Just like so many other parts in Canada, bike lanes remain a focal point in Montreal. There’s bike lane drama in Ontario, Alberta, Vancouver, Nova Scotia–the list goes on.
Now, the city of Montreal said it will assess four bike paths identified as particularly problematic. The audit is part of a broader review of the city’s cycling network, Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada announced Tuesday.
The routes being audited
The routes under review are located on Meilleur Street in Ahuntsic–Cartierville, Rachel Street in Plateau–Mont-Royal, Côte-Sainte-Catherine Road in Outremont and de la Commune Street in Ville-Marie.
According to CBC News, the mayor said the move is intended to address safety concerns and public complaints while evaluating how the infrastructure fits within overall traffic flow.
“Today, this is about evaluation and analysis, not dismantling,” Martinez Ferrada said. She added that mobility in Montreal “must be planned, safe and respectful for everyone, and above all, it must be done with and for all citizens.”
Safety concerns?
Alan DeSousa, the city councillor responsible for mobility and infrastructure, said the four locations were selected due to safety concerns, petitions and priorities identified by the boroughs, CBC reported.
Additional projects in the planning or design stages — including routes on Viau Street, Berri and Saint-Urbain streets, and Bellechasse Street — will also be re-examined in collaboration with local boroughs.
The city also plans to introduce a post-implementation monitoring process for bike paths considered risky. Previously, a formal review was triggered only after a fatal collision. “We will not wait for a fatal collision. We’re going to try to be proactive,” DeSousa said, according to CBC.
The review is part of the administration’s “10 actions in 100 days” plan and will draw from a $1-million operations budget set aside for 2026.
Although the decision may trouble cycling advocates, it does not come as a surprise.
Bike lane audits were part of the new mayor’s election campaign. But even before she won–as did many others in other nearby boroughs from the Ensemble Montreal party, outgoing mayor Valerie Plante warned about undoing so much of the work on cycling infrastructure under her tenure.
“I’m really crossing my fingers we keep moving forward — not backward. That would be terrible,” the outgoing mayor, Valérie Plante said, before the election as reported by The Gazette.
Local cyclists are making sure their voices are heard.
“We can’t be against the idea of improving what exists,” Mathieu Murphy-Perron of Vélorution Montréal said. “But the real risk is giving the impression that the problem comes from the paths, when it comes mainly from the fact that they do not form a coherent and continuous network.”
Soraya Martinez Ferrada was elected mayor in November 2025.