Mayor Beis and colleague cycle during morning rush hour to prove point
www.thesuburban.com
This past Tuesday morning, just after the long weekend, Pierrefonds-Roxboro Mayor Dimitrios Jim Beis and Jean-Marc l’Abbé, Director of Culture, Sports, Recreation and Social Development for the borough, set out from the corner of Sources and Pierrefonds during the morning rush hour to illustrate the fact that cycling beside cars can be dangerous and that more bicycle paths are needed in the borough.
“We wanted to demonstrate the difficulty of commuting between the north and south corridor along either of the three of our boulevards: Sources, St. John’s or St. Charles,” Beis told The Suburban. “The sidewalks are too narrow and you have to keep at least a foot away from the sidewalk so you can maneuver safely and dodge traffic.”
Beis is hoping to work with Vélo-Quebec in an attempt to integrate bicycle paths that could connect and continue through Dollard des Ormeaux, Kirkland and Dorval. “There is a bike path at Hymus but it just leads nowhere and to get from the borough to Lakeshore by bike can be perilous,” the mayor said.
Beis also wanted to sensitize drivers that with the spring weather finally here, drivers need to share the road with their two wheeled counterparts. “People are supposed to yield for cyclists but that doesn’t always happen,” Beis said. “That’s why it would be great if all bike paths in the West Island were inter connected.”
But despite the risks, perhaps cyclists have the right idea in terms of getting somehwere quicker in traffic using pedal power. After Beis and L’Abbé departed, The Suburban wanted to get to the corner of Sources and Brunswick to capture a shot of the two cyclists in action but due to the high level of rush hour congestion at 8:15 a.m., Beis and L’Abbé were able to get there first.
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