater number of protected bike paths would avoid the forces of order have to opt for this option “of last resort”.

Collaboration

Last week, a meeting took place between some members of the group #dansmapiste and SPVM officers about the measures put in place to reduce the number of vehicles that are immobilized on the bike lane.

A memo has been sent by the POLICE to all the police stations so that police stop parking in the bike lanes, “except in cases of force majeure,” said Nathalie Hurtubise.

Relations service to the media, the SPVM has referred to the “24 Hours” to the division of road safety, which was not available Sunday.