A recent study by McGill University has found that bike lanes take up around two per cent of Montreal\u2019s street space, despite a measurable need for more in certain boroughs.<\/p>\n
Researchers say that they conducted the study as city planners might already know how many kilometres of bike lanes exist, but what hasn\u2019t been known is how much area is dedicated to micromobility relative to the full road network and compare that with how people actually travel.<\/p>\n
Researchers were able to learn that while vehicles take up 98 per cent of road space, they only account for 95 per cent of travel. This has become more evident as micromobility has increased, as more people use bikes, e-bikes, and scooters.<\/p>\n
Researchers also found that in some areas, like the Plateau-Mont-Royal and Rosemont\u2013La Petite-Patrie boroughs, micromobility makes up around 22 per cent of all travel.<\/p>\n
During the study, the research team looked at dedicated infrastructure like separated bike paths, cycle tracks, and BIXI docks.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe found that micromobility infrastructure takes up a very small proportion of street space in Montreal,\u201d said Daniel Romm, a PhD candidate in McGill\u2019s Department of Geography and lead author of the study. \u201cEven doubling all existing infrastructure, it still makes up just a miniscule proportion.\u201d<\/p>\n
Following this, they created a model of various scenarios and found that even if the infrastructure for micromobility was doubled in every borough, space for vehicles wouldn\u2019t see a massive impact.<\/p>\n
\u201cMicromobility infrastructure is incredibly space-efficient,\u201d said Romm. \u201cThere\u2019s ample available space for such infrastructure without severely affecting the relative space allocated to automobiles.\u201d<\/p>\n
Researchers are hoping their study can help city planners assess the infrastructure for micromobility in Montreal and in other cities across Canada.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is best used as a diagnostic tool for where there\u2019s too little space,\u201d said Romm. \u201cIt\u2019s very intuitive: square metres per traveler is a simple way to understand whether infrastructure is keeping up with demand.\u201d<\/p>\n