Author Topic: Looking for bike route advice in Montreal (NDG to/from St-Laurent)  (Read 2155 times)

scottydog

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 132
  • Location: Montreal
Hi Everyone,

I'm teaching at a college this fall and am looking for advice on how to make my bike route safer.  I fixed up my bike and started regularly riding it in May, and after a couple of weeks plus some advice from my office mate I settled on the following route: http://goo.gl/maps/mZmTe.  Then I had the summer off to work on home-improvement projects.

My main concern is in crossing i) the train tracks just south of Jean-Talon and ii) highway 40 where Lucerne turns into Sainte-Croix.  I'd love to just take side streets but there don't seem to be many options for crossing the tracks and the highway.  My office mate was hit by a car on Lucerne near Jean Talon last year, so I'm also wary of that area.  In May I was riding through the worst intersections, but when it starts to get dark early I'm totally willing to walk my bike across as a pedestrian.

Over the summer I've been practicing the recommendations on www.bicyclesafe.com, which applies everywhere, but I would appreciate any suggestions for how to make my route safer!

Scott

Rachelocity

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 98
  • Location: Montreal
Re: Looking for bike route advice in Montreal (NDG to/from St-Laurent)
« Reply #1 on: August 20, 2013, 10:21:38 AM »
Hi Scott.  If you're teaching at Vanier, you may be fortunate enough to have my niece in one of your classes!  She's an awesome young woman, if I do say so myself.

I have no suggestions for crossing over the 40 safely, but if you go to the STM website, you can figure out where the 17 bus connects with the 16, and create a route accordingly.  I'd take Decarie Boulevard from NDG till about Wal-Mart (Jean Talon) anyway, because of the pedestrian underpass, so you can avoid the tracks. 

scottydog

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 132
  • Location: Montreal
Re: Looking for bike route advice in Montreal (NDG to/from St-Laurent)
« Reply #2 on: August 23, 2013, 11:49:59 AM »
I am teaching at Vanier so you never know...  I really love teaching and I'm looking forward to meeting my new students once classes start next week.

Good idea to check the STM site!  The 16 crosses the 40 at Lucerne/Sainte-Croix, so I'll stick with that.  If visibility gets bad as the daylight levels shift with the seasons, I can always dismount and walk across as a pedestrian.  The 17 follows one of those left-turn loops from Cote-de-Liesse under the 40 so I think I'll avoid that - even when I'm driving in my car I find the visibility to be bad there.

I'll check out the pedestrian underpass on Decarie Boulevard too.  Thanks for the suggestions!

Scott