Outgoing Montreal mayor Valérie Plante has issued a pointed warning to those seeking to replace her. She is urging them not to strip back the city’s hard-won cycling network. Speaking at a mobility convention in Montreal, she said any attempt to roll back bike lanes would undermine years of progress. “I’m really crossing my fingers we keep moving forward — not backward. That would be terrible,” she said, as reported by The Gazette.
The bike lane debate heats up with Montreal mayoral candidates
Plante highlighted tangible gains made under her administration. More Montrealers now travel by bike, on foot, or by bus than they did five years ago. It is a shift she attributes to sustained investment in active transit. Seniors’ use of public transport increased sharply after STM fares were lifted in 2023. BIXI recorded its highest-ever ridership. Additionally, the number of accessible metro stations more than doubled. Through the build-out of 17 interconnected bike corridors, including the high-profile REV network, cycling has moved from the margins to the mainstream of urban mobility.
But…not everyone is thrilled about these changes. Bike lanes have become a polarizing issue in the current mayoral race. Ensemble Montréal’s Soraya Martinez Ferrada has pledged to review supposedly unsafe corridors, while Projet Montréal candidate Luc Rabouin accuses her of preparing to dismantle sections of the REV, particularly on arteries like Henri-Bourassa and Chabanel.
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Plante acknowledged that the most controversial projects — notably on Saint-Denis Street — were born from tragedy. There were fatal collisions there in 2014 and 2015. “Life should always come before the fluidity of cars,” she said. “A mayor’s duty is to govern not just for today, but for the next generation.”
While admitting that not all Montrealers will accept the changes, she insisted the evidence is clear. “You can argue all you want, unless you deny the science,” Plante said. “We didn’t build chaos. We built safety.”
The ongoing bike lane debate is not just happening in La Belle Province. Across the country, cycling infrastructure continues to come under threat. There has been all sorts of bike lane drama in Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta, and Nova Scotia.